Recently I was asked how to maintain that blissful de-cluttered state. She’d followed this blog, checked out Unclutterer and Zen Habits and read numerous books, and she was happy with the way her house and workplace was. She was no longer losing entire days trying to tidy up, and her husband wasn’t constantly asking where everything was. Well, most of the time.

But de-cluttering is only half of the challenge. Keeping it that way and staying organized is a whole different matter and she sometimes struggled with it. So, I looked at how I was managing and realized I was doing the same three things each day in order to maintain a de-cluttered life. I hadn’t used a book full of tricks and tips for this, just three simple rules that I’d picked up.

I hope you’ll agree with me about these, but if you have your own set of golden de-cluttering rules, share them. I’d love to read your thoughts on this.

Do a little every day
Anybody who has let the dishes or the laundry pile up can attest to this one. Definitely doing a little every day is far, far better than trying to do a lot all in one go. You may come home from hard days in the office, tired and fed up, and of course you’d much rather crash on the sofa than face up to all the clutter that’s gathered since yesterday, but you’re just making it harder on yourself. Don’t leave things till the weekend!

There are many de-cluttering chores that won’t ever go away, so don’t worry about having an empty letter tray, having all of your clothes hung up, having every room clear of dust, etc. It’s a losing battle. Just focus on doing a little every day. All you have to do is clean a few dishes each day, wash and iron a small basket of clothes each day, file away some letters each day… Just stay on top of it!

A space for everything
It’s the oldest known de-cluttering tip in existence, dating right back to the Romans (well, maybe not), but unlike similarly old tales about broken mirrors and walking under ladders, this one is genuinely true!

Everything needs to have a designated space (different items can share the same space of course, hence the ‘messy drawer’). If not, these things get put anywhere and everywhere, often just because it’s easier. An important letter will get shoved in a drawer simply because it happens to be next to you when you open the mail and your drills and screwdrivers will find homes everywhere from the garage to the storage cupboard because you just leave them where you last used them.

This problem doubles and triples (I’ve done the maths) if other people are involved because they will make up their own ideas as to where things go. Offices and workplaces are a nightmare for this. Mail gets mixed up with all the other paperwork rather than going in one letter tray. Paper clips end up in a dozen people’s drawers rather than in the stationary cupboard. Have you got any other workplace stories of people not following this rule?

So it’s simple. Follow the oldest advice known to mankind (at least it feels that way). Find a space for everything and put everything in its space.

Clean up as you go
This to me personally, is the number one de-cluttering golden rule, riding triumphantly above everything else (ignoring the fact it’s actually the last rule I’m covering). In fact I think this rule is so important that it was orginally my intention to dedicate this entire post to it. Now that’s special.

This is a simple one really, but it makes the biggest difference. Having spent what feels like a lifetime dealing with people who snack on the sofa and subsequently leave the crisp packet on the floor to put away later, or open their mail in the hallway and leave the used envelopes in a pile on the table, it’s also seems to be one of the hardest to do.

It takes a little bit of effort there and then to put your pen away after writing a letter, or hanging your coat away after you come home, but it saves you soooooo much time later, and that’s what makes it valuable. Take an average week and think about all the little things you didn’t put away at the time. Then imagine having to do them all in one go on a Sunday and you’ll realize quite how effective this rule is.

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Over the past couple of years, I’ve had several people ask me how to de-clutter your home and life when your partner, kids, or whoever you happen to live with, don’t share your enthusiasm for this fine art. It’s a problem I too have had trouble with, but I’ve never been able to come up with an answer.

You could try nagging them into action to get your point across. In the short term it might get some results as the individuals involved tidy up just to make you shut up, but in the long term it will invariably lead to strained relations, a slap across the face and being told in no uncertain terms where to stick your f**king clutter.

So nagging is out of the question. If your partner isn’t going to play fair, how about you just do the de-cluttering for them? If they have a messy wardrobe with clothes everywhere, or they keep losing their pens and have to borrow yours, it indirectly effects you anyways. Except, if you tidy their wardrobe in the morning, they’ll come home in the afternoon and just continue to throw their clothes in the corner. You could tidy their desk but they’ll just scatter paperwork all over it again. And then they’ll bitch and moan that they can’t find anything anyway.

So, we’re running out of options here. What about reasoning with the person’s rational side? There is no denying a tidy, organized home and office has many benefits. More focus, a better work environment, the ability to find your keys in the morning. Who wouldn’t want to achieve that? Well, David Allen of GTD fame once said the only people interested in his system are those who are already productive and want to get more productive. And so it is with clutter.

