Banish Clutter Forever

If your home is really a huge mess, and choking with clutter, it may seem too overwhelming to clear. Moreover, if your space has become like that because you’re rushed off your feet, or because you’ve been ill and have very little energy, then it can also feel as if you’ll never have the time to do it.

The trouble with getting into this situation is that like many other things in life, it will tend to perpetuate itself and get worse over time. For instance, you know what happens if you let yourself put on too much weight… You feel more sluggish and less like exercising and then you put on even more. It doesn’t seem fair, but this is the way life works. Laziness or a bad decision today, seems to have to be redeemed with twice as much effort tomorrow.

If you really don’t have the time or energy to remedy things all in one go, or if it’s not even possible to do so, then there is a solution. The downside is that this method takes an awful lot of patience and steadfastness (something very much in short supply in this fast paced world). The upside is that if you can make this approach a habit in every area of you life and not just with your clutter, then you really will reap all sorts of incredible benefits.

The solution is this. Try to make things just a little bit better than when you found them. So with your clutter, if you’re using a very cluttered worktop, try to remove the rest of the unwanted items in that space when you’re finished and as you clear up so that it’s clearer for next time. If there’s debris next to your sofa, clear a little of it every time you sit down. Put things away so that they’re easy to access and to hand for the task you use them for. So when you’re making sandwiches for work, leave all the things you use together. Put the bread board with the butter by the fridge etc so that you have a little ‘workstation’ waiting for you next time you come to make sandwiches.

It works with life and with people too. Nipping a problem in the bud whether it’s you’re health or some straight talking with your partner or a friend, makes life much easier than the mess you have to clear up when things have got to crisis point. A stitch in time really does save nine.

If you can keep going with this, and be patient, then very slowly your home will start to be look better and become easier to use. And you won’t have had to find time to have a huge clear out. Better still it will be a habit that will keep your home tidy and clutter free on an ongoing basis.

Filed under: General organising by Sheila Chandra