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Step 1
Try taking all accessories out of your rooms, dust them off, then add in only the ones that look the best. Collections of similar items look best all together, not scattered throughout your home. If you have a good quality accessory mixed up with cheap accessories, you devalue your quality piece. Not every surface needs to be covered with something.
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Step 2
Get rid of dusty fake plants, especially those above your kitchen cabinets. Fake plants can clutter your kitchen and cabinets often look best with nothing on top of them.
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Step 3
Find a place for your remote controls, cell phone chargers, etc. Whether it is a drawer in your coffee table or a decorative box, they should be out of sight when not in use. Many companies sell charging stations that allow you to have a centralized place to charge all of your hand held electronics and keep the clutter under control.
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Step 4
Simplify your mail routine by sorting mail immediately when it enters the house. Throw away junk mail and sort per person. Get a decorative storage basket to contain important mail to be addressed later. Create one location for newspaper to be read and another for old newspaper.
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Step 5
Get containers for under your sink. Sort your bathroom items and put similar items in labeled containers. For items used every day, consider putting them in one container that you take out of the cabinet each day and keep on your countertop while you are getting ready, then return underneath once finished. This will keep the countertop clutter under control.
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Step 6
Simplify your closet. Take all of your clothes out of your closet. Donate any clothes that you have not worn in a year. Put your good clothes back in the closet, hanging them on the rod backwards. When you wear an item, turn the hanger forwards. At the end of the year, donate the clothes on hangers that are still backwards.
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Step 7
There should be a boundary in your home where childrens' toys are and are not allowed. Perhaps they are only allowed in the playroom or only allowed upstairs. Go through your children's toys and donate those that have been outgrown. Throw away those that are damaged.
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Step 8
In the kitchen and bathroom, make sure your accessories are functional since you do not want to clutter your countertop. Consider clear glass jars and canisters to display usable items.
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Step 9
Take the children's artwork off the refrigerator. Consider hanging the best pieces in frames in their room, the bathroom, laundry room, or play room. Make the front of your refrigerator free of all clutter, magnets, and everything else. If you have to hang something on the refrigerator, try hanging it on the least visible side only.
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Step 10
You've heard this one before - "a place for everything and everything in its place". Some items that never seem to have a designated place are briefcases, purses, backpacks, lunch kits, wallets, and cell phones. Invest in storage units, built in shelving, bookshelves, and any other storage device that will help keep things organized. If you have tall ceilings, make sure you take advantage of storage opportunities in that extra space. Make sure everything is well labeled.
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Step 11
Take all of the photos you have collected in easel frames that are cluttering your furniture and put them in wall frames that coordinate. Use frames that are all the same color in different shapes and sizes. All black and white photos looks very sophisticated. Hang them on one wall as a collection. This technique is especially popular on a wall going up the stairs.
Comments
schristy said
on 11/5/2009 Just the article I needed, thank for the great ideals on how to uncutter your home 5* rec
artfulmama said
on 11/4/2009 Wow!!! Talk about detail!!! I have a small organizing/cleaning business.. and have written my own "Organizing" article.. but yours is excellent!!! Thank you so much for your tips!!
ryonslions said
on 9/8/2009 Very good article! Thanks!
999clubpres said
on 4/4/2009 Great tips....These go well with the article I wrote on how to unclutter your mind ,money and messes..