Keep the Clutter from Returning: Five (Mostly) Easy Ways
You’ve decluttered, donated, and done away with old, outdated stuff. Your home glistens with dewy simplicity and you put your feet up to bask in the glow. Two weeks later, you’re tossing around junk mail, desperately searching for the car keys you know are buried under the mail, the laundry… well, something. What happened?
Decluttering is one thing, keeping your home clutter-free is another issue entirely. Since the rewards aren’t so easily observed, it can be hard to keep up. Here’s a few ways to help you keep the clutter from building up.
1. When you complete a decluttering overhaul, leave empty spaces. If you clean your closet so that all of your clothes fit just perfectly, the first new item you add in turns the whole thing back to a crowded mess. This is true of media storage, filing systems, pantries and closets. When you clean out, leave lots of empty space. If that space never gets filled, no sweat.
2. Make an appointment for maintenance. “Tomorrow” always sounds like a better day to clean, so take away the temptation of procrastination and make a standing appointment. Biweekly is what has worked for me, but you’ll need to figure out what fits your needs. Make your decluttering routine fun with music, audiobooks, or tiaras (whatever it takes to get you motivated).
3. Take away clutter magnets. If there’s an empty surface, a 76.8 percent chance exists that it will get covered up in something. While decorative tables may be cute, they’re bonafide clutter magnets. If you can’t resist setting your stuff down on the nearest surface, take away the temptation. Remove the table or surface, or make it unusable.
4. Create systems for incoming items. Mail, tchotsckes, and ridiculous amounts of paperwork find insidious ways to creep into our homes. Cut off the flow by creating a system for dealing with it. Some gurus say that you should handle it all immediately, whether that means shredding the mail or filing paperwork. In reality, there are usually more pressing things to do when you walk in the door. So create a system and use it daily. This can mean either a standard drop-off place for “stuff,” or a time when you take care of your daily detritus. Sticking with the everyday keep-up can be dull, but it’s worth it.
5. Find a middle ground. Having a pair of shoes sitting out does not make your home cluttered. Neither does a stray toy or birthday card. Stop looking at ads and decorating magazines as the gold standard. Due to the simple fact that you live there, some items will be out or in use everyday. Stop thinking of these things are clutter; they’re just a part of your life. You can either accept that and move on, or drive yourself crazy. I’m not convinced there’s much room in the middle.
What are your tips? And what’s your middle ground? Toss yourself into the comments and and your take to the idea of maintenance and clutter!
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This post has 23 comments
September 15th, 2008
The kitchen counter is the one area that gets me. As in, I want to see it uncluttered. And, “things” always end up there - mail, kids homework, fruit, a stray cup, candy, birthday cards, etc. I just go through it once a week and purge. In making that a habit, everyone knows that if it’s important, they might not want to leave it there - or it could disappear. I follow a strategy of if I’m not sure, I just use my best judgment. And sometimes that’s wrong. It’s pretty good now. The pile is smaller, and it’s usually stuff that doesn’t matter. It’s never going to disappear (we live there, and the kitchen might be the most used room in the house). Our bedroom, on the other hand, is my wife’s domain - and she’s the strict one there. Together, we make a pretty good team!
September 15th, 2008
Like Lance our kitchen counter gets cluttered. My husband has what he calls “man drawer” there, but stuff still ends up on top. The kitchen table is another space that tends to pile up. When walking into my house these are the first two surfaces available.
That said I totally agree with 1 and 3 - I love empty spaces and just because there is a table in the room doesn’t mean it has to hold something. Clean space helps me think more effectively.
We started using baskets - for shoes, magazines and “stuff”. The baskets are decorative and I know where to find things when I need them. They aren’t all visible, but they work!
September 15th, 2008
I know this is a luxury, but I schedule a personal organizer to visit my house on (at least) a quarterly basis. This keeps in check.
September 15th, 2008
Great tips, i find my apartment gets messy every few days after I clean it. i guess the best tip is to always stay on top of it all.
September 15th, 2008
I just completely gutted very cupboard in the kitchen (so I could add my stuff to the Lion’s stuff), decluttered, and re-organized. And interestingly, I left space, just as you suggest. I told the Lion the rule is no piling. There’s room for growth, so if he starts piling stuff willy-nilly we clearly need to have a look again as to what we do and do not need.
Interesting that you mention shoes in the hall…this drives me nuts as they start to creep across the foyer, but you are right. It’s part of life. When I am sweeping, or a I know company is coming, a corral them all. Otherwise, you are right, I need to let it go.
September 15th, 2008
I just wonder why my house can’t look like the picture that you have with this article. hahaha
September 15th, 2008
How about: not buying more stuff. Once the clutter is cleared, avoid replacing the clutter.
This takes discipline, but the results of buying less increases the size of your wallet. 
September 15th, 2008
We have too many clutter magnets. Its not clutter that can be or will be gotten rid of (things we do use!) they just don’t get put away. I made a goal to keep the dining room table clear, but since that is our only table (aside from our office desks) and large surface in the house it’s a magnet. Magnet for mail, leftover bags from the store, pens, notepads from when we sit and conference, etc.
Its not about buying or not buying. This is stuff that we need and use (and the last thing we got for the house was towells and that was months and months ago). Its just a matter of us being more aware of the fact that it doesn’t always need to lay around.
September 15th, 2008
My clutter magnets are flat surfaces. I love to keep things out so I can notice it later. I need to learn to deal with the information that I have in my hand then file it or put it away.
September 15th, 2008
i really like the idea of just getting rid of decorative tables . we have one that we use as a buffet when we have company. when we don’t have company, it’s just covered in junk. i’m going to put a big plant on it. we ‘ll have to find somewhere else to put the mail.
