Simple: 30 Ways to Declutter Your Life (4 page)

Declutter Tip #12: Dump the scrunchies.

No one wears scrunchies anymore. If you have a drawer full of scrunchies, hair ribbons, hair bands, and hairspray that you haven't used in years, throw them out. Don't try to donate old hair products. Even hair care products are considered a very personal item. Due to lice and other concerns, never donate old hair items. Just toss them out.

If you have a lot of hair decor items that you want to use, you need to organize them in a way that makes sense for your own use. You could put them all in a drawer or purchase a miniature set of drawers from Target. You could use a canning jar or bowl to keep them on the countertop. You could even get a small shelf to keep your hair products on.

When you're going through your hair items, simply ask yourself "How long has it been since I used this?" and "Would I feel comfortable wearing this item in public?" That will help make your decision a little bit easier.

Declutter Tip #13: Keep medicine somewhere else.

My bathroom has a medicine cabinet. It's so tiny that the only thing I can really keep in there is bandages. This is fine for me since I don't like to keep my medicine in the bathroom, but I realized that even if I wanted to, there simply isn't enough room in most medicine cabinets to keep much besides a bottle of Tums and some Benedryl.

If you've got kids, keeping your medicine in the bathroom is a no-go. It's simply too easy for little hands to reach medicine cabinets and far too tempting for children to climb up on the counters. Additionally, trying to keep a medicine cabinet organized can be a huge challenge.

Skip the trouble.

Keep your medicine in your kitchen or another high, out-of-reach place. Remember that even if you don't have kids, you might have houseguests who do. It's best to keep pills in places where youngsters can't easily access them.

Not only will your house be safer, but you'll save yourself from the hassle of trying to keep bottles and boxes of medication organized in your tiny bathroom. Instead of trying to shove bottle after bottle in oddly-shaped medicine cabinets, consider keeping them in a basket in your kitchen. On top of the fridge is a great place for medication, but so is a top kitchen shelf.

Declutter Tip #14: Keep your counters clear.

Nothing makes a perfectly clean bathroom look cluttered more quickly than having a pile of hairbrushes on the counter. Even things like jars, drawers, and candles can quickly make your bathroom go from "clean" to "dirty." Consider cleaning off your counters to make your bathroom look more open, inviting, and user-friendly.

The biggest problem that many people have is that it seems like a great idea to keep frequently-used items within arm's reach. While this can make your day-to-day prep a little simpler, ask yourself if it's really
that
difficult to pull your things out of a drawer before you use them? Is it really terribly hard to put your things back under your sink after you put on your makeup?

Baskets, drawers, and jars can all fit neatly beneath your sink. Keeping your countertops clear will make your bathroom stay neater, look nicer, and give your guests plenty of space for hand-washing and prepping when they're visiting you.

Declutter Tip #15: Save room in your drawers for toothbrushes.

I spent the night at my friend's house when I was 10. It was my first slumber party and I was excited. I had high hopes for the event and everything was going well until I had to use the bathroom.

As I flushed the toilet, I heard the pitter-patter of my friend's sister's feet.

"Mom!" She yelled out, "Beth flushed the toilet without closing the lid first!"

Her mother sat me down to have a lengthy discussion about how you should always close the lid to the toilet before you flush it. Otherwise, you're essentially spraying the contents of the toilet bowl all over your toothbrushes.

Gross, I know.

A simpler solution than standing guard over each of your guests is to simply keep your toothbrushes in your bathroom drawer. Your top drawer should be the place where toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss go. Don't keep anything else in this drawer and avoid the temptation to
just
put a hairbrush in. Your top drawer will keep your toothbrushes from unwanted germs, but it will also keep your countertops from becoming cluttered with personal care products or covered in toothpaste spills.

Not everyone has a home office, but many families do. If you don't have an office, the tips in this chapter can apply to any area of your home that has a desk or bookshelves. If you do have an office, this chapter is designed to help you clear up any problem areas you have in this part of your house.

At my husband's last duty station, we lived in a 3-bedroom townhouse. I've mentioned this before.

What I haven't mentioned is that we had an extra room that wasn't really considered a bedroom because there was no closet. Some families on our street used this spare room as an office. Some used it for storage.

Others, like me, used it for books.

And I had a
lot
of books.

In fact, I used the excuse of "Well, I'm a writer" to hoard over 3,000 books.

No, that's not a typo.

After our move, I decided that it was time to pare back my collection and start creating a space that was more conducive to writing, studying, and working in general.

For me, letting go of some of my books brought me incredible freedom, a clean work area, and a tidy room that didn't feel cluttered or cramped.

No matter what your own office area might look like, it's important to make an effort to downsize and declutter. This will free up space so that you can actually work on the things you want to work on, but it will also bring you a sense of peace and calmness.

You won't be stressing out as you try to find a pen. You won't be fighting feelings of anxiousness as you try to find a paper you misplaced. Instead, you'll be able to walk into your office, know where each of your belongings is, and sit down to do your work.

