How to UnClutter your living Space

Don't let clutter take over your home.

Everyday clutter doesn't just mess up your home's design, distracting viewers away from your furniture, paint and accent pieces. It also wastes time, forcing you to look for things you need in all the clutter. If you find that clutter has encroached upon your home's living spaces, several basic organization tips and strategies can help you tackle the mess in some of the commonly cluttered areas of your house.

Things You'll Need

• Drawer dividers
• Clear plastic storage bins
• Furniture with built-in storage
• Clothes hamper
• Shower caddy

Instructions

1. Throw all the stuff littering the top of your nightstand and dresser, such as lotion and tissues, into the furniture's drawers. Insert drawer dividers, available at most home supply stores and general retailers, to keep the content of the drawers organized so that you can easily find what you need when you're stumbling around in the dark. Your stubbed toes -- and sleeping bed partner -- will thank you.

2. Stash unused laundry and linens, such as your winter clothes during the summer season, under your bed. Fold them neatly into clear, plastic bins so you can see what's in the bin without having to open it. Drape a bed skirt around your bed; it doesn't just add flair and color to your bedroom, but also helps to hide your new storage space.

3. Clear our your kitchen cupboards. Empty everything in the cabinets onto your counters; then throw out anything that's expired or that's been open and not used up within the past six months. When putting back the goods, group companion items together. For example, keep canned goods with all the other canned items and all your cereal boxes together, too.

4. Switch out your traditional living room furniture for furniture that has built-in storage, such as ottomans that have a storage compartment inside. Keep rarely used living room items, such as extra sofa pillows or those antique accent pieces that you only bring out when company's over, hidden away in these storage spaces.

5. Install tall shelves and utilize all the vertical space in your living room, hallways and other spaces. These can dramatically expand your storage and organization options. Many homeowners use shelves that end at head height, wasting several feet of space between that area and the ceiling.

6. Pick up the dirty laundry and wet towels from your bathroom floor, and toss them into a hamper that you can hide away in a closet or under a shelf. For towels that you plan to reuse, install towel racks on your bathroom walls or use a door-hanging towel rack.

7. Add a bathroom caddy or plastic storage bin to keep commonly used bath items, such as shampoo, conditioner and face wash, from cluttering up the side of your tub. Options include caddies that you hang from the shower head and storage bins that can attach to your shower walls with suction cups.

Tips & Warnings

• A lot of clutter is simply stuff that you're hanging onto that you don't need. Ask yourself if you really need an item. If you hesitate even slightly, get rid of it. Donate gently used or new items to thrift stores, clothing drops or other local charities. Otherwise, throw it in the trash or, if possible, recycle it.

• Don't get burned out by trying to organize and declutter your entire home in one day. Instead, devote just an hour or two to decluttering every day.

References

• "Psychology Today"; De-Clutter Your Life; Gigi Vorgan; June 2009
• "Real Simple"; Unclutter Your Bedroom; Erin Doland; October 2009
• "Good Housekeeping": The 30-Minute Clutter Solution
• "House Beautiful": Room-by-ROM New Year's Resolution TIps
• "Style at Home"; Organizing 101: Resolve to Declutter; Kathleen Dore
• "The Oprah Winfrey Show"; Ten Ways to Declutter Your Home; Peter Walsh; February 2007