Clutter Control: 4 Steps To Decluttering Your Home

Is clutter slowly but surely taking over your home?  Would you like to have friends drop
by after work but are ashamed of your home's appearance?  Are you overwhelmed at the
thought of how long it will take to get all the clutter under control?

Many, many people feel the same way.  In this article I'm going to describe 4 tips that
will help you achieve clutter control in very little time!

*First make a list of all your rooms.  Then rank them according to which one is most
important to declutter first.  For example, if my main goal were to be ready to have guests
for dinner, I would probably rank my living room, kitchen, dining room, and guest
bathroom at the top of my list.  My bedrooms, etc., would rank at the bottom of the list.
By prioritizing your list, you will be more likely to get the "most important" rooms
finished in case you are interrupted or run out of time.

*Second, with a trash bag in hand, walk through all your rooms in order of priority and
throw away every scrap of trash you find.  If you're not sure whether to toss or keep an
item, don't waste time deciding now.  Leave it where it is.

*Now repeat the process of walking through your list of rooms but this time, rather than a
trash bag, you're bringing a box.  Into this box put everything you find that belongs in
another room.  I like to use a rolling crate for this job.  This is a box with wheels and a
handle available at office supply or teacher supply stores.  When you have finished with
room one and have moved on to room two, remove from the box anything that belongs in
that room before adding things that belong in other rooms.  Don't zig zag from room to
room returning items and don't worry about a specific place for each thing.  Right now
you're just getting all items into the rooms where they belong.

At this point, stop and take a look around.  Things already look less cluttered and more
attractive, right?  You're making progress!  OK, back to work!

*This is the final step.  Go back through each room once more, this time with a box that
you can stack or store, not your rolling box.  Put away everything that has an assigned
"home" (shoes in the closet, used glasses in the dishwasher, etc.).  Any items that don't
already have a designated storage place go into the box.  The box might include
subscription offers you haven't decided on yet, kids' artwork, etc.  Put the box some
place where you can deal with it later.  For me this is usually on the far side of my bed
where it can't be seen!

The point is to get the clutter under control now.  You can organize these left over items
little by little as you have time.  After some time goes by you'll probably end up throwing
away quite a bit of the box contents!

If you're not up to tackling your entire house at once, you can use these four steps on a
room-by-room basis.  You could spend a few minutes using the process to declutter one
room each day, or for an emergency situation such as an unexpected overnight guest.

By regularly following these four steps, your home will always look attractive and
inviting.