5 Clutter Busting Tips

I’ve shared a lot of organizing ideas over the past three years of blogging. From Marie Kondo to the 6 Week Box, I’ve analyzed and discussed de-cluttering from so many angles. Later, you can check some of those previous blogs from the links below. Today I thought we just talk about some easy clutter busting tips that can help you on the daily.

1. The One Touch Rule: One of The Best Clutter Busting Tips

This is my favorite clutter busting tip, but it is really hard to do consistently. The idea is that when something needs handling, say you take off your coat, you deal with it all the way – once. That means no putting that coat on the back of the chair. You put it in the hall closet. Wash a dish. Then dry it and put it away. No leaving it on the counter to “air dry.” When you come home from work and change into your sweats, you put your jewelry away in the drawer, not on the top of the sink or your dresser. You stash your shoes in the closet, not beside the front door. One touch. If you can master it you will be busting clutter with the best of us.

2. Maintain a Donate/Consign Area

This clutter busting tip is near-and-dear to my heart, because owning a consignment store (Consignments Ltd.) I am constantly advising people to do just that. Put two laundry bins or totes in your garage. As you realize you don’t need something, but don’t want to trash it, put it in the bin for consignment or donation. It busts the clutter and keeps you on track for moving the things along.

3. Keep Flat Surfaces Clear

When I sold my house, my friend and realtor Med was frank, “get most of the stuff off your counters.” It was amazing how much nicer my kitchen looked with minimal stuff on the surfaces. There will always be things, like the toaster, that you want to keep out. If you can minimize that, and then sweep the surfaces once a day, your clutter is busted for sure.

The same is true for your other flat surfaces: the coffee table in the living room and the top of your sink in the bath should get a daily sweep for de-cluttering.

4. Deal with Mail Immediately

Why do we still get so much mail? I pay all my bills online and I haven’t ordered from a paper catalog in what seems like 100 years. But still the mail comes in and piles up. If you can make a habit of putting your bills in a place where you will address them and recycling the junk mail immediately, you will be amazed at how much less clutter is in your life.

5. Be Mindful about What You Purchase

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. But teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. This tip is in the same vein as this famous proverb. If you are thoughtful about what you bring into your home, you will have less clutter as a rule. I’m not saying don’t buy anything, especially at your favorite consignment store, but think about it before you buy it. And consider number two above, when you do buy. Is this replacing something I plan to sell or donate? Then your purchase is mindful and beneficial. It’s a win-win.

For more on de-cluttering and organization check out: Wait! Don’t Throw That Out! Eco-Friendly De-Cluttering, How To De-Clutter: The Six-Week Box, and Secrets to De-Cluttering: The Konmari Method.

Have a lovely day, my friends. Marianne