One of the best ways to control stress in your life is to control your environment. Look around your home. Do the rooms appear overly busy? Is every flat surface covered? Can you see the floor in your closet? If you get tense just walking through your house, then you are probably bothered by clutter. Getting into the routine of a clutter-free existence can be a challenge, but here are some suggestions for getting on track and staying clutter-free.
The first rule of thumb is to put things away as soon as you are finished with them. Don’t set them down with the intention of putting them away later. You’ll have to handle them twice that way and it will take time away from something else you could be doing. To eliminate the clutter in your home, tackle one room at a time. Divide the room into sections, and start with the floor. A messy floor instantly gives a room a sloppy appearance. Tell everyone in the household the new rule: everything must be put in its place after use. No exceptions! You must be the one to set an example, so you will have to be persistent.
After the floor, move to all flat surfaces. Tabletops, the top of the refrigerator, that shelf near your front door, the piano, the open chair, and even the width of a windowsill will need to be cleared. Loose papers and items should have a permanent home somewhere else. Make one if necessary—out of sight. As you pick up the clutter, look at it carefully and ask yourself if you can live without it? If the answer is yes, then put it in a “give away” or “trash” pile. If the answer is no, decide where that item belongs and put it there. Do this with everything you consider clutter. Consider lower wall space, too. When every inch of lower wall space is covered by furniture, the room looks crowded. Remove a table or bookcase to open up the space and give a more relaxed feeling to the room.
As you move from room to room, you should open every drawer and cabinet and examine their contents. Throw out old pens, broken crayons and markers that no longer write. Don’t hoard things. We hang onto things we think we might need and often that day never comes. So, don’t hang on to excessive amounts of anything. It takes up space that could be used in better ways.
If you have children, help them get their rooms organized. Provide them with lots of see-through containers to organize toys. Stackables take up less space. Help them put their toys away in the correct places when they are finished with them. Consider shelving for the walls or even over the doorways or windows if space is at a premium. These out-of-the-way places are great for seldom used items or a collection of things your child has built himself, like model cars or Lego creations. Teach your child to keep like items together, such as books in one place and stuffed animals in another place.
Provide school age children a place of study that is free of clutter and distractions. A desk is ideal, but the dining room table works just as well, as long as they study in the same place and at the same time every day. Create an accessible craft center, a bookcase or cabinet that holds coloring books, markers, paper, glue, and scissors for those special school projects. The kids will know exactly where to look for the items they need, and more importantly, they will know where to put them when they are finished. For young children, the dining room serves as a great location for both study and the craft center. That way, Mom can keep an eye on things.
As the center of the home, kitchens tend to collect the most clutter. Train your family to take their belongings with them when they leave the kitchen and you won’t have as much to pick up. There are all kinds of containers you can purchase to organize cabinets, pantries, and drawers. Shop around and find items that work for your lifestyle.
Once you have made the decision to live clutter-free, your life will be less stressful. It’s not easy in the beginning. But if you stay with it, you’ll be into a routine before you know it and won’t think twice about putting something away as soon as you are finished with it. You will come to love those empty, flat surfaces and the way they make your rooms look larger.
—Doris A. Black
