Can you really ever be clutter-free? Well, probably not. I mean, who has time to obsess constantly about whether or not there is clutter somewhere in your house? We all have some clutter, after all, we are human! I have found there is a certain degree of "clutter" or mess that just doesn't bother me. It's more important to me to live than to make sure I'm tidy all the time. Things don't interfere with my life unless they are in my way of using my space and getting important things done. Having containers full of memorabilia in my attic is not a nuisance unless I can't walk around in my attic. The important thig is that I have strategies will keep things in balance and not let it get overwhelming.
According to Merriam-Webster, to clutter is:
"to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things
that impede movement or reduce effectiveness."
If you have clutter that keeps getting in your way, and significantly impedes your ability to be effective, or to have company in your home, it's time to get serious about letting go. But doing it all at once is not always an option, nor is it recommended. There is a grieving process we go through as we let go of things...and letting go of too much too fast could be overwhelming. If we get overwhelmed, we'll avoid letting go in the future, so better to do it chunks that we can feel good about, no?
So here are my Top 10 strategies and habits that much make it much easier to "maintain" a reasonable amount of clutter and prevent accumulating more. I hope you find them helpful!
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Make an art form out of donating! I keep a DONATE bag in my bedroom and a DONATE bin in my basement. When I wear something and decide I no longer like it, in the bag it goes. When I go in a drawer and realize I have a shirt I haven't worn in forever and never will again, in the bag it goes. When I buy a new shirt and need room to put it away, I pick one to go. Same type of strategy goes elsewhere in the house. I regularly scan for things to bring to the basement donate bin. To make the whole system work, I have a regularly scheduled pickup from the Vietnam Vets of America http://www.vva.org/ and my goal is to fill up at least one bag or box. Every 2 weeks during the summer and as needed in the winter, I put out our donations of clothing and household goods just like we put out our recycling. You might think I would eventually run out of stuff and my house would be empty. But trust me, that will never happen. This strategy helps us maintain a balance between incoming and outgoing so I don't drown in clutter like I used to.
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Purge the Fridge weekly. Every week before we grocery shop, we scan the fridge for what to get rid of so we can put everything away when we get back. The funny thing is, because we do this, we always know what we have and almost never have to throw anything away.
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Don't watch commercials on TV. Seriously, since we got our DVR, I never watch commercials, and so I save a lot of time, I'm less stressed and less tempted to impulse buy -- or impulse eat for that matter. I can watch American Idol in about 20 minutes!
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Don't shop or look at catalogs unless you are looking for something specific. This was not easy to do at first, but it has gotten much easier to throw those I don't need for work right into the recycle bin. I used to be quite the gadget junkie. Window shopping and looking through catalogs for the latest new stuff was "fun" for me. Not actively looking for stuff to buy has made a huge difference in my life. The money saved has helped me stay out of debt for over 10 years. The time saved is much better used doing stuff like writing this article. I got off the junk mail lists and when a catalog or sales ads come to my home I AUTOMATICALLY put them directly in the recycle bin. This used to be really difficult, but now I don't even think twice. I love the freedom it gives me!
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Don't buy anything unless you know exactly what you plan to do with it and where it will live. Nothing comes into the house without a home to go to. It's amazing how this works. Whereas before we would get items home and then agonize about where to put it and end up regretting buying it when we can't find a home, we now do all that agonizing in the store. And voila! The items we can't think of homes for never make it out of the store and we don't have to deal with the clutter!
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NO more Freebies!!! Being a recovering "infomaniac" I used to go to events and make sure I got every freebie being given out. It was something I never questioned. Free? Of course I'll take one! But no more. Once I finally let go of all that stuff that had accumulated around my house, I was determined not to let it pile up again. So I was very proud that at a NAPO Conference, I did not bring home the little votive candles and other little trinkets being handed out. I already have a drawer full of candles I don't use often. I only brought home freebies I can really use. What a difference!
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Put Paper Recycling bins on every floor. If your home has 2 or 3 floors, or even if your office is far from your kitchen, you need more than one bin for recycling. I keep a paper grocery bag under my desk. Now I never have an excuse to hold on to paper I don't need. When going through the mail, I often get things that are "interesting." I used to keep them and let them pile up. But now, I say to myself, "I was fine before this arrived in my hand. If they hadn't gotten hold of my address I wouldn't have it. I didn't ask for it, therefore I can let it go. If I still remember it tomorrow or next week, I can dig it out of the recycling bin. If not, I didn't need it anyway!"
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Move anything you don't use often to long term storage so it's not in your way. Anything we don't use often gets moved out of our living space to the attic, basement or garage. In our basement, we have a closet for linens that aren't being used, like for blankets during the winter. If we don't use them 2 years in a row, to the donation bin they go. Our garage is off the kitchen, so we moved quite a few of the appliances we only use occasionally like fondue pots and waffle irons, out to the garage.
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Trust that you will always be able to get what you need somehow. In many ways trust is the opposite of fear. When you trust that you will be able to get what you need, you can let go of the fear of running out or of not having enough, then you won't need to stockpile as much. If you trust that you will probably always have money for the things you really need and that you will be able to find things on sale again, you can more easily resist buying everything on sale just because you "might never see prices that low again." Everything goes on sale on a regular basis. If you watch, you will see that just about ever 4-6 weeks paper towels are half price. So, buy a 12 pack if you know you will use them and you have plenty of space to store them, but don't buy 5 12-paks. They will very likely go on sale again before you use up 60 rolls! At least I hope you aren't using THAT many paper towels. If you are you can save a fortune investing in some great cotton kitchen towels!
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Give everything a home where it's not in your way, and where you can find it when you need it. This is nothing new, my grandmother always said "There's a place for everything and everything in its place" I never quite understood how to do that when I was a kid, and it used to annoy the heck out me. But now I get it. What is new for us today, is the sheer volume of things we need to give homes to. Like that extra recycling bin for all that junk mail, or a place for the remotes, the cell phone, etc. My grandmother never had to deal with these things. But if you simplify your life and use tips 1-9 regularly, you will have hopefully fewer things that you need to find homes for!
Hope these tips help you!
