by R. R. Rader

Created on: June 25, 2008

There is only one sure fire, albeit ridiculous, way to avoid the pitfalls that create the dreaded, yet universally common phenomenon of clutter. Start by abstaining from all relationships, especially those which could lead to the production of little people, widely know to be among the most common causes of clutter. After settled into that happy trend, next become a workaholic, collect nothing but money (this is actually the only good advise here), and spend as little time as possible in your incredibly large house, with its very spacious closets and cabinets, that could house a shopping mall, should you choose to bring one home.

For those of us, however, who like relationships, leisure time, collecting things, and tend to the occasional mood of being homebodies in our considerably smaller homes, here are some tips on how to avoid the pile-ups that will and do occur in a well-led life.

Discriminate:

Truly, the best advice is to be picky. Clutter can't pile up if you don't bring it home. Starting a habit of actually considering every item before you bring it into the house is the number one way to avoid clutter. You can train yourself to objectively consider some questions:
Do I need this?
Can I find a place for this?
Will I use it often enough, or should I consider borrowing a like item instead?

Every item takes up your real estate in your home. If you are only going to occasionally use an item, ask yourself if it is wise to give it some of your prime living space. Often, learning discretionary habits about what we allow to occupy our space is really all that is needed to avoid clutter.

Everything in its place:

Those things that do make it past the "do I need it test" need somewhere to belong. A good place to start is with the phrase that rolls so easily off Grandmas tongue, yet many of us just don't get how to put it into practice. "A place for everything, and everything in its place".

Just how does that work? Basically, papers belong with papers, pans belong with pans, books belong with books, and food belongs with food, and so on.

To the untrained eye, one may look around and not see a space to dedicate to, say, mixing bowls. Be creative. If a pantry has to house both food and cooking implements, designate which area belongs to which item.

The object is to create your own system that avoids the appearance of a free-for-all behind the pantry door, and the subsequent overwhelmed feelings.

Contain the clutter:

Once everything has a place to belong, each room should have a "figure it out latter" spot for those wonderful items that work their way into our lives without a home. Training ourselves to only allow those items to squat in temporary housing in one particular area of the room keeps clutter contained.

The key to remember here is that, like squatters in the pioneer days, if something squats there long enough it will obtain ownership of the land. Avoid this by developing your own system for how often these areas need to be addressed.

A good rule of thumb is to never let the pile up get beyond what could easily be tucked into the most readily available box and stored out of sight in the amount of time between when the relative that lives closest to you calls and when they arrive, or about 15 min.

We all want to live lives, not clean house and deal with clutter. Concentrating on a few good habits can open the doors to lives focused on relationships and joy, not what to do with all this stuff.

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