There are various types of clutter solutions for the home. Different organizing strategies will work for different people, but professional organizers offer some basic hints that can help nearly everyone. People can have many types of clutter, from paperwork to knick-knack collections to stacks of books and movies. Each of these situations can be dealt with in its own way. Some clutter is simply thrown away, while other items can be re-purposed or otherwise stored out of sight. Regardless of which organizing strategies someone chooses, there are several benefits to decluttering one’s home. Eliminating unnecessary items can bring about peace of mind, as well as the feeling of having more space.
When considering clutter solutions, a logical starting point is to throw away junk. If something has no obvious purpose or is beyond repair, then there is no reason to keep it. Some people are handy and can fix broken items, but if the object will never be used again, then it is usually nothing more than clutter.
Some items, however, can be re-purposed. Reusing one item for something else can often save money and time. A common example is a sturdy decorative bag that can serve many functions. People often find themselves in need of a gift bag, for example. The re-purpose items that you do not wish to save can be sold, such as at a yard sale or thrift store, or donated. Your trash may be considered a treasure by someone else, but you must decide whether it is worth the time and effort to sell it as opposed to simply throwing it away.
Once trash has been discarded and other unnecessary items have been sold or donated, the next logical step could be to devise storage systems to organize what remains. For example, a filing system can deal with paperwork. Bills and important documents should be stored in a secure yet accessible location, for instance. Once an efficient and effective system is created, one can apply similar techniques to the other items that need to be stored.
There can be different clutter solutions for different areas of the home. For instance, many people have overflowing closets and want to pare down their clothing. In this case, it is helpful to first eliminate what does not need to be there, and then to store what remains in a practical manner. Clear plastic boxes with lids are a good option for storing shoes, for example, because they protect the shoes while allowing the owner to see what is inside each box for quick selection. Out-of-season clothing can be stored in another part of the house, if space allows.
Other parts of the home might require their own unique clutter solutions. Kitchens, for example, should be organized so that the items used most frequently are easily accessible. Storing beverage glasses in a cabinet next to the refrigerator, for instance, usually makes more sense than having to walk back and forth across the room. Another basic organizing strategy for the kitchen is to keep counters as empty as possible, and to eliminate the rarely used gadgets that only take up space.
There are even clutter solutions available to help contain jewelry and other small items. Retailers that sell organizing products often have various items available for different kinds of small clutter. Miniature boxes and large organizers with multiple compartments are just two ways of dealing with the miscellaneous items taking up space in drawers or on counters.