If a person isn’t interested in getting organized and doesn’t care to de-clutter his home, I don’t think there is a lot you can do about it. Your best bet is to lead by example and then hope they become inspired (but don’t get your hopes up). The challenge is less how you get them to get organized and how you learn to cope with their messiness. My personal solution? I split my home in half (not literally). I tidy the living room, kitchen and hallway; my wife tidies the bathroom and bedrooms. It doesn’t resolve the de-cluttering issue (unused shampoo and soap in the bathroom is still piled high, the space under the bed is till jammed full of boxes) but at least we’re sharing the responsibility.

Maybe that’s the solution. Give your partner or your kids the responsibility of de-cluttering and organizing their own zones. What are your thoughts?

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It’s with this in mind that I felt I needed to expand on the topic. The occasional blog post simply wasn’t enough, however. The next logical step was an ebook. Today, I am making the results available and it is called Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life. For the first five days it will be exclusively available to RSS subscribers (check out the link at the bottom of the feed). You can subscribe now if you haven’t already. You will be able to check the book out via the site from Friday.

UPDATE: The book is now available.

Given that the whole issue of clutter is such a deep one and it was my first attempt at writing an ebook, I felt it unfair to charge for it when I will inevitably continue to expand and improve on it. So, yes, it’s completely free! It’s been an interesting experiment going from writing comparatively short articles on this blog, to trying to write something with much more depth. I hope you like the results. If you do enjoy the book and find it helpful, I would be grateful of any donation, however.

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The system revolves around one of my templates which can cover a monthly period or a weekly period, whichever approach works for you and your lifestyle. Currently I have all my rooms on one sheet but it becomes a little difficult to follow after a while so I may try having one room per sheet. On it I list every activity required in each room around the home, whether it be a surface that needs cleaning/dusting or a section that needs de-cluttering. Some examples include:

• Dust skirting boards
• Hoover carpet
• Wash floor
• De-clutter shelves
• Organize wardrobe
• Wash dishes
• Hoover under bed
• Clean windows

On the face of it, this approach does seem a little over the top (you can end up with quite an extensive list of activities). However, it allows you to go into each room knowing exactly what needs doing and it also helps in keeping track of what’s been done, when it was done and what hasn’t been done. For instance, by referring to the sheet you can tell when the last time you cleaned the bedroom carpet was or when you last de-cluttered the kitchen cupboards. Furthermore, it is a great motivational tool. I’ve found myself doing a lot more around the house, simply because I want to tick more items off on my chart. The key part of being de-cluttered is that you stay on top of what comes into your home so any approach that encourages you to do this regularly can only be a good thing.

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Firstly concentrate on the main rooms your visitors will go to, typically the living room, kitchen, hallway and bathroom (though if you have a special friend coming over you may need to concentrate on the bedroom too ;) ). Keep the doors closed on all the other rooms, you don’t have to give people the grand tour.

The hallway gives the first and last impressions of your home so put away the shopping bags, hang up your coats and manage your landing strip. If the hallway is not tidy then it doesn’t matter about the rest of your home, the impression has been made on your visitors.

Clutter is less of a concern in the kitchen and bathroom so focus on cleaning them first. Unless you will be eating with your visitors you don’t have to let them see too much of your kitchen, it is one of the busiest rooms in an home, so people expect it to be “lived in.” The most time consuming task to do in a kitchen will likely be dirty dishes if you have lots of them. You don’t want to rush and not clean them properly so leave them in sink full of suds for later.

Don’t dump clutter in drawers, in cupboards or in typical cartoon style, under carpets. For all your good intentions, you most likely will not go pull it out again later to de-clutter it. Group the clutter together and place it neatly in one of those rooms you closed the doors on. That way it’s out of the way of your visitors but not stuffed away and off your radar.

Finally, it also helps to spray some fragrance or furniture polish before they arrive too. Nice smells are associated with clean, fresh homes, and like with a tidy hallway, leave a good initial impression. The same can be said for bright rooms, so open the curtains in daytime and turn the lights on when it’s dark. Don’t draw attention to, or feel the need to apologize for any clutter you may leave lying around.

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The common theme with those items is that we take them with us wherever we go and short us of us being mugged or losing them on our travels, when we come home we get them back out of our pockets and our bags. Unfortunately, without a defined place for them, we’ll often leave them lying round the home just begging to be lost and forgotten about the next time we have to rush out of the door.

