7 Simple Ways To Control Clutter

Do you ever look around your house and think it looks cluttered and dirty? Well, I think there’s a 99.9% chance that your answer is going to be YES. Because of that, we’re here today to talk about controlling clutter.

First, I  want to start this out by saying, decluttering is not something to afraid of or intimidated by! In fact, making the decision to declutter and keep things that way, will be a wonderful benefit to your life. Contrary to popular belief, decluttering is NOT about getting rid of everything you own. Choosing to simplify doesn’t mean that you must wear the same shirt every day and only own one plate and fork. No, not at all! You should be simplifying, decluttering, and minimalizing your life and the things in it, in order to BETTER your life. Again, decluttering and simplifying isn’t about getting rid of every single thing that you own. It’s about keeping the things that truly matter, and getting rid of the things that don’t. When you remove all of the extra stress and distraction that comes from unneeded things and clutter, you are able to put more focus on the things in life that are truly important.

Make Your Bed

Believe it or not, keeping a clutter free home actually begins with making your bed first thing in the morning! There’s just something about a nicely made bed that makes you want to continue cleaning…… For example, If your bed is made and every pillow is in place, you are a whole lot less likely to go throwing your dirty clothes on the floor, and leave the rest of the room a wreck. I know that making your bed may seem like a small, unimportant thing to do, but it actually greatly impacts the rest of your day! When you make your bed first thing in the morning, you are choosing to be productive right from the start. Think of it as laying the foundation for a hard working, productive, intentional day.

Get Rid Of Anything That Does Not Serve A Purpose

This one can be extremely hard for some people to do, but really, it should be as simple as that! If something in your home has no purpose, honestly, what’s the reason for keeping it? And no, I’m not talking about getting rid of all of your house plants and family pictures… 🙂 That’s really not necessary. I’m talking about getting rid of the extra stuff that really has no. purpose. AT. ALL. This point pretty much explains itself, so I’m not going to expound much on it.

Donate Unused Clothing

This will vary from person to person, but as a general rule for myself, if I haven’t worn it in the past 2 or 3 months…… It’s getting tossed. (Now of course, this does not include out of season clothing.) If you haven’t worn something in that length of time, chances are, it’s not exactly a favorite of yours, and you would probably never miss it if it was gone. If you dig something out of the back of your closet thinking, “What in the world, I had no clue that I had this….” Well, you can probably afford to get rid of it. (Trust me on this one. I went from a 10 foot long closet overflowing with clothing, to 2 dresser drawers and roughly 12 inches of hanging space, with zero regrets. And no, that was not because of a house move or something, it was 100% a personal choice. Stay tuned for a minimalist closet themed post coming soon!)

Throw Away Trash

I know this one may seem so painfully obvious, but I guess it’s not always as simple as it seems? If you’re struggling to get rid of something, let me write this out and make it super simple for you…… If you are struggling with deciding whether or not something is trash, well chances are, it probably is. Just get rid of it. For example, a few things you can throw away today are:

• Old newspapers and magazines
• Extra straws, napkins, & condiments from restaurants
• Tupperware lids that haven’t seen their matching containers in 2 years
• Odd socks that will never have matches
• Chiped glassware, porcelain, or china
• Small scraps of paper, fabric, crafting supplies, buttons, etc.
• Old mail packaging and envelopes

Sort mail

I remember my mother teaching me this one, all the way back in my toddler days. As soon as we would get the mail every day, it would be sorted and put in its respective place immediately. The bills got put in the bill folder for the month, the bank statements and receipts would be put into the filing cabinet, personal letters were put into letter boxes, and junk mail was thrown in the trash can where it belonged. It’s really not hard to spend 3 minutes sorting through your mail. And I guarantee that trying to sort through a 2 foot pile of mail is going to be a lot more difficult!

Focus on Decluttering Specific Areas

If you haven’t been focusing on keeping things decluttered lately, chances are that you have no clue where to start. And that can be REALLY overwhelming. But it’s ok! It doesn’t have to be! Start small and stay focused. If you are determined to declutter and reorganize your entire home in a single day…… Well, there’s a pretty good chance that’s NOT going to happen. In fact, you’re probably just going to end up with a much larger mess. (Also, probably majorly stressed out and with a huge headache.) Instead of trying to tackle the entire house all at once, try focusing on specific tasks and areas and don’t move on to something else until it has been 100% finished. For example, a few specific areas would be:

• Kitchen Counters
• Kitchen Cabinets
• Bathroom Vanity
• Bedroom Closet
• Under Bed
• Storage Closets

Set A Timer

I know that I have mentioned this before in previous posts, but it is so, SO extremely helpful! You don’t realize how much you can actually get done in 10 or 20 minutes until you start setting timers. After you have followed the above tip and chosen a specific area to clean/declutter, roll up your sleeves, set your timer, and work like a crazy person! Are you wondering why the timer method works so well? Well, put simply, it’s because you’re making a conscious decision to FOCUS. When  you’re jumping around from project to project, and your mind is on a million different things at once, at the end of the day, you probably haven’t actually 100% acomplished a single thing.

Take a moment to really think about it. Is extra clutter actually benefiting your life? Well, probably not. In fact, it’s most likely doing the exact opposite, whether you realize it or not. So what does it really take to keep clutter at bay? Believe it or not, all it takes is one simple thing called EFFORT. Really, it’s as simple as that. Your home and life will become uncluttered and in order as soon as you decide that you want it to be. Not a moment before.

So now I want to hear from YOU! Do you consider yourself clean & organized? Messy and unorganized? Somewhere in between? Were any of these tips helpful to you? What are some things that you would add to this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments down below!

About the Author: Cynthia Zander is an Inspirational Lifestyle Business Blogger for A Sweet N Simple Life. She has a passion for helping others realize the importance of living purposefully and constantly searching for the sweet & simple things in life. She writes about purposeful living, healthy lifestyle, and mostly blogging tips, strategies, and tutorials.