Home organization tips on reducing clutter

If the surfaces, closets and drawers in your home are littered with clutter, it’s probable that your home is a source of stress for you. You’re overwhelmed by stacks of paper, upset from searching for lost items, and you find the act of getting dressed tiring as you pull at clothes jammed in your closet. Here are ten simple ways to reduce clutter.

1. When in doubt, throw it out. This rule has always applied to refrigerated leftovers, but it is useful to apply to every item in your home. While some people make an art and a living from restoring, reusing and reselling “good stuff,” most simply fill their storage spaces with items that may—but probably won’t—come in handy. If you can’t find an immediate use for an item, give it to a friend, take it to a recycling center, call a salvager, or offer it to the Salvation Army.

3. Immediately open and sort your mail as soon as you remove it from the mailbox. Put all incoming bills and correspondence to be answered in an inbox. Discard all junk mail that does not spark your attention. If you like to browse through catalogs, keep only those that seem most interesting, and allow yourself no more than 3 days to store them before the first viewing. Allow yourself one week to read a magazine. If you don’t open a magazine within 7 days of receipt, chances are you won’t get to it before the next one arrives. If you stand next to your recycling bins as you sort mail, you can put all recyclable pieces, such as catalogs, directly into the bins.

4. Contact companies from which you do not want to receive further communications (or junk mail) to eliminate its arrival in your home. If you continually neglect a magazine, cancel the subscription.

5. Sort through any existing sources of clutter by handling source at a time, and one item at a time. Typical sources of clutter include: kitchen counters, home office areas, catchall drawers, closets, children’s rooms, attics, basements and garages. Typical items of clutter include: mail, periodicals, old clothes and toys, photographs, hobby materials, decorative items and obsolete household items.

6. Establish a regular bookkeeping and clerical schedule. After paying bills and balancing bank statements, immediately file stubs in a filing cabinet containing folders for each utility or institution. Maintain financial records for 7 years, and then discard the old ones to make room for new ones. Filing cabinets are inexpensive assets to home organization, and they can be kept in a closet, attic or basement if you do not have a home office.

7. Discard or recycle any garment you have not worn in the last 6 to 9 months. As you inspect each garment, ask yourself whether it is in style, whether it fits, whether you feel good in it, and whether you’ve worn it during its last appropriate season. Also discard any item of clothing your children have outgrown. Find another parent with a child who can use the item, or toss it in the trash without sentiment.

8. After reviewing a wardrobe, wait at least thirty days before purchasing replacements. This time period enables you to note what garments are needed to supplement your wardrobe. Perhaps you’ve discarded formal office attire, but they’re not missed because your current dress code is casual.

9. Teach your children to passing along outgrown toys or games. The Salvation Army, Goodwill, church groups and other mothers will gratefully accept items that are still in useful condition.

10. If you have an abundance of home decorative items, divide them into categories for seasonal display. Items lighter in color, such as crystal and glass, are more appropriate for summer than heavier items such figurines and books. Wreaths with dried flowers are more appropriate for warmer weather than wreaths with apples and dried leaf themes. Group collections rather than spread them around the house so that they can be appreciated as a group instead of viewed as clutter. Rotating items keeps your décor fresh and your surroundings less cluttered.