The answer to this dilemma is to have a landing strip in your home. This isn’t a place for airplanes to land, but rather it’s that immediate space you come to as you enter your house where you can feasibly drop your baggage. Though typically this is your hallway, it can be whatever room you pass through as you enter/leave your home. The nearer to the door the better though.

So what makes up the landing strip? As a bare minimum you want a bowl, box or similar storage item so that whenever you come home, you can empty your pockets of keys, phones, wallets, loose coins, etc. into it. That way you have a designated place for those sorts of items so that when you then leave your house you will know exactly where your door keys are, for instance. No more searching through pockets and behind the settee when you’re running late for work!

Depending on how you deal with mail, the next feature to have in your landing strip is a letter-tray or basket to collect incoming and outgoing mail (it’s good if the tool allows for you to seperate the two). Whenever mail comes through your letterbox you can put it in your letter-tray so that you have one localized place to view it all. The same goes for outgoing mail. As part of your checks for “taking off” you can collect outgoing mail along with your keys and wallet all from one area (you can also leave DVD rentals that need returning, books you want to share with friends, etc. in this section too).

The next tool you need as part of a complete landing strip is a cork board or at least something to pin up notes, receipts, vouchers, invitations, etc. For instance, rather than having a voucher stuffed in your pocket where it gets forgotten about and runs out of date, you can be reminded of it whenever you leave the house.

You may also want to consider hooks for coats, bags and umbrellas so that if you see the weather is bad you can reach for the right coat without digging through your wardrobe. And whenever you come back home you can immediately hook it back up rather than throwing it on the floor, hanging on the back of a chair, etc.

Whatever setup you have however, remember to de-clutter it on a regular basis just  like everything else. Get rid of out-of-date vouchers from the cork board, collect together the loose change from the bowl and throw away spam mail from the letter-tray. The landing strip is a de-cluttering zone just any other room.

Finally, I have one small warning. The landing strip is not only the first place you will go to when you come home, it could also potentially be the first place unwanted visitors will go to too, so consider the security of your home before leaving wads of cash and spare car keys in your landing strip. Try looking through your letterbox to see what a burgler might see. If he could see into that bowl with your wallet and car keys in and even reach to it,  then move it somewhere higher!

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Welcome to the latest post in of my popular series taking the Clutter 101 principles of organizing and de-cluttering your home and applying them to individual rooms in your home. In this post I will cover the kitchen. Because this is where we cook, make meals and in many occasions sit down to eat, it’s typically the busiest room in the house. All the food and dirty dishes means it needs to be regularly cleaned and maintained too. With all this in mind it is important that we don’t get distracted by unnecessary clutter. In this guide I will discuss ideas on how to keep your kitchen organized.

Drawers & cupboards
Look at all your drawers and cupboards. Are you making the most of that space? Just because it’s in the kitchen it doesn’t mean it has to be reserved for plates, cutlery, pans and food. Space is space, regardless of what room it’s in. Given the amount of drawer space the average kitchen has nowadays, if they are all taken up with kitchen supplies and utensils, that’s a big waste.

Cutlery and utensils
Get what you need and no more. If you live on your own and you have twelve wooden spoons, it’s safe to assume you have too many. Unless you have exceptional circumstances, cutlery should typically fit in one drawer, with an optional utensil jar (or similar) for storing larger items, like those wooden spoons, spatulas, etc. Buy a cutlery tray and put it in your drawer to keep everything organized. After all, you don’t want to waste time digging around for a knife and fork when you’re cooking your dinner.

Fridge/freezer
Defrost your fridge/freezer regularly otherwise the ice builds up inside which takes up a lot of space that could otherwise be used for food. It also means that when you finally do defrost it, it will take twice as long. Do small and regular defrosting sessions and you’ll save time and effort in the long run.

Also, as much as possible group food products together and use the specialist storage areas that usually come with fridges, such as fruit/veg trays and cheese boxes to keep it all organized. This allows easy access to your food which makes it easier when cooking and preparing meals, and it means you know exactly what you’ve got, so no more rotten food left forgotten about at the back of the fridge.

Kitchen counter
Be sure to keep the counter as clear as possible. It is an area that needs regular cleaning and is your primary work/cooking space. Because it’s often such a large space, it can surprising how often it gets used a communal dumping ground by people, leaving their keys, homework, coats, etc. on it.

