Clearing Out Your Home: 4 Tips For Getting Rid Of Clutter
You can win the war on clutter. The key is to focus on one area a time. Clean out your junk drawer or tackle your desk, but then stop for the day. Once you have slowly cleaned out your most offensive piles and crevices, it’s time to learn some new habits to permanently reduce the clutter in your life. Here are four ways to get rid of the clutter you have and prevent future disarray.
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The Hanger Test
Closet clutter is insidious and difficult to tackle. To beat it, pick a date you can remember, such as your birthday. On that day, go through your closet and turn all of the hangers backwards. Each time you wear an article of clothing and wash it, hang it back in the closet the right way. Do this for one year. At the end of the year, donate any clothing that is still on a backwards hanger, as this signals that you haven’t worn the garment at all in the last 12 months.
Relocate Keepers
Sometimes you just need more space. Perhaps, for example, you recently inherited items from a deceased family member and haven’t had time to sort them. In this instance, Self Storage 2000 or another self-service storage facility may be the answer. Extra storage allows you to get the clutter out of your home until you have time to work through it. Storage is also a solution for sentimental items that you don’t use, but aren’t ready to part with.
Stop Swag
Community and other events are great places to mix and mingle, but they’re also clutter creators. You’ll find yourself leaving many events and seminars with free tee shirts and gift bags full of promotional tchotchkes. Though cute in the moment, these items become clutter once you bring them home. If you can do so politely, decline gift bags and other unwanted swag. If you must take it, discretely dispose of it before you get home or drop it in the trash as soon as you do. The best way to combat clutter is to get rid of it before it ever makes it into your home.
One In, One Out
It makes sense to pick up useful items when you find them on sale or need to replace an old one. The trick is to make sure that the new replaces the old rather than living alongside it. If you pick up a new tape measure or can opener, throw the old one away or donate it. Do the same with clothing. If you get a new tee, get rid of an old one. Before you buy anything, ask yourself if you really need it, where you will put it and what you can get rid of to make room for it.
Clutter can be conquered using these methods. The key is to think before you bring new items into the home and be practical when assessing what to do with what’s already there. In the battle against clutter, it’s important to get rid of your excess and change your thinking slowly but steadily.
