Clutter Control - 4 Steps to Decluttering Your Home

Has clutter stealthily taken over your home? Would you like to have friends stop by after work but are embarrassed by your home's appearance? Are you overwhelmed by what a huge job it will be to get all the clutter under control?

Many, many, people are in the same boat. In this article I'm going to outline four steps that will help you achieve clutter control in practically no 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 immediate goal is to have dinner guests, I will 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, bring 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've finished with room one, move on to room two and 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. Notice how much progress you've made! Things already look less cluttered and more attractive, right? OK, get back to work!

*Finally, 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" such as 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 away to be dealt with later. I usually hide mine on the far side of my bed!

The point is to get the clutter under control right now; you can organize the left over items little by little when you have time. After some time has passed you'll probably end up throwing away most of the box contents!

If you're not ready to tackle 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 unexpected overnight guests.

By regularly following these four steps, you home will always look attractive and inviting!

About the Author:  To read more about how I keep my clutter under control, please visit Decluttering My Home