The more clutter you have on the counter the more awkward you will make things for yourself. Don’t add to the situation worse by having all sorts of kitchen items stored on it. If you are lacking in space on the counter consider getting wall attached storage like spice racks and pan hooks to help clear it. It may not be attractive but it is more efficient than on the kitchen counter.

Under the sink
This is typically the home of the cleaning products. Cleaning products are one of the things that are regularly on special offer at supermarkets so it can be tempting to stock up. But do you have the space? Do you really need three spare boxes of detergent on hand taking up all that room? Don’t worry about turning your back on a good deal, there’s bound to be others when you actually need them.

Get a basket or box and put all your scrubbing brushes and washing gloves in there so they don’t spread out all over your under-sink cupboard/storage. If you haven’t organized your cleaning chemicals before, take them all out and group them together. You might find you will have used two or more bottles of the same brand. Pour them into the one bottle to save more room and group the ones you regularly use (washing up liquid, fabric conditioner) near to the front in easy reach.

Create activity areas
Try and organize/store tools, cutlery and utensils near to the areas you are most likely to be working. For instance, I keep pans and tinned food in cupboards next to the oven and cutlery near to the counter space where I serve up food. Like having cleaning tools under the sink, you could also try and bring together utensils you use for specific tasks. If you bake a lot for example, you might want to keep the flour, baking powder, mixing bowl, etc. all in one place.

Get a bin
It’s probably obvious but most of the waste in your home will come from the kitchen so get as big a bin as you feel comfortable with that doesn’t mess up the aesthetics of the room. You don’t want to have to be taking out rubbish all the time because your small bin can’t hold all your waste.

Like this post? Read the ebook! Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-Cluttering Your Life is a vastly expanded and updated accompaniment to my popular Clutter 101 series, and has several new topics not included on the blog. What’s more, it’s free! For full information please view its dedicated page.

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Welcome to another post in my Clutter 101 series, and the second post focusing on dealing with individual rooms around the house. This time it is the turn of the bathoom. Most of the focus on this room typically revolves around keeping it hygienic and clean. It’s the one place in the home you can lock yourself away from the world and pamper yourself. But it can also be very hectic, with the morning rush to get the family ready for school and work being a common concern. With that in mind it’s doubly important to keep it organized and de-cluttered and that’s what I will cover in this post.

Get stuff off the floor
It’s still quite common to have toilet roll holders and towel rails that stand on the floor. This may be more flexible (though you probably wouldn’t want to move the toilet roll holder away from the toilet) but it also takes up a lot more space and look more cluttering than having the wall attached alternatives. In fact, the same goes for most forms of bathroom storage.  Having some type of shelving attached to the walls, especially if you lack any form of storage or cabinets under the sink/bath, is much better than having loose fitted units everywhere. Remember that bathrooms get wet. The less things on the floor the better.

Key forms of storage
After the bedroom, the bathroom is one of the main places you will regularly change your clothes. Having a hamper so that you can immediately dump clothes and used towels in it, rather than leaving them on the floor for later is a huge step forward. This is doubly important given how damp bathrooms can become (you don’t want to soak your favorite top just because you chucked in on the floor when you were taking a shower, for instance).

It’s also important to have a small bin in your bathroom to deal with empty toiletries, toilet rolls, tissues, etc. Having to walk out to the kitchen to throw away that used moisturizer when you’re in the middle of applying your makeup isn’t really something you want to be doing (and more often than not you just won’t do it and instead leave it lying around).

Finally, if you like to read in the bathroom (a pretty common practise it seems), have a small basket to keep books and magazines together or store them directly on those new wall-attached shelves you’ve just put up. Just leaving them on the floor is likely to mean they get damaged due to the damp (water and hardback books are a big no-no). Just remember to de-clutter the collection regularly.

Toiletries
This is the main are of focus in the bathroom. Shampoo, face wash, toothpaste, deodorant… all these toiletries can build up and take space without regular attention. However, rather like our clothes collection we can organize them more efficiently so they take up less room. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that generally women have more of an issue here, but that doesn’t mean men can’t take advantage of a little toiletry de-cluttering.

Like clothes you will no doubt have toiletries that you hardly use, if ever. Typically they are often free samples, gifts, brands you’ve tried and disliked, out of date bottles, etc. Bin them or give them to your friends. With what’s left over you can the apply the 80/20 rule. Generally speaking you use 20% of your toiletries 80% of the time. Put those items you use daily near to hand, by the sink and bath. Store away the rest that you only use on an occasional basis (monthly pampering sessions for instance) into a basket on one of your shelves or in a storage cabinet. But remember to process them all regularly! Circumstances change, items get replaced, new products come along…

Like this post? Read the ebook! Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-Cluttering Your Life is a vastly expanded and updated accompaniment to my popular Clutter 101 series, and has several new topics not included on the blog. What’s more, it’s free! For full information please view its dedicated page.

