Decluttering the Entire Family

You will be able to make many changes to your home while decluttering that feel good to you. Some parts of the house are community property. Therefore, it is okay if you move items in those areas, or throw some of the stuff in that area away. But some of the areas that need to be decluttered are a family member’s personal space. You can try to declutter these areas yourself. But woe be unto you if you accidentally throw out a treasure that looked like junk to you. In these cases, you can assign the person to declutter their own space. They may not be as excited about being organized as you are, however. Procrastination and arguments may be the result of you insisting that they clean their room. You can agree to leave the door to that room shut in some cases. Or you can work with that person to get them organized.

You may have some family pack rats. These particular messy person or people can be your significant other, children or other family members. These people will need to help decide which of their belongings should stay, be donated or tossed. You will need to set aside more time for decluttering projects with family members, because you may need to negotiate whether some items go or stay. Most people are agreeable to help cleaning and organizing. They may actually be relieved that they are finally getting their personal space organized. But they want an element of control over their space. They may become upset if they can’t find something they need right away. That is why you should work together with a family member to get their possessions organized. Hopefully the final result will be worth the effort that the two of you put into decluttering that family member’s space.

Happily, family members sometimes follow your positive example. If they see you decluttering, they may decide to get in on the activity themselves. Or sometimes a child might want to help you declutter. This is true especially when they see the positive results of your organizational efforts. But, in many cases, one person is the head organizer of the house.

You may have a person in your family that has some real issues with clutter. Collecting things is fine as long as the collection is stored neatly or displayed appropriately. But when your home becomes a dumping ground, you and those you live with are in trouble. Someone, probably you, will need to take some action. And for those living with people with a hoarding disorder, medication and counseling may well is in order. Compulsive hoarding can be treated. Thankfully, most of us don’t have such a serious issue with our possessions. We just get behind in our cleaning and need to rethink our stuff.

Throughout history, parents have had issues with getting children to clean their rooms. When a child is very small, you will need to help them clean their rooms quite a bit. Eventually, however, you want your child to be able to keep a neatly organized room of his or her own. Many children don’t want to clean their room or deal with the clutter.  One of the ways you get yourself to declutter is by using a timer and a bit of reward or bribery at the end of a cleaning session. This method will probably work well for your child, too. Sit down with your child and decide what reward he or she will get when they have finished a sorting or cleaning project in their room. If their room is really quite messy, you might have to break this room cleaning adventure into several smaller projects, just like you did with some of the large household decluttering projects you may have tackled in other areas of the house. That is fine.  Just be clear about what is expected of the child when they declutter. Also be clear about the reward they will receive. You may need to redirect a child several times, depending on their age. But even a toddler can pick up his or her toys and put them in a toy box.

Be sure to compliment them on their hard work when they are finished. And remember, you may need to help them do the actual deep cleaning portions of cleaning their room, to be sure that they have a healthy environment to sleep and play in. Hopefully the child will grow to appreciate a clean, organized bedroom and play area, and will be able to do much of the organization on their own.

Working with any family member to declutter a home or a portion of a home can be frustrating at times. Foster a loving relationship with the person rather than creating strife over how clean and organized the house is. Family teamwork is important, and everyone should be able to pitch in and help keep a home looking nice. This type of family teamwork can also build pride and self esteem among family members.

Be Aware

The key to keeping clutter under control is to bring less stuff into your house. It’s just that simple. Remember all of the hours you spent getting the clutter out of your house. Then think at least twice before you bring that extra knick-knack or pair of shoes into your home. Remember, the less stuff you bring into your house, the more space you will have. And the less you will be responsible for cleaning and putting away.

Once a person has their house decluttered, it is important for them to be vigilant. Sometimes people with clutter issues at home also have other issues as well. They may need to take a good look at their workspace and declutter there, as well. And some people judge their happiness and mental health by how their home looks. Don’t forget the old adage “Cleanliness is Next to Godliness.” Does being organized make you more holy?

Who knows? But you can judge your happiness and the healthiness of you and your family by the way your home looks. Your home doesn’t have to be perfect. But you should be able to find what you need in your home without sending out a search party. And you shouldn’t have so much stuff that you spend more time taking care of things than you do of yourself and the people around you that you love.

Shopping and Clutter

Limit yourself when you shop. This is a good idea in general, because you can keep your budget and your household clutter under control if you set limits as you shop. Perhaps you can really get by with only one shopping trip per week.  Get the gas for your car at the same time. Also, never shop without a list. Lists save you both time and money in the long run.

