Housekeeping: 9 Steps for Getting Rid of Clutter
How to efficiently — and regularly — empty your home of the things you don’t want
Many of us have a problem with clutter. It can be so hard to get rid of things. Often the difficulty comes down to deciding whether something really is clutter. The struggle can be internal (’I might use this one day’), or with various family members (’Are you joking? That was my Grandmothers’)
If you are desperate to clear things out of your house, a good place to start is the stuff everyone can agree needs to go. In our family no one wants to hold on to outgrown clothing, dead batteries, returnable bottles and cans, and books we’ve read but don’t love enough to keep. So why can’t we get them out of the house? Why are they piled by the door or on the end of the table, stashed in the back of the pantry or mouldering in bags in the garage? Why!
I was thinking about this as we cleaned the garage last week, and then again when I unloaded a table outside our laundry room