Tips for Cleaning Up Clutter

My second job out of college was for a developer of retirement and assisted living communities. The CEO of the company, Prill Kuhn, was a woman with a passion for developing beautiful living communities for seniors. While she abided by all the right code restrictions and architectural guidelines, she pushed the envelope to make them lovely.

Prill always imagined her mother walking the hallways or sitting in the dining room. Where would she rest and what would she gaze upon as she got her mail? These types of questions guided her philosophy of blending function and grace.

One of her pet peeves was cluttered-looking administrative offices. While people at other companies might tape notes to walls or windows, we put them in picture frames. We drank our sodas out of a glass and never ate at our desk. Clutter was abhorred and order was the rule of the day.

I learned a lot from Prill. When she was in town, she’d walk with the management staff around the community and share her philosophy on caring for the aging and creating a beautiful home for them. One such walk sticks out in my mind. It was the day my approach to organization changed forever.

As we walked around the administrative offices, Prill shared tips on how to keep our workspaces attractive and clutter-free. She chatted about options and warned us, with great concern, to stay away from “the-cereal-box-on-top-of-the-refrigerator syndrome.” I sucked in my breath, wondering if someone told her about my house. That’s exactly where my cereal boxes were that day, and had been for years.

I mused about her comment for days; alternately defending my approach (they don’t all fit in my small cupboards) and considering options (I could put them in storage containers that do fit in my cupboards). Needless to say, the cereal boxes came down, I scrubbed the top of the refrigerator and positioned a plant in an attractive pot in place of cardboard.

The point of her comment was to put a little extra effort into organization so that it also looks nice. The easiest path isn’t always the most organized or beautiful. While I don’t pour my sodas into goblets anymore, I have incorporated Prill’s concern for making practicality as pretty as possible in my home.

There’s no reason our homes and work areas shouldn’t be functional and pleasing. As my boss taught me years ago, beauty is often in the details. And the absolute cheapest and quickest way to beautify your home is to clean up clutter. There are lots of tips on overcoming clutter, but the best overall advice I can give you is for everything to have a place, and to be in its place.

Clutter accumulates because we don’t know what to do with it – it’s that simple.

I don’t know about you, but most days I’m tired of making decisions. With five kids, two home based businesses, working for a national ministry, plus my own writing ministry – I just want to veg out when I’m not on duty (which is most of the time). Sometimes, my home gets cluttered because I just don’t want to make a decision on what to do with an item. Usually, it’s not just as simple as putting it back – as in hanging a jacket in the closet. It requires that I actually think about where is the best place for this item.

When I find my piles growing, and stacks accumulating, and outgrown clothes hanging from the backs of couches, I know I need to get serious about making decisions. If you are in the same place, here are some tips I’ve found to be helpful.

First, pick one stack or disorganized space and spread everything out on a long table so you can see the items one at a time. Group like items together – like all the kids’ school papers. Then spend some going through every item and yourself these questions:

Can I …

put it where it belongs? (that’s easy)
file it? (Put it in a basket to be filed)
throw it away?
give it away? (books and magazines you’ll never read again)
store it for a yard sale? (put it in a box in the garage)
tuck it in a drawer? (stapler, pens)
put it in a bookcase? (binders, notebooks)
store it in a basket or decorative container for permanent storage?
put it somewhere safe for a future need?

If you need to purchase some organizing or storage supplies, then make a shopping list right then.

Once you’ve forced yourself to answer those questions, I believe you’ll take yourself out of neutral and be well on your way to cleaning up clutter, and creating a more orderly home.

In His Love,

Glynnis Whitwer
http://www.glynniswhitwer.com/
http://www.proverbs31.org/