Home is our sanctuary, a haven, our safe harbor and the place we unwind from a long difficult day. It is where most of us connect with family; share thoughts and dreams and really bond with them.

Most homes nowadays have limited space but our needs and wants are unlimited. Hence clutter occurs. Clutter is collections of things lying about the house making it messy and untidy.

Why we collect things can be explained by analyzing the psyche of a person. People can be divided into two main groups.

1. Minimalists – where a person can have very few material possessions. If someone enjoys a clean, clear environment where there are few distractions then that person can be minimalistic approach to life.
2. Collectors or Hoarders – People who enjoy collecting material possessions. They can be collectors of various items be they art or furniture or just extreme collectors of their personal belongings never throwing things away.

Hence while most of us strive to be minimalistic and organized others tend to collect or hoard things around the house.

When is clutter a problem?

Clutter affects people mentally as well as physically. A messy disorganized family environment is not conducive to a happy and healthy upbringing for kids as well as affecting family relationships negatively.

Clutter takes up space inside the house minimizing space for family. It makes it hard to find things.  Thus makes everything inefficient and time consuming.

In most cases messy homes adds to anxieties and gives a feeling of hopelessness.  When a person is already stressed out at the job and comes home to a messy home it can further add to the stress and increase tiredness. Seeing untidy, disorganized countertops tend to stifle creative processes.

Why do we need to unclutter?

Whenever we clean and organize the house and work spaces it provides a sense of accomplishment and control. An uncluttered house provides a clean and clear environment providing more space for friends and family.

A clutter free house is conducive to added cleanliness and provides a safe healthy environment for the kids. Destresses minds and eases anxiety.

A well-organized home or work space stimulates creativity as well as efficiency.

Most houses have the following categories of cluttered rooms

Most Cluttered – Attic, Basement, Garage, Closets

Average – Kitchen, Office Room, Laundry Room

Least Cluttered – Living Room, Dining Room, Bathrooms

How to Declutter Room by Room

It is best to set a goal before starting to organize a specific room.  What you would want the room to look like and plan the room to be more organized and efficient.

Creating a sorting system helps with the decluttering. The best way is to use three boxes, and name them as follows: things to keep; trash; and, store.

Things to keep should be easily accessible. You can use shelves, drawers in closets. For example, use over the door hanging pantry and gift bag organizers.

Things that are not used often can be stored in boxes and bins.

How to get rid of clutter

• Recycle,
• Donate
• Garage Sales, Sell on the internet (Amazon, EBay, Craigslist)
• Rent a Dumpster

Bedrooms

 

The Bedroom should be a restful place to induce relaxation and sleep and should not be used as storage rooms for dumping extra stuff.

Empty all drawers. Go through all items and throw away all expired or unused item.  Ask yourself two questions:

1. Does this belong in the bedroom?
2. Have I used this in the last year?

If you answer, “no,” to either or both of these questions, then they need to go the “trash box or the recycle box” or take it to the room where it belongs. When you are ready to place items back into the drawers try adding dividers or small containers so you can store similar things together. Keep storage bins for kids’ toys, seasonal things and things that are used infrequently.

Closets

First empty out the closets and organize the clothing according to their usage and frequency of use. Then it’s best to get rid of clothes that no longer fit, or are stained or damaged. Ask yourself whether you really wear those clothes. If you haven’t worn them in the last year or so then chances are you are not going to wear them again.  So they need to go into that “trash box” if they are damaged, or to the “donate” box if they are in good shape and can be re-used.

Jewelry should be organized on the Jewelry organizers.

Office  Rooms

Plan the most efficient and convenient placement of desk, chair, filing cabinets, etc. Try to minimize paper usage by using more digital storage. Desk top and other table tops need to be clean and uncluttered. Drawers need to be organized by using dividers or containers. Use twist ties for cords under the table and label them.

Kitchens

 

Before starting always empty out and clean the pantry cupboards. Always organize the pantry cupboards to maximize efficiency and lessen the foot traffic when cooking.  Spices, saucepans, utensils should be stored near the range to be easily accessible when cooking.

Counter tops should be mostly empty to facilitate work areas.  Pantry organizers and drawer containers and dividers make decluttering easier and provide more space.

Family Rooms

 

Remove item that do not belong in the living room.  More storage can be added by sofas with storage and storage seats. Cabinets, libraries too add more storage options.

By having a clear theme when decorating removes clutter as well less decorative items frees up space. Less is more when decorating.

Bathrooms

Free up counter tops by adding cupboards with shelves. Medicine-cabinets need to organized and trash the expired medicines. Organize drawers too.

Basements and Attics

First empty out the basement or attic and divide the space into zones to organize. Keep like things together in the same zones. If you are using storage boxes and bins always label. Get rid of broken, unused things.

Garages

As in the basement attic divide into zones when organizing. Keep like things together. Add shelves and storage space. Get rid of useless, broken things.

Summary

You can determine the extent to which you will commit to decluttering. You can minimize adding clutter by not buying things that you know you would use very rarely. You can always borrow or rent these items. Declutter a little every day and live clutter free life.