Learning to manage clutter begins with getting rid of items you no longer need. If you want to unclutter your home and keep it that way, organization is the key. It may not be a matter of more storage, but learning how to utilize storage bins, shelves, and organizers more effectively. You can begin to unclutter by removing the junk and replacing only those items you need. Find a place for each item and get in the habit of returning things to their proper places each time you use them.
To unclutter your home, you will have to do some planning. Organize each space so that you and others in the home can put things away easily. It is much easier to get into the habit of putting things back, if it is simple to do. Bins on high shelves are often ignored, while those on lower shelves are often found overflowing. To unclutter low storage spaces, place only those items that are used most often, on easily accessible shelves, and reserve the highest shelves for items that are infrequently used.
In order to truly unclutter a space, you will also have to throw things away. A good rule of thumb is, if you have not used something in the last six months, toss it out or give it away. It helps to add a wastebasket to each room so that unnecessary items can be thrown away immediately, rather than stored indefinitely.
When you begin to unclutter, start in one room and set up four boxes. One box for items you want to keep, one for items you want to give away or sell, another for items that should be stored in a different room, and finally one for trash. Go through each and every item in the room and put it into the appropriate box. You may need larger boxes for certain areas--most likely the "keep" box.
To unclutter a room thoroughly, you need to remove at least one third of the items the space currently contains. In some cases, the amount should be reduced by half. Once you have sorted through everything, go through the keep box again reducing it to a manageable amount. A manageable amount is an amount that can be neatly contained in the available space, with a designated spot for each item.
When you decide to unclutter your home, you may feel overwhelmed, but breaking down the process into steps, sorting the items, and planning places for all your things, helps make the job easier to tackle.