September 15th, 2008
I’ve had to take away flat surfaces because that’s where the piles start. It’s so frustrating! I’ve come a very long way and made tremendous strides since June; yet realize there’s more to do. I’m working on it!
Thanks for all of your ideas and helpful hints.
September 15th, 2008
I completely agree with #4: my best tip is to make decluttering part of daily life. Every day, as I walk through my house, I look around, making sure everything is clean, clutter free and airy. Anything unnecessary goes to the donation/ recycling/ garbage pile right away.
September 15th, 2008
Lance: Oh, I hear you! The kitchen counter was a crap depository in our house and it drove me nuts! Keys, mail, various unidentifiable crap… I finally brought an unused dresser down to the family room and designated a couple of drawers to stash that stuff. It’s worked for us, but just chucking stuff is probably a better long-term solution.
Stacey: “The man drawer”–I love it. The table’s another killer! I like the basket idea; sometimes containing stuff is as good as organizing it.
Stacey: Sounds wonderful!
Glen: That’s the sucky part. At some point, no trick or hack takes the place of basic maintenance.
Urban Panther: The shoes are a killer, aren’t they? Perhaps ridiculously gorgeous shoes are the answer!
Christa: Me, too! I consider pics like that inspiration, but I certainly don’t want anyone to feel obligated to live up to it (including me!).
Squawkfox: That’s one foolproof way!
Carla: Yeah, my clutter is everyday stuff, not necessarily new purchases. Mail, grocery receipts, dishes, blankets, shoes… And yep, the only solution for that stuff is to get really sick of it just laying around. (Well, for me at least!)
Karl: You’re not the only one! Maybe a tickler file would be a good middle ground for those things you want to notice later.
NeimanMarxist: A plant is a good solution! Takes up the magnetized surface, but is attractive and adds beauty to your home. Love it!
Reese: Thanks and congratulations on your successes so far!
Vered: You’re an inspiration! I get the feeling that you don’t complain about decluttering, since you enjoy the free and airy results.
September 16th, 2008
Good set of advice. I find maintenance very difficult to keep up, unfortunately.
I think I need a more systematic approach. And how I hate the dreaded junk mail.
September 16th, 2008
I really find it hard to keep clutter down. There is so much mail coming in everyday for instance. If I do not get to them, they start to pile up and get lost in a stack of paper, files, books and folders. I’ve got to admit I’m not a very organized person. I need someone like you (and your posts) for constant reminders to regularly clear my desk.
I like the idea of having less clutter. I don’t really much care for items for display or little knick knacks. My only issues are that I cannot stop all the letters coming in and I have a weakness for books. Despite having a habit of borrowing books from the library, there are just some books that I gotta have on hand!
September 16th, 2008
Sara, great post! I’m going to link to it when I post my Friday Declutter Challenge post
One thing that works for me is to make the clutter magnet look beautiful - e.g. a diningroom table with a beautiful table runner and vase of flowers is less likely to becaome a dumping ground because it looks gorgeous
Well, that works for me!
September 16th, 2008
I like to re-use gift bags and buy wrapping paper etc when it’s on sale after the holidays BUT it becomes a challenge to store it all. I’m luck to have basement space so recently I designated an old dresser for a gift wrapping station. I have it all organized according to type of wrap etc. It has 2 smaller drawers that aren’t much good for clothes, but perfect for tape & scissors, ribbons etc. I also bought a tall gift wrap container for holding rolls of wrap as they don’t fit in the dresser. It works well for me and I feel good about the organized space.
I do find it a challenge to declutter or main living areas. Especially with a small child who plays in the livingroom.
I like to make a list of what I’d like to accomplish around the house and tackle it one task at a time - crossing off the list feels good.
September 16th, 2008
Because we run a preschool on the bottom floor of our house, piles are part of the program. I look forward to this not being the case. I’m burned our on seeing so much stuff everywhere.
September 17th, 2008
Bamboo Forest: I get a lot of junk mail, too. Trashing immediately and creating a “shred” pile has worked reasonably well, but the constant flow is frustrating, right?
Evelyn: I so understand the booklust! I also like to have books around. At this point, I’m just focusing on keeping the ones I love, but moving the rest out once I read them instead of holding onto the entire collection indefinitely. Good luck in your organizing efforts!
Marcia: The Declutter Challenge sounds intriguing! I’m excited to read it.
Melaniesd: Your wrapping station sounds cool! I absolutely love old dressers; you can store everything in a reasonably organized way, and it all stays out of sight. Very cool solution, especially since it helps you to reuse items you already have on hand.
Writer Dad: I can only imagine the amount of Stuff it takes to run a preschool! And what an exhausting job! I can imagine that regular cleaning and maintenance does not makes it to the top of your to-do list in your free time.
September 20th, 2008
Nice post! When I organize clutter, I try doing it in a visually appealing way (colorful boxes I make from paper, etc.) so that I am more tempted to keep it organized than to let it morph back into clutter.
September 22nd, 2008
Lori Ann: I agree. Beautiful aesthetics provide a built-in reward.
November 6th, 2008
One of the techniques I have is to do a swap-in-swap-out system. If I want something new, I have to find something of equal volume (or more) to swap out. That swapped out item can go to sold online, given to charity, given away or thrown out (in order of preference).
I think your idea of not having clutter magnets is a good one. I am now scanning the room for the surfaces I can get rid of. Then again, sometimes my problem is that I see the floor as storage space too. I promise I will be better
November 16th, 2008
Andy: Sorry that your comment slipped under my radar! I’ve always admired folks who could maintain an in-out system. And good luck with the floor! I’ve had to let some spots go, or else the stray shoes and cords would make me crazy!
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