Or, you know, play on Facebook in peace.

Declutter Tip #16: Use your bookshelves for books - not for clutter.

I love books. I really, really do. Although I did pare down my book collection, I still have a few hundred books in my house. Because of this, I have to have several bookshelves to keep them organized and in place. While bookshelves can look very nice and offer a wonderful way to keep your books together, shelving can also become an organizational hazard.

In many homes, bookshelves simply become a place to shove clutter. After all, it's easy to walk into your office and drop your books on top of the shelf. It's simple to put your push on top of your bookshelf. It's even easy to drop papers, keys, and hats on top of your shelves.

Unfortunately, these habits cause continual clutter.

Another habit that could cause you trouble is trying to decorate your bookshelf with knick-knacks. This, too, can lead to increased clutter. Most of the time, little items don't actually make your room look nicer.

While this style of decorating might look fantastic in the magazines, most homeowners find it much too easy to add more and more items to the shelves. Save yourself some trouble and use bookshelves only for books. Remember this: you don't have to put something on top of your bookshelf just because it's a flat surface.

Declutter Tip #17: Label everything

When it comes to running a clean, organized office or study area, take advantage of your permanent markers and label everything that you can. This includes folders, binders, boxes, and tubs. If you have something that
holds
items, put a label on it.

The reason that labeling works is simple: it keeps each item in its proper place.

Some people like to use label makers to create top-notch labels for their boxes or binders, but the truth is that a 3x5 card, a permanent marker, and some tape can be just as effective. (If you do have a label maker, by all means - use it! You just don't need to go buy one to get organized.)

Once you label a box or container, make sure that you avoid the temptation to shove other items in it. For example, don't stick your tacks in a box with your pencils. Create a special box for your tacks or place them in a plastic bag and pin it to your bulletin board.

Declutter Tip #18: Organize your drawers

Just as you should banish your junk drawer in your kitchen (we'll get to that shortly), you need to make sure that your drawers in your office are organized. Drawers can be incredibly useful when it comes to neatly storing your stapler, paper, pens, and other office supplies, but it's also very easy to start shoving random things in your drawers simply because you don't feel like putting them away.

One simple way to start organizing your drawers is to first assign each drawer a purpose. One drawer can hold writing utensils. One could hold paper. Another drawer could be for storing files. Then make sure that you only use your drawers for their specific purposes. Toss extra papers, phone numbers, random receipts, and other things you've stored unnecessarily.

When it comes to your drawers, sometimes small plastic kitchen containers (such as Gladware or Tupperware) can make fantastic drawer organizers. You can also use an ice cube tray if you don't want to spend the cash on new plastic containers.

Declutter Tip #19: Create a storage system

If you spend a lot of time in your office, it's probably going to be impossible to go completely minimalist in this room. After all, you might have manuscripts to read, letters to mail, or books to sort through.

While you won't be able to downsize this room completely, you can implement a storage system that will help you to stay on top of your tasks.

Some possible options include:

*a shelf with fabric boxes

*a shelf with clear bins

*binders

*portfolios

*filing cabinet

In the end, the type of filing system you implement doesn't matter. What matters is that you come up with solutions that fit in your room, that you can stick with, and that look nice to you. You can always check out Craig's List for free furniture or shop at a store like Ikea, Wal-Mart, or Target for more options.

Personally, I use a combination of binders and portfolios to keep track of letters and documents.

Additionally, a set of clear plastic bins (labeled, of course) hold other office supplies, medical records, and important files that I need to have quick, easy access to. I keep these on a bookshelf. Everything looks neat, organized, and it's within arm's reach. Remember that keeping things available to yourself is important. If you store things away in a closet, you're going to be in trouble when you need to quickly access something. Try to keep as many documents and files close to your workstation as you can. This will prevent you from having to search through boxes and closets to access the things that you need to.

Declutter Tip #20: Don't let your email become your demise

Not all office clutter is physical.

If you let them, your email accounts can quickly cause you stress and anxiety.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can easily sort through your email clutter to make sure that your virtual "junk" doesn't overwhelm your everyday life.

First off, don't open emails until you're ready to deal with them. If you open an email and plan to respond at a later time, chances are that you won't. Keep your emails new and unread until you're willing to either delete or reply to the message.

Next, always delete junk mail or unwanted emails. Don't save messages just in case you want to read them later. This is a fast way to end up with 300 messages in your inbox. Also make sure that you use the handy little "unsubscribe" button when you get on a mailing list that you don't read. It's easier to prevent junk messages from landing in your inbox than to sort through them at a later time.

Finally, consider using an alternate email address when you sign up for mailers. This will save you the hassle of having to deal with junk mail in the first place. While you might already have a personal or work email account, having an additional account can be beneficial when it comes to saving your inbox.

If you absolutely cannot get on top of your email accounts, give yourself 15 minutes each day to tackle your email. Check your messages, respond to your email, and sort things into the appropriate folders.

Set a timer and don't stop going through your messages until the timer beeps or you're finished, whichever comes first.