by Lyn Dee

Created on: August 10, 2009   Last Updated: October 01, 2011

A place for everything and everything in its place. If you obey this one rule your home will always be clutter free.

 It sounds simple enough, but we all know that a perfectly tidy home is rarely seen outside of a glossy magazine. For most people, replacing every item in its designated place the moment it is no longer being used is rarely practical. In real life one or two things are left on the nearest available surface and before you can say, 'Abracadabra' they have magically grown into a mountain of clutter.

 A more achievable aim is to find a comfortable compromise between absolute order and complete chaos. Here are some tips to help you find that balance:

 Throw away all rubbish – immediately. Keep a small waste bin in each room.  When you use up the last of the shampoo don’t put the empty bottle back on the shelf – drop it in the bin. When you open your mail, save important letters but discard the envelopes and unwanted junk mail. It is then a quick and easy task to empty all the bins at regular intervals and take the rubbish out of the house.

 You can’t tidy things away if you’ve nowhere else to put them, so choose storage systems that best suit your needs.  If you have hundreds of books but only one small bookshelf, or you love to collect shoes but don’t possess a single shoe rack, it’s time to add the right storage options to your living space. Open shelves, closed cabinets, stacking boxes, custom built cupboards and drawer units, even a simple row of hooks, all have their uses. The only Golden Rule is to have more than you think you’ll need.

 Have regular de-cluttering sessions. Tackle one room at a time and sort everything into categories. Items you no longer need but which might be useful or desirable to someone else can be given away or perhaps sold. (But anything in this category that hasn’t found a new home within a short time should be added to the rubbish.) Things you want to keep but don’t use very often can be packed into boxes and kept in your more inaccessible storage places such as the loft if you have one, or at the backs of cupboards. Items you use frequently should be allocated a convenient home where you will be able to find them quickly and easily.

 If you share your home with others let it be known that each person is responsible for his or her own belongings and clutter. Get a ‘lost and found’ storage container such as a basket or box for each person and keep these in a communal place. When an object is found in an inappropriate place it should be placed in the owner’s container to await collection. If you have a problem with people who neglect to ‘find’ their property you could try putting a time limit on it. For example, anything not reclaimed within a week can be disposed of. You can interest children in this project by allowing them to choose a plastic box in their favourite colour or to decorate a cardboard box with their name.

 Finally, adopt a new motto: A place for most things and nearly everything in its place.

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