It feels like I’ve been working to organize and get rid of so much in our house the past few years. Even with all of that work things still feel cluttered and like there is stuff everywhere.
Do you feel like no matter what you’re doing things still feel cluttered?
Sometimes there are certain things we don’t even realize are still making things feel cluttered and chaotic. A few adjustments, some more organizing and a few more bags to Goodwill might be all you need to finally start to feel like the clutter is under control.
Piles of paper
For me this is the biggest culprit of clutter around the
house. I’m terrible at not piling things. Especially when it comes to paper.
This can be bad when you’re adding to it every day with
this like mail or other little papers you pick up throughout your day.
One way I try to avoid adding to the paper clutter is to
take care of mail right away! If you need to save it because it’s an important
piece of mail, put it in your filing system immediately. If its trash toss it!
I’ve also invested in using PaperKarma app to unsubscribe
from physical junk mail. Since I started using it about a year ago the amount
of junk mail we get has gone down exponentially.
Stuff on the floor
This is one of my biggest annoyances these days and one
that Kevin does all the time. Putting stuff on the floor that shouldn’t be on
the floor makes any room look instantly cluttered.
Do you plop things on the floor? Maybe it’s your purse
after work or your shoes just get left in the foyer? If that’s the case, it’s
definitely time to invest in something to help get those items off the floor
and put away.
These can be easy things to tackle if you adopt the
mindset that the only thing on the floor should be furniture! Keep an eye out
so you’re not adding more to the floor going forward.
Knick-knacks
Some of us are just knick-knack people. We love collecting
that one type (or several types!) of decorative item that we just must display
all over. Even though you might love them they might be making your home look
really cluttered.
I’m not saying you have to go full blown get rid of all
of your decorative items, but you should really look through all of them. Think
about if you really love these items, do you even know where it came from, or
does it serve any purpose?
The past few years I’ve cut way back on these types of
items in our home. If something new is coming in I make sure it has some sort
of meaning too.
Toiletries
When you go into your bathroom what do you see? Are you
looking at a mountain of toiletries that have been in there for years and you
can’t even see the countertop? If that’s the case, you might need to declutter.
First thing would be to evaluate your routine for
products you can cut out and get rid of. We all have been there where we have
gotten free gifts with purchase that we had ever intention of using or gifts
from a well-meaning family member that we’re just never going to use up.
Even if you have a simpler routine there is a good chance
you still have a decent number of products. Get all of your toiletries off your
countertop and tucked away where they should live.
Damaged items you’re never going to fix
If you’ve hopped over to my Instagram lately you’ve seen how many DIY projects I do. This extends to trying to fix things when they break. I always try to fix broken items before recycling, tossing or donating them.
Some things are worth taking the time and effort to fix
and others are not. Is it something that is worth it to fix like a large
appliance? Is it something that is cheap and might not be worth the fix like a 15-year-old
t-shirt that now has 4 holes in it?
Don’t start keeping items around that you might fix some
day either. If you’re not going to spend the time to get it fixed in an
efficient manner than you should probably get rid of it.
Cords
With so many electronics in our lives we have so many
freaking cords. From extension cords to phone chargers to that fancy sound
system your husband just had to have they’re everywhere.
Are there ways that you can get those cords tucked out of the way? For our tv we invested in plastic cord covers that were painted to match the walls. Find a home spot for moveable cords like your charger or camera cord. That way you always have a place to put it out of the way and you will know where it is.
Maybe you have a box full of chargers and all sorts of
other cords. Invest in a package of Velcro cord ties so you can keep your cords
wrapped. By wrapping your cords the way they naturally wrap this will extend
the life of your cords too!
Plants
I think we should all have at least a couple plants in our homes they brighten up you world and are good for your mood. What doesn’t brighten up you home is when you have a hodge podge mess of them in crummy looking containers.
Replant ones that come in little plastic containers into
nice ones that go with your décor. Make sure to arrange them in a fashion that
doesn’t look like you just dumped the lot in the corner.
Remotes & Controllers
These days everything has a remote to it. From the TV to the DVD player to digital picture frames. There are so many remote! Instead of letting them spread out all around the room and add to the clutter find a nice way to corral them. My mom gave us the perfect basket a couple years ago that we keep our remotes in.
I lump gaming controllers in with the remotes although if
you’re old school like we are you could lump them in with the cords too. Like
the remotes it’s easy to have a bunch of controllers that make your family room
look cluttered.
Pet stuff
While Kevin and I don’t have pets at the moment having had them in the past I can attest to this one. Toys were always all over the house. Since you can’t tell your dog or cat to put them away it can be tough to keep things organized.
Even if you have a pet that doesn’t leave toys all over
all pets come with items that they need for their care. Like tank cleaners,
food and other items.
Check to see if there are any items that your pet doesn’t
play with anymore. Those can definitely leave the house. Then find a pretty
storage option to corral everything. We used a nice wooden magazine basket to
corral toys. Maybe there is a cute basket or bin.
Linens & pillows
It can be really easy to accumulate blankets, towels,
pillows and other types of linens. These are go to types of gifts for a lot of
people or it’s easy to just keep adding to your collection.
Take some time to really go through your collection and
decide which items you use and which ones you don’t. We only have two of each
style towels for each of us and I got rid of all our throw pillows years ago!
When your home still feels cluttered, and you just can’t figure out why take a look at these 10 things we usually miss when decluttering!
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