Do you find yourself de-cluttering your home so often that you barely have the time or energy to actually clean? If you allow your house to accumulate an overwhelming amount of clutter, you may notice yourself neglecting important chores such as dusting and vacuuming because you invest so much time and energy to declutter house. To prevent this from happening, it's essential to take steps to minimize clutter before the problem spirals out of control.
The most common culprit of clutter is paperwork. Whether it is junk mail, work papers, or your children's school projects, paperwork has a knack for accumulating. Organization is the key to preventing the accumulation of papers and there are several things you can do to keep your paperwork and hence your home organized and clutter-free. Place a small wastebasket next to your door so the minute you walk in after checking mail, you can throw all of the junk mail away. Create a "to do" file and place all bills that need to be paid in it. Hang your "to do" file near your phone or computer if you pay bills on the phone or internet. If you pay your bills by mail, place your "to do" file near a basket with return address stickers and stamps. File away all of your important papers immediately so they don't have a chance to accumulate. Make sure to place a bin for old newspapers next to the garbage can in your kitchen so you can take your newspapers out for recycling at the same time that you take out your garbage.
Kids Organizer Bins
All parents know that children bring home a lot of paperwork with them from school each day. Perhaps you have the urge to save all of those papers and projects for memory's sake. In order to minimize the clutter potential of your children's school work, place a small bin in the area of your home where you go through your children's backpack each day. Place any projects or flyers that you want to keep in that bin and throw the rest away immediately. You can place a larger bin in the attic, basement or another storage area and empty out the smaller bin there once it gets full. That way the clutter stays out of sight but one day your children will still be able to sift through all of those old papers and reminisce.
In order to control other types of clutter in your home, you need to ask yourself one question: "Is this an item I will use again?" When you ask yourself this question, be honest. If you haven't used an item in a year, you should toss it. There is no reason to hold onto something you haven't used in so long because you most likely won't use it again despite your attachment to it. If you have an item that is in good shape that you never use, consider selling it or giving it to charity. If you have an item that you use on an infrequent basis and are still unsure of whether you want to keep it or not, store it for six months. If you still haven't used it come six months, toss it.
Seasonal items should be stored in a storage space such as your attic or basement. Avoid piling boxes one on top of another because it can be frustrating once you realize that you forgot to pack away a seasonal item yet you can't pack it away where it belongs because those items are unreachable. To prevent this from happening, consider purchasing large, stackable storage bins with drawers. Get clear bins so you can see what is inside them and find the items you need easily when it comes time for seasonal decoration. Also remember that all items, whether seasonal or not, should be thrown out if they are broken, stained, or damaged in some way. Otherwise you will waste time and effort working around items that are nothing but garbage.