The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cutting clutter in your home
Bring order to your world with these simple solutions from Good Housekeeping.
What really causes clutter?
A one-time purge — or a binge on organizing supplies - won’t cure an overflow of objects. People need to break habits that lead to clutter. Any of these sound familiar?
Habit: Being afraid to let go of items (“I might need it later,” “My kids might want this someday” or similar fears).
How to deal: “Ask yourself, ‘What is the worst-case scenario if I get rid of this?’ and play that scenario out to its end. The answer usually is not that scary. In many cases, you can repurchase the item if it’s still needed,” said organization expert Lorie Marrero.
Habit: Not stepping up to tasks. “Family members walk right by something left out on the counter, but unless someone takes the initiative to make sure it gets cleared, it’s highly unlikely to happen,” she said.
How to deal: Assign clear responsibilities, communicate them and give consequences when they’re not accomplished.
Habit: Procrastination. This is the worst of the bunch, says Marrero. “I dare say that delaying decisions about where to put things — or waiting to put them there — is the cause of all clutter.”
How to deal: Being aware is the first step. “Then,” Marrero says, “if you hear yourself say, ‘I’ll just put it here for now,’ resist the urge.”
How to declutter
Different decluttering approaches work for different people and situations. Try organizing by:
■ Frequency of use: Place your most-used items in spots where they’re easiest to access. For instance, store weekday food staples on eye-level pantry shelves.
■ Color: From craft supplies to clothing, bedding and towel sets, and even produce, sometimes arranging things by hue is the only way to achieve at-a-glance recall.
■ Season: The key to managing seasonal clothing, outdoor gear and decorations? Group by time of use, label clearly and position for easy swapping.
■ Order or theme: By alphabetizing DVDs, storing tax returns in chronological order or shelving books according to genre, the organizing rubric is set.
If you find items you don’t want
Try one of these get-ridof-it options:
■ Sell it secondhand: National chains like Play It Again Sports, Plato’s Closet, Music Go Round, Buffalo Exchange and GameStop give you money — or store credit — for used sports gear, clothing, musical instruments and video games and equipment.
■ Sell it online: You can sell goods on amazon.com or ebay.com and ship them at the buyer’s expense; sell electronics to gazelle.com, which lists its purchase prices online; or advertise your used things on craigslist.org.
■ Host a yard sale: Pick a Saturday and advertise well in local media and with easyto-read, smartly placed signs. Mark prices ahead of time so you can focus on ringing up sales - but be willing to lower prices.
■ Donate it: To receive a charitable tax deduction for donated goods, check sites like goodwill.org and salvationarmyusa.org.
■ Toss it: If you hate to admit it, but your clutter is more like junk, find out your township’s rules and regulations for getting rid of it. Better yet, look online for appropriate recycling pickup services in your area.