Clutter 101: Types Of Clutter

April 23rd 2007

clutter tidy home Welcome to the third part of the Clutter 101 series on how to get your home thoroughly de-cluttered and keep it that way (you can read the first two parts, why we keep clutter and how to de-clutter, here and here). In this third post I will be looking at how clutter can be broken down into a number of different types and categories which help to give you an idea of how best to deal and process it. If you think I have missed out any types then leave a comment, it would be great to get feedback.

Trash
This sort of clutter is pretty simple to deal with. It’s rubbish, it can go straight into the bin. It includes stuff like old receipts, scraps of paper and sweet wrappers, and can go straight into the bin.

Reference
This includes stuff like bills and manuals which may or may not be useful in the future but you are obliged to keep them because they contain important and/or useful information. Create a filing system and store your reference material there. That way it takes up minimal room and allows for easy access in an organized manner.

Broken/Out Of Date
You’d think we would do something with an item when it breaks but it is surprising how often we just keep them lying around, perhaps for the day when we might actually get round to fixing it. Well, you are de-cluttering now so take that broken item to be fixed right away or get rid of it if you really have no intention of using it anymore.

Do the same with out of date items. By that I don’t mean stuff like food, I would hope you don’t need to be told to throw away your rotting vegetables. What I mean is, for instance, if you buy a DVD player, get rid of/sell on your old VHS player, don’t dump it in the cupboard where it will never get used.

Collectables/Antiques
If you have a collection of antique plates, old comic books, etc, find a good place to store them neatly, don’t dump them in with the rest of your clutter. If you have collectables for future investment, consider taking them in for valuation. Your intention is to sell them at some point so it makes sense to have some idea of the sort of values you may be expecting.

Nostalgia
With this sort of clutter you need to decide your own acceptable level for clearing out nostalgic items because it can be more personal to some than others which can override your normal decisions regarding clutter. I know people who refuse to even throw away birthday cards from years ago, while others get rid of any gifts that have not been used within 6 months.

Recyclable/Saleable
If you are getting rid of your clutter and it is not trash, it may sometimes be easier to recycle the items or sell them on if there is any value to it. Once I have read a book I will either sell it on Amazon if it has maintained its value or give it away to friends/family.

Undecided
With all the best intentions in the world to de-clutter our homes, sometimes we just can’t decide whether to get rid of something or not. There are two options for dealing with this. Firstly you can box away all these undecided items and revisit them a few months down the line, or you can treat the clutter as though you are going to be keeping it, store it appropriately and revisit it as you do your regular de-clutters.

Essential
For the sake of completeness I have included this as a clutter category. As the name suggests, this is the stuff we need and use on a regular basis and should be organized appropriately.

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