Clutter 101: How To De-Clutter

March 26th 2007

Welcome to the second part of my Clutter 101 series. In the introductory post I covered why we actually clutter and what thought processes go through our head to justify being so unorganized. In this post I will now look at the actual process of de-cluttering, whether it be a mini project to get back on top of it all, or whether it is the first time you are de-cluttering and you are going to be jumping in at the deep end. I will cover the preparatory work you can do so you don’t get overwhelmed by it all and then look at the physical process of disposing of your junk and organizing what remains.

Firstly, because you will be dealing with a large project it’s wise to break it down. Take one room at a time and within each room decide the key points that need to be organized. For instance, your bedroom will likely have wardrobes, drawers and the space under the bed itself to deal with. Take each of these sections, go through them fully and be sure to do all the sections in each room before moving onto the next one. De-cluttering usually means making more mess initially so it’s smarter to limit that mess to one room at a time.

You also want to make sure you don’t choose too long a timescale to complete your de-clutter as stuff will continue to come into your life whatever you do. By the time you complete one area, you may have to work on previous areas again because of any new possessions you will find yourself with (in an office, for instance, you will have to contend with a regular stream of mail). If your environment isn’t ready and organized enough to receive new stuff as it comes in then your de-clutter problem will not get resolved.

Finally, make sure you also have the right tools in place. Have large rubbish bags close by, have a sweeping brush, dust-cloths and any other washing tools you might think you will need; things will be dirty and dusty. If you are sat on the floor surrounded by boxes, papers and various other pieces of junk, the last thing you need to do is get back up, disrupting everything because you’ve run out of bags.

Now with all the preparatory work in place you can jump in. Don’t be cautious, pessimistic or afraid to make a mess of your rooms when you de-clutter. In fact relish being in at the deep end. Seeing those rubbish/recycle bags fill up is very satisfying. Remember, you are working on individual sections of each room so things won’t get overwhelming. Just remember to finish one section before moving onto the next. Take everything out of the area you are working on and start again, with a clean slate. Consider each item at a time and decide quickly what you intend to do with it. It’s almost a natural mental state to keep stuff so make the decision before that thought process takes over. However, if you’re honestly not sure whether you should keep it or not, just keep it. You will be able to re-evaluate it again in the future. Recap the reasons we keep clutter:

It was a gift/present
It’s expensive/it cost me a lot of money
I might be able to sell it on someday
It might come in useful one day
I would feel guilty throwing away so much stuff
I don’t have time
I can’t be bothered

If you don’t need it, bin it in those plastic bags you have handy, or put it in a separate pile for recycling/giving away. Otherwise return it back to where it came from neatly or put it in new places (having cleaned those areas first) if you have found new/more efficient areas to store things. De-cluttering isn’t just about the clutter, it’s about managing what’s left over more effectively and very often with a big de-cluttering exercise like this you will find that you have created so much extra space you can afford to rethink where you were originally storing everything. A prime example was how I was able to break down all the clutter in a chest of drawers to two drawers from five. I ultimately binned the chest and placed the two drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe. I created more space and used existing space more efficiently.

Remember to designate a place for everything and have everything in its place (though note that items can share the same space). Without this you will buy/receive something and then wonder where to put it. More often than not, you will end up dumping it somewhere and anywhere. It might not seem a big deal with the odd item but then you will do the same with the next item to come in and before you know it your home is a big dumping ground.

However, to avoid the temptation of taking things literally, buying dozens of storage boxes and naming each one with every possible item you own, create a specially defined miscellaneous drawer. Every kitchen seems to have one and usually fill up with batteries, spare keys and buttons. If an item doesn’t seem to fit anywhere, is too small or it’s simply not worth storing anywhere else place it there. Do not think of it as a dumping area however. In a de-clutter environment there is no such thing! Treat them like you would other areas and regularly work through them.

Any form of paperwork, such as magazines, newspapers and letters tend to be mostly what gets binned (all those receipts dumped at the bottom of pockets, the spam mail that comes through the letter boxes). If you think it could be interesting for a later date create a reference folder or filing system and store the bare minimum that you need (tear the page out of the magazine for instance). Though it’s useful to have such reference materials stored efficiently, in actuality we rarely refer to them so it makes sense to store the bare minimum. Nowadays, there is a small thing called the internet which you can refer to instead.

Bills and other financial papers are tricky and are worth a further look. There is no real consensus on how long you should hold onto them. Either way, you should have a well organized system for storing these too, rather like with reference material. That way they take up less space and they are more manageable. Nowadays a lot of companies offer online bills. If you want to cut down the amount of stuff that comes through your letter box or you want to limit how much you have to file away this can be a useful option. It’s important to note that anything financially tied to you or papers that contain your name, address and other personal information should be shredded or destroyed if you don’t need them. Shredders are very cheap and almost essential with all the fraud nowadays.

After all that effort stick with it! Remember the benefits of having a more relaxing environment where you can find everything, have more space and know exactly what you own. After you have de-cluttered and organized everything neatly, the first thing to go will be the neatness if you don’t stick with it. All it takes is one lazy afternoon where you just throw your clothes onto the floor, leave some letters on the table rather than filing them or knock over some toiletries in the bathroom and not pick them up. A drawer here, a box there, it all makes a big difference.

Remember, you’ve done the hard part. Any mini de-cluttering you do from now on will be easy. As you do your usual cleaning each day/week choose one of those individual areas and have a quick check for anything you can get rid of. And, as stuff comes in put it away neatly! View it as though you are optimizing your environment. How can you best manage the stuff you own so that there is less of it, it uses space better and it’s out of the way?