Controlling Clutter

All too often, I am overwhelmed...inundated by the "stacks." Recipes to go through. Bills to pay. Magazines to read. Not too mention the clothes--clean or dirty--that seem to end up scattered on the floor rather than stashed in their proper hampers or drawers. So I have put back into active practice some de-cluttering techniques I have learned over the years. No, it's not time for "spring" cleaning. But these tips might be just the thing for a New Year's resolution/winter home makeover.

• Every item should have its home. I know...easier said than done. But the first step to controlling the clutter is setting up an organized system. (Need help? The Container Store has made a multi-million dollar business of helping the less organized among us.) Set up laundry hampers or baskets according to water temperature so that you're sorting as you go, rather than digging through a huge pile of mishmash on laundry day. (I do the same for dry cleaning--sorting laundry items according to the level of starch they need.) Place dishes and other cooking tools in cabinets and drawers in logical fashion according to proximity to stove, chopping block or the dining room. And, if bills are scattered about, do like I did and buy one of these. It's been a lifesaver.


• Don't let things get out of hand. We have a tradition called "fifteen minute fire-out." The TV and computer are turned off and the kitchen timer is set. For fifteen minutes, I (hopefully we) straighten and neaten and put things where they belong. And, yes, sometimes that means taking various stacks of paperwork and combining them into one big one that can be neatly set aside and dealt with later. It's even helpful to do twice a day...one before bed and once before work. I've found that things are a lot let stressful getting up in the morning or coming home at the end of the day if you don't have all of the detritus of your life staring you in the face. And you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish in a concentrated fifteen minutes. I have discovered I can put a dishwasher full of dishes away in the two minutes it takes me to heat my water for my daily cup of morning tea.
  
• But of course every now and then an overhaul is necessary. Periodically, it is necessary to completely empty a cabinet of its contents and evaluate each item. Drawers. Closets. Even the refrigerator. Do you use it regularly? Or does it hold such sentimental value that it simply must be kept? (If you're using that criterion for things in your refrigerator, beware...you have a problem.) You'll be surprised that, especially if in the right "simplify my life" mood, you can pare things down rather easily. In just the last week, I have discarded extraneous colanders, excess coffee mugs and ties that have outlived any fashion sense they might have once had. And by "discarded" I mean put into the garage for one of our semi-annual garage sales. But just as easily they can go to Goodwill or Salvation Army or any of the other worthy charities that will put them to good use.

So get started!

Feel free to share any of your simplify/beautify ideas in Comments. We all could use new ideas!