Keeping the Clutter Out: Maintaining Clutter-Free Spaces

Clutter is a problem in every home all across America. We LOVE to hang onto our junk. We move it from room to room, stuff it under our beds, heap it in the garage, leave it laying around ANYTHING but get RID of it, right?! We say, 'why bother, it will just accumulate again!'. Well, let's look at some ways to maintain our clutter-free spaces so it won't accumulate again...

~Decide What is Really Needed:
If you haven't used it in a year, you probably don't NEED it, and it's time to get rid of it. Use that space more wisely. Keep this in mind, and when you see that item in the store that you really THINK you need; ask yourself if you have a space for it. If you've gone to the trouble of de-cluttering, you probably aren't going to want to do that on a regular basis and will decide it's worth it to maintain.

~Put Things Back:
When you use something, don't just toss it on the floor and leave the room. Make it a rule of thumb to always return things to their original place before going on to the next thing. If you do this all the time, you will avoid the overwhelming task of doing it later when it has had time to accumulate!

~25 Pick Up:
If things HAVE accumulated, here's a trick to take care of the problem quickly and easily. Grab an empty laundry basket and take it with you from room to room, filling it with all the items that don't belong in that room. Then as you go from room to room replace the items that belong in that particular room and continue on to the next room until your laundry basket is empty. Again, if you do this on a regular basis, you won't accumulate large amounts of items that tend to overwhelm you and make you give it up.

**The Biggest key to remember when maintaining a clutter-free space, is to keep on top of it or you will get snowed under!

For other articles concerning this subject visit Joy Ever After and Borrowed Time Blogging for their expert opinions.