Creating a Clutter Free Life
How many times have you lost your keys, shoes or important papers because there is too much clutter in your home? Families around the country are drowning in clutter that can cost time and money as well as cause frustration. Clearing the clutter from your home, and your life, will take some time and effort but the results will be well worth it.
Looking on the internet, you will see many blogs and businesses that offer help to those struggling with clutter. If this describes you, there is help available. And if you follow these simple habits to keeping your life clutter free, you may find you can also let go of the clutter in your home.
1. Walk-through
Go through your home as a visitor and make note of anything in your home that is out of place, items that are piling up or things that bother you. Start with what bothers you most and begin going through the items, getting rid of things you no longer need or want.
The goal is to clear small areas, one at a time, until you have cleaned the entire room. Go through each room until you have gotten rid of as much clutter as possible.
2. Create a Decluttering Schedule
Create a cleaning and decluttering schedule. Include chores for each member of the family so one person does not have to do everything. If you work on cleaning a little bit each day, it will make keeping your home clean much easier.
3. Create a Home
Rather than stacking mail and other papers all over the room, create a specific area to handle mail and pay bills. This could be a desk or a shelf with an inbox. Be sure to place a garbage can, and a shredder is all possible, near your mail area so you can throw junk mail out as you go through the mail.
Along with the inbox and garbage can, it would also be helpful to keep a family calendar in the area. When you see paperwork that has an appointment or important date, you can write the information directly into the calendar and toss the paper unless you need to return it.
4. A Landing Place
Place a coat rack or shelf with hooks near the door you use most often. It is important to have everyone hang jackets and book bags here when they come into the home each day. By placing these items in the same place each day, your family will be less likely to lose things.
You can use similar tactics to declutter your office or workspace. A clean work area can make your day more productive, which your boss will most likely appreciate. Develop a filing system so you can find important papers when you need them.
5. Declutter Your Schedule
Cut back on commitments. Part of having a cluttered life is having too many obligations each week. Families these days are busy and everyone is going in different directions with meetings, sports, band, volunteering or religious activities.
Declutter your schedule by asking each person to give up all but one activity. This will reduce the amount of running and allow the family to eat together regularly.
Finally, if you are too overwhelmed with the amount of clutter in your life, give yourself permission to seek outside help.
A professional organizer can recommend simple habits to keeping your life clutter free and will help you develop a routine that will work for your family.