If you don’t have a list, chances are that you will probably forget something you meant to pick up at the grocery store. Then you will have to waste time and gas money to go back to the store to by that item. Shopping and errand lists keep you honest, as well. If you stick to your list, you won’t bring extras home that you really don’t need. And shopping lists improve your chances of ignoring impulse buys that might tempt you.

What if you get to the store and don’t remember if you need an item or not? Do you have enough masking tape around the house for that painting project you want to start? Can’t remember? If your house is decluttered, you probably know how much masking tape you have, because you worked hard to sort through a pile to find it.   If you really don’t know, don’t buy more. Wait until your next shopping trip, and check your supply at home.

Avoid cluttering your home with duplicate items, and save yourself money as well.

Do you have a place to put that impulse buy that is calling to you from that shelf?

Or would you rather have that bare space you worked so hard for? Usually the choice is clear. You really don’t want to reclutter after you went through all of the work of decluttering that spot.

Most of us have something we either collect or have too much of. Yarn is an example of that. If you have boxes and boxes of yarn stored somewhere neatly in your house, good for you. But you really don’t need more. So plan on avoiding the craft store or yarn department all together. If you have a room full of die cast cars, think hard and long before you add a new one to your collection. You really don’t need another one. And that bare spot you worked so hard for is easy to clean and nice to look at, too.

If you bring something into the house, take something out of the house. If you buy a new outfit and have a closet full of clothes, get rid of at least one old outfit. Throw it away, give it away, or donate it to a local shelter. If you are a book lover and need to read the latest murder mystery by your favorite author, choose the 2 or 3 books you are going to give away, sell, or donate before you buy the new book. Think about the number of unread books you have at home, as well, before you decide to buy a book just to kill some time. You probably already have lots of books like that at home, already. Don’t succumb to the temptation to buy more. By the way, do you have room on your bookshelves for another book? If not, don’t buy more until you do.

Take a little time to think about buying before you bring a new item into your home. Know exactly where you are going to put a new item in your home before you bring it into the house. If you can’t think of a spot, don’t buy the item. Do you have space for more stuff? Do you want to make space for more stuff? Do you really want to waste the time or energy dusting or cleaning new stuff? If not, go home and reward yourself for being a strong shopper who wasn’t influence by impulse buying.

Most people have an area just inside their front door that is a transitional place between the outside world and their home. Usually this area collects clothing, shoes, purses or backpacks and pet items like leashes.

This area collects belongings as well as dirt and wet clothing. Some call this area the mud room. And mud surely does collect there. You actually want some item s to collect in your entry way. You want your cat and keys to be right where you and find them on your way out the door. Unfortunately, this area can become a pot of piles of coats and other outerwear rather quickly. Here are a few tips to keep your front entryway organized and neat.

Outerwear

Outerwear should be neatly hung with extra space available in the area so coats and jackets can dry if necessary. You may want to install a rack of coat hooks in on. But any kind of hangers will do. You could use a coat stand or hall tree for hanging coats and jackets, as well. Shelves are great for storing hats, scarves, gloves and purses. If you don’t have shelves or can’t install shelves, use a chest of drawers or other drawer system as a place of storage for your mittens and gloves. This chest of drawers can be an actual dresser or some plastic drawers that you can purchase for very little money. Besides, if you have been decluttering, you may have created an empty dresser or other type of storage or furniture that you can now use in your entry way.

Coat stands and hall trees also make a great place to hang coats, jackets and other wet outerwear. This is especially true if you don’t have a built in closet by the front door.

Keys, Mail and Other Potential Clutter

Baskets placed close to the door can help you sort items before you bring them into the house. You might need a basket for keys, sunglasses, loose change, and a larger place to put your mail of other important papers.

Before you even come in the door, you should have some kind of welcome mat so people can wipe their feet before they even enter your home. This foot cleaning mat will keep your entire house cleaner in the long run.

If you live in a wet climate, you will want a special place to put your umbrella. You don’t need to go out and buy an umbrella stand, however. Just find the right shape of garbage can or basket, and you have an umbrella holder. You may have discovered just the right container while decluttering in another part of the house. And if you need a place to store canes or walking sticks, your umbrella holder can multitask and do that as well.

Shoes and Boots

Shoe storage is an important part of any entry way. You can buy boxes to store shoes in, or use found boxes for the same purpose. Any plastic or wooden low shelves or cubicles will do. These also make a good place to dry wet or snowy shoes, as well. A stash of recycled plastic bags goes well in this area, especially if you might have to carry shoes or other items with you. Just stuff your old plastic grocery bags in an empty tissue box for easy dispensing.

