50 Ways to Lose Your Clutter

Several years ago, I heard some great advice from a registered dietitian. She had a list of 50 ways to improve eating habits, and encouraged her clients to choose one or two new habits to implement per month. This was much less overwhelming, and ultimately more successful, than adopting a totally new dietary regimen overnight.

Here are 50 Ways to Lose Your Clutter:

  1. “Erase the Evidence” or in other words, clean up after yourself!
  2. Cancel any magazine subscriptions if you are more than 3 issues behind in your reading.
  3. Never buy something the first time you see it. Give yourself a 3 day waiting period.
  4. Set a limit for how much you will spend on non-essentials each month.
  5. Keep a donation bag in your closet and in your laundry area. Feed it regularly.
  6. Take all the stuff out of your kitchen, and put it in boxes in an adjacent room. Put things back in the kitchen as you use them. Seriously consider donating things that are still in the boxes after a month, or at least store them elsewhere.
  7. Clear off one small area that you use often (bathroom counter, desktop, kitchen table, etc.) and make sure it is clear before you go to bed every night. Clear off a new spot each week.
  8. Call the toll free number listed inside your catalogs to take yourself off their mailing lists.
  9. Put a trash can and recycling receptacle in every room where trash and recycling are generated, preferably located along the exit path out of the room.
  10. Always take something with you to put away when you leave a room.
  11. Put a hamper wherever dirty laundry accumulates.
  12. Spend at least 5 minutes a day creating and then maintaining a mail management center.
  13. Take yourself off junk mail lists. A few clicks from these two sites and you’ll be well on your way: https://www.optoutprescreen.com, and https://www.dmachoice.org
  14. When you get the urge to go shopping, go for a walk instead.
  15. Clear a space of honor with a prominent location in your home and display some sentimental items that are currently stored away.
  16. Spend an hour a week (at least) using and enjoying your craft supplies. See how long you can go before you run out.
  17. Make your bed everyday.
  18. Take all the stuff out of your bathroom, and put it in boxes in an adjacent room. Put things back in the bathroom as you use them. Seriously consider discarding or donating things that are still in the boxes after a month.
  19. Spend 5 minutes every day putting things away.
  20. Spend 5 minutes every day gathering things to donate.
  21. Spend 5 minutes every day envisioning how your would like your home to look. Write descriptions and draw pictures. Include as many descriptive details as possible.
  22. Develop an awareness of how you spend your time. Use a timer and keep a log to record how long it takes you to complete any task.
  23. Spend the first 15 minutes of your day doing the task you dread the most or working on the project you’ve been avoiding, then revel in the fact that the worst part of your day is over!
  24. Remove one knick-knack per week from each display area. Put them away to rotate with the seasons or donate them. Don’t stop until you can’t get used to how bare things look, even after a full week.
  25. Fill a bag with trash every day as soon as you come home. Tell yourself that you’re not “home” until the trash is out the door.
  26. Establish a one in/one out rule. Make sure that you donate or discard one item for every new item you bring into your home.
  27. Raise your standards: If you don’t love something or use it regularly, don’t keep it in your home.
  28. Use an attractive container such as a wicker basket or linen-covered box to corral clutter that collects on your horizontal surfaces. Empty it when it gets full.
  29. Pack up 75% of your kids’ toys, and do an exchange every month or so. Notice how much better your kids play when they aren’t so overwhelmed by too many choices!
  30. Spend 5 minutes a day to choose 3 things you will accomplish the next day. Write them down wherever you will remember to look at them and then do them!
  31. Clean out your car while you pump gas. Most gas stations have trash bins right next to the pump.
  32. Create a launch pad/landing strip where you can place things that you need to take with you when you leave or put down when you come in.
  33. Choose one item of clothing or one pair of shoes to donate each week.
  34. Every time you’re tempted to purchase an item that you don’t really need, instead put the money into a fund to save for a pleasurable activity such as travel, tickets to the theater, a massage, etc.
  35. Put things away during the commercials.
  36. Take all the stuff out of your desk drawers, and put it in boxes in an adjacent room. Put things back in the drawers as you use them. Seriously consider discarding or donating things that are still in the boxes after a month.
  37. Spend 5 minutes a day, or 30 minutes a week purging old files.
  38. Find a clutter buddy and take turns spending an hour a week keeping each other company, either in person or on the phone, while you declutter.
  39. Choose one book per week to donate.
  40. Sign up for online bill pay.
  41. Discard expired medications. Check your local community resources for safe disposal guidelines.
  42. Create a household notebook to hold take-out menus, frequently called phone numbers, kids’ sports schedules, team rosters, invitations and tickets for upcoming events, etc.
  43. Host a monthly swap meet to exchange donation items with friends. Left-overs go to a local charity.
  44. Talk to at least one person each week about your efforts to reduce clutter.
  45. Take weekly pictures of your “clutter spots.”
  46. Gather all the items you are keeping that need repairs or work (such as shoes that need to be resoled or pictures waiting to be framed). Use masking tape and a marker to put an expiration date on each item. Schedule time to do the needed repairs, and if you haven’t followed through by the expiration date, donate the items.
  47. Spend 10 minutes a day to catch up on your reading.
  48. Forgive yourself for unwise purchases and don’t hold the items hostage, hoping they will make sense after another 5 years in your garage. Let them go and get on with your life.
  49. Establish a daily 10 minute family ritual during which everybody picks up after themselves at the same time every day.
  50. Choose one receptacle for your magazines, and purge when it gets full.