If you have a serious problem with clutter, how will you deal with it?
Question:the clutter is so bad it is impossible to be tidy, and yet the things are too important to throw out... what advice would you have?
Answers:
Some times you just have to be ruthless. Get rid of the clutter and make way for new stuff.
go here:
www.flylady.net
It will fix all your clutter problems!
Get someone else in to help you declutter. Have a yard sale. They are always fun, and you make money!
Good Luck
dont buy anything else and keep cleaning
You'll feel alot better giving the clutter to people rather than throwing it out. Just make sure they want it though. :)
Are the things REALLY too important to throw out? If you ask yourself "when was the last time I used this" and the answer is "never" or "rarely", or "last year", get rid of it!
If you have a basement or garage, I would put all your "non-essentials" into totes or boxes and put them away. Mark the totes so you know what's in them if you need to pull it out. Anything you haven't used in 6 mos. to a year would be a good way to start. Try parting with as much as you can. You'll be surprised how much you have that you really don't need. Donate or throw away anything you know you won't use again. :) Good luck!
Put it in a bag and move it to a new spot. I did that and found that two weeks rolled by andbefore I got to sort it out and most things we not really that important. I got a bank box that has cubby holes now, so I have a plce to file paperwork like this.
You don't say what kind of clutter! Find a way to get it organized and put in containers so it won't look so bad and so you can find what you need, when you need it. Try to get rid of other things that aren't as important. I love organizing things! (I'm not as good at keeping it that way though!) lol!
Boy, speaking of clutter... It's like you're reading my biography...
I've got such a ridiculous amount of clutter that it's really hard to deal with. Well, actually I've been getting a lot better. I've finally started to realize that I don't need it all. I realized that I was kind of putting my own "values" on things that I had that weren't really there and they were just things that I didn't need to value or keep around me. I would just see stuff and bring it home and deem those things as "valuable to me" or pile books upon books that I couldn't get rid of because they were so great that I might keep rereading them or...
I finally decided that I needed to simplify and just start eliminating things. It's been hard to get rid of a lot of things, but I've realized that a lot of the things I got rid of that I was going to really miss... I don't really remember what half of them are now. I also had 5 cars for no reason and started selling those off, trying to be honest about what clothes I would never wear and donating them, and just cleaning up. I've still got another 3 years or so before I feel "uncluttered" but it's a start! Hope you start uncluttering yourself!
A General rule is, if you haven't seen or used it in a year, you don't need it. Have a garage sale, give it to a charitable organization and write it off. Clutter is the sign of a great person, welcome to my world!
I go through the papers often that I keep and throw out lots, with clothes I go through them twice a yr.winter and summer and turf anything the needs mending or is stained or too worn, I hide much of my clutter in a spare bedroom and the junk drawer,but I try to keep ahead of most of it.most of what we think is so important really isn't
Hand grenade!!
Start at one corner of the room and decide on a small area, about a meter by a meter, and just focus on organizing that space. Only do one or two "spaces" a day so you won't get overwhelmed. Try to find a place for each item and designate a laundry basket, box, etc. for items that you don't yet know what to do with. If you find something that you CAN get rid of DO IT. Throw it away, give it away, sell it!
Time to get organized. As you get organized, work to cycle out the older stuff. I'm sure that in time, the importance of some of your things will diminish. When I find that clutter is a problem for me, it is usually because the old stuff needs to be cycled out and the cluttering stuff needs to be organized and put away into the new space I've created in the process. If it helps, get yourself some plastic bins with covers, label them if needed and put your things away. I also keep several groups of files. One is the immediate group that I need to access a few times/week. I limit myself to one nice (leather-covered), decorative file box. The next tier is stored further away (or put away somewhere) and those I need to access a few times/month. The final tier is stuff that is old but I can't part with -- those go into our storage room/basement and I rarely access them but, I am happy that I have them (I'm a recovering pack-rat!). If you have space, buy more 'storage' furniture where you can stow cluttering items. We don't have the type of space for more furniture, and I am constantly having to do the 'cycle-out' thing to maintain order in our house. Some people can throw things away easily -- not me! Good luck.
Check through all of your stuff to much sure there isn't any thing which you dont want and with any thing which you dont need out at hand to use but dont want to throw away put it in boxes and store them in a shed,garage or attic (somewhere safe out of the way) Then dont go and buy more things which will just clutter the place up again when buying things think to make sure that you realy need them.
Freecycle anything you definately no longer need or want. I agree with the person who said you need to be ruthless.
It might be an idea to perhaps get some advice about cupboard/storage space aswell.
my theory is there is a place for everything and everything in its place. If you havent used things for 6 months you are not likely to, so throw them away or go and do a car boot and make some money, I hate clutter, so if I havent got enough cupboard space for things I get rid
I used two methods, I swapped with neighbours and we through out things at the same time, or took them straight up to a charity shop.
Made a rule that nothing new would come into the house until I took something out.
devise a filing system and start cataloguing items letters etc into boxes or such like with lists on the front of same and then they can be stacked neatly away and then checked periodically and if no longer required disposed of.
I hired a skip for the day, then threw everything in and it was taken before i had a chance to change my mind. The stuff that I really wanted to keep was boxed and put in the loft. Try to be ruthless, I know it's hard lol
Have you heard of either a yard sale or the FREECYCLE.COM web site.. This is the neatest site. It is a place to advertise what you have to give away. They email back through the site and you select who you want to give it to. Set up a pick up time and date and give them your address. With the price of gas this is a great way to get rid of things for free.
If You are not an organizer, Google organizing techniques and get some help.
Things you have not worn or used in a year or two, put out for a charity or Freecycle or a yard sale. We usually make $300 to $600. a couple times a year having a yard sale and the rest we donate, one way or another.
We have a line I use with the grandchildren when cleaning up and it is Put same with same. This is to help them put their things in the same place with other things.
If you have family memorobilia, get rubbermaid containers and store those things in a safe clean location.
Anything you own that you have not used or worn in a year or two, BE BRAVE AND GET RID OF IT. I put things in Black plastic yard bags. If I cannot see into the bag I will not be tempted to get things back out of it.
I have a charity "Purple Heart" that picks up from my front porch every month. They call and schedule a pickup. So even if it is a small box, it is worth it to get one box or more out of my house each month .
Only keep three years of paperwork, like bills. If you have excessive books, libraries will sometimes take books and ours takes puzzles and magazines. Recycle your newspapers, cans, bottles, plastics, styrofoam.
I wish I lived near you, I love to organize things. I would be glad to help. I hope some of my suggestions are helpful.
Good Luck.
i hate clutter, if you have used it within the last month then its not clutter. if however you can not remember the last time it was required, it now clutter, re home it, give it away, throw it away, do anything with it, but get rid now.
works for me
More Related Questions & Answers...