Purses and Bags

Purses and bags can be either hung in the coat closet or placed on the closet floor. If you don’t have a coat closet, hang your purse with your coat, or put it on top of the dresser you put in the front entryway. You could even put it in one of the drawers you put in the front entry to collect scarves and gloves. If you have a gym bag that you routinely use, put it next to your gym shoes, or store it where you put your purse or briefcase.

Pet Supplies

Pet supplies placed near the door make leashes easy to find when you want to take you dogs for a walk. Any kind of pet or coat hook will work well. And if your pet has a coat, you can hang his or her coat there, as well. A towel hung in the entryway helps you dry off your dog if they get wet or snowy outside, too.

Keeping Your Entry Decluttered

Take a moment to enjoy your newly decluttered entryway when you are finished decluttering it.  Then make a point to put items away where they belong every time you come in the house. You will always know where your glasses and keys are. Your wet coats and mittens will have a place to dry and be ready for their next use. And you won’t have to look for your gloves, because you will know right where they are.

Once you find a place for everything in your entryway, be sure you keep everything in its place. In that way, visitors will have a positive opinion of your house on their first impression when entering your home. And you will save time and energy because you don’t have to look for your keys, gloves and leashes. Your life will be less stressful and you will feel organized.

Here are more ideas for reusing items for storage and décor.

Plastic Bags

Use tissue boxes as plastic bag dispensers. You may want to save several sizes of tissue boxes for different sizes of bags. In that way, you recycle both the boxes and the bags and keep the bags from becoming clutter.

Some people use plastic bags for crafts. Plastic bags can be braided into rugs. They can also be braided and used like Styrofoam bases for crafts. One way to use plastic bags for wreaths is to braid the plastic bags, then shape them into a circle. Next, hot glue a brown paper bag to the circle to form a wreath base. Use more hot glue to glue pine cones and other Christmas decorations on the wreath base. Soon you will have a beautiful Christmas wreath created from recycled materials. But beware! Store the plastic bags for crafts appropriately, or the bags turn back into clutter.

Rubber Bands

Do you have thick rubber bands lying around the house? If so, you can use them to help keep the straps of spaghetti strap dresses or blouses on their hangers. One source of closet clutter is the blouse or dress that has spaghetti straps and won’t stay on its hanger.  Rubber bands wrapped around the ends of hangers keep straps from falling, and keep you clothes off of the closet floor.

Jewelry Organization

Organizing jewelry can be done using several different recycled objects that you might find around the house. You can hang necklaces from decorative hooks on the wall or from a closet door. Hanging your necklaces from decorative hooks keeps them from becoming tangled, as well. Untangling necklaces takes time that you could spend better elsewhere.

Clips and Clothes pins

Magnetic clips and clothes pins can double as clips and holders for many different household items. Both work well as recipe card holders. Magnetic clips can be attached right on to the hood of your stove for easy reading. Clothes pins can be put at the top of you rolled up potato chip bag and help keep them fresh.

Jars

If you found pretty jars while decluttering, you can use them for storage and even sometimes for décor. Glass baby food jars are frequently used to store small items. But don’t keep lots of them around just in case you might need them some day, or they turn into clutter. You can use glass baby food jars to store anything from pins to beads to nails and staples. If you decide to use baby food jars or other jars for candles holders, put a few drops of water at the bottom of the jar. The wax will come out of the jar much easier if you do.

You can use a small collection of glass jars or vases that are a similar color for decoration. Group them together for a designer vase look. This color scheme idea makes even the most unusual items look like a collection.

Small jars are frequently used to organize bathroom clutter. Bobby pins, hair ties, cotton balls and tons of other bathroom or make up items can easily be sorted into small jars. These containers make good organizers for the home office, as well. Rubber bands, paper clips, and staples sort into these easy to store containers and are easily put into drawers.

Boxes

Small boxes and small plastic containers make excellent storage containers for bathroom items such as ear swabs and cotton balls. One example of the type of containers you can use is berry boxes from the produce department of your grocery store. Depending on what the box was originally used for, you might need to spray it with disinfectant. Grouping similar types of boxes together makes those recycled boxes look more like a fashion statement and less like an accident, as well.

Vases

Vases are good storage for many household items. You may have a cupboard full of vases from flowers you have received down through the years. It is always nice to keep a few of these around for flowers from your garden. But after a while, vases too become clutter. You can use vases to hold office supplies such as pens and pencils. Crochet hooks and knitting needles can be stored in vases for a decorative look. And a very large vase may just be what you have been looking for to use as an umbrella holder for your front entry.