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This is the first in a number of posts where I will take all the learnings from previous Clutter 101 posts regarding de-cluttering and organizing and apply them to specific rooms in your home. Firstly, I will focus on the bedroom. With so much clothing and personal belongings often stored here it can be a hotbed of clutter and disorganization so I will give some specifict tips on how you can create more space and use existing storage more efficiently.

The bed itself
What better area to begin with in a bedroom than with the bed itself? The one piece of advice I suggest here is to purchase pull-over sheets rather than the standard type of sheets that have to be tucked under the mattress. It saves a lot of time and hassle when you change the sheets around and because they are smaller they take up less space when stored away.

Under the bed
Once you’ve got the bed in order, you want to focus on what’s underneath it. Some beds come with built in drawers and storage areas which is useful (if a little restrictive). However if like me the area under your bed is just dead space, turn it into something useful with a few storage boxes. With my double bed I can get at least eight boxes under it (four  along either side). Just make sure they are the type that have wheels so they can be easily pulled out. You don’t want to be struggling on your hands and knees trying to pull things out!

The wardrobe
Another significant area of the bedroom is the wardrobe. It’s time to organize your clothes! Clothes can essentially be broken down into three categories:

• Clothes you havn’t worn in a long term/ever
  You ever buy clothes and never wear them? Perhaps, you have a pair of trousers you last wore six months ago or maybe a shirt that is seriously out of fashion. Our taste in clothes constantly evolves so what you wore all the time a year ago you may not even look at twice anymore. Get rid of them. Give them to friends or a charity shop if necessary.
• Clothes that might just be useful
  There is always a place in your wardrobe for a neat pair of trousers and a smart pair of shoes even if you only ever wear baggy trousers and trainers. You probably won’t have many clothes in this category and you won’t wear them that often but when the occasion requires it (an interview or a fancy party for example), you’ll be glad you have them.
• Clothes we wear regularly
  People wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time. The rest of those clothes should fall into the previous two categories. With all that extra space you’ve created you can now organize your clothes properly. Group your shirts, trousers, skirts etc. together for easy access. Make the most of the clothes you genuinely like and wear often!

Bottom of wardrobe
Another overlooked area of the bedroom, like under the bed, is the bottom of the wardrobe. It’s more dead space and you should take advantage of it. Again, buy boxes for it (wheels should not so necessary in this instance) and put the space to use. I personally have a couple of canvas boxes for items like socks, ties, etc.

Have a laundry basket
If possible have a small laundry basket in your bedroom. As this room is one of the big places you regularly change you clothes it makes sense if you have a basket close to hand. By having it nearby you’re more likely to throw your clothes in there than simply tossing them onto the floor.

And the rest…
With whatever else you might keep in your bedroom you should go through the de-cluttering process as described in previous posts in the Clutter 101 series. Remember, if you follow this article you should create a lot of extra space and be more organized, so there should be no excuse for stuff spilling out of your drawers and clothes piled up in corners!

Like this post? Read the ebook! Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-Cluttering Your Life is a vastly expanded and updated accompaniment to my popular Clutter 101 series, and has several new topics not included on the blog. What’s more, it’s free! For full information please view its dedicated page.

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Surely there is a better option? Yes, I’ve decided to try using them as temporary storage. My partner’s suitcase is used to store the large collection of shoes she never wears but refuses to part with, as well as all her old teddy bears, while mine is used to store all the jumpers and thick coats we have that are no use during the Summer. This frees up the storage cupboard and wardrobes of clutter.

Ok, when I next go on holiday I will have to take them all out again, but if you are like me and are only likely to go on a big holiday with a suitcase once or twice a year, I wouldn’t consider that a big problem. After all, it’s only a five minute job to take everything out as you pack, and then put it all back in again when the holiday is over. You are going to be miles away getting sunburnt, so it doesn’t really matter if you pile the stuff up in a corner for a few days! What do you guys think?

Like this post? Read the ebook! Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-Cluttering Your Life is a vastly expanded and updated accompaniment to my popular Clutter 101 series, and has several new topics not included on the blog. What’s more, it’s free! For full information please view its dedicated page.

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