Need Shelves? Try This!

An easy way to give yourself some extra shelving is to use crates or smaller shelves inside larger shelves to give you more storage. Remember those plastic milk crates? Stack them and use them as shelves. Put crates or boxes on closet shelves or on the floor of a closet and use them as shelf space. Boxes work for this as well, especially if you need shelves in a closet or place where no one will see the boxes.

Once you start to declutter your house, you will find that you have less stuff around the house that needs to be stored. That’s good? You will also find some items that you need to store. You can run around and by storage units, shelves, and cabinets with drawers. But one of your new principles is not to bring new stuff into the house.

The good news is that, while decluttering, you probably found some items that you can use as storage. Some of these potential storage items can be decorative. Others you might want to use behinds closed doors or drawers. Then once you have used all your potential recycled storage, you can buy more shelves and drawer storage if you really need to.  Use what you already have first, however.

Here, in no particular order, are some ideas for reusing stuff you found while decluttering and can reuse as storage containers.

Shoeboxes

Shoe boxes are great for storing many items. Several shoe boxes stack very well. But don’t just save shoe boxes in case you need them for storage someday. That is when they become clutter. If you need shoeboxes for storage where people will see them, decorate them with wrapping paper or fabric to make them decorative. Photographs and recipes can be stored in shoeboxes. Just be sure that you label the contents of each box. Small bits and parts of crafts or art supplies can be stored in shoeboxes, as well. Sewing patterns fit well in shoeboxes. And shoeboxes fit nicely on those small shelves above your clothes in the closet.

Old Jewelry

Plastic or metal bangle bracelets or other types of metal or plastic rings make good napkin holders.

Saucers, Small Bowls, Butter Plates

Saucers, small bowls and butter plates can be used as the base for houseplants. These pieces of dishware are decorative and protect your furniture from the water rings that can occur when houseplants are overwatered. Don’t go out and buy saucers for this purpose. Use odds and ends of dishes and bowls that you already have. In this way you will prevent potential clutter from entering your home. Some of the plastic lids from containers work well for this purpose, too.

Saucers and bowls are also decorative ways of storing soap and keys.

Clutter as Furniture

Many different recycled pieces of clutter can become furniture. Here are some ways to make end tables, coffee tables, and nightstands out of potentially discarded items.

Chairs those are mismatched or no longer useful for sitting can become nightstands. If the seat is made of caning with holes, put a tray or book over the hole.  Or nail a piece of wood over that spot and repaint the entire chair. If an old chair is reused as a nightstand, you can put a lamp on the chair seat or hang a bathrobe on the back of the chair as well.

Sturdy boxes can be covered with a pretty piece of cloth or tablecloth and used as nightstands or end tables.

Old suitcases make sturdy coffee tables when stacked. If you don’t like the surfaces of the suitcases, cover them with a decorative piece of cloth, blanket or tablecloth to disguise them.

Laundry Bags

Laundry bags were originally intended to keep underwear protected while being washed.  Laundry bags are great for storing those dirty pieces of laundry and keeping them up off of the floor. Laundry bags can also make sorting clothes easier. But laundry bags work well in the dishwasher, too.

Instead of letting all of those little bits and pieces of dishes fall through the dishwasher racks and get damaged or lost, put them in laundry bags. Put those

caps, lids and baby bottle nipples in a new, clean laundry bag on the top shelf of the dishwasher. Your little items will be safe while washed and you won’t have to stick your head in the dishwasher to search the bottom for those little items.

You can use business card holders to carry coupons of packs of sweetener, tea bags or coffee bags.

Old nail polish can be used to color code your keys for easier identification.

Any container like a glass jar can be used to store thread and stray buttons in the laundry room.

Pegs, nails, tacks, and kitchen cup holders can go in the wall inside of your closet to hold belts, ties, and necklaces.

Put instructions and owner’s manuals in a single drawer or in a binder. This way, you won’t have to hunt for them if one of your appliances breaks down.

Fun Filing

Napkin holders and old phonograph record holders can be used to file important papers in the home office or at work. Bills are a great example of how to reuse a napkin holder or record holder. Just be sure to put the bills due first at the front of the holder for easy payment.

Old drawers that used to hold cassette tapes make excellent small containers or mini file cabinets.

The old wire type phonograph record holder is a good way to sort baking pans, muffin tins, pizza pans, and cutting boards. If you have an extra dish drainer that is usually used for drying hand washed dishes, you can use it to sort dishes, pots and pans as well.

These are only a few of the ways you can turn your clutter into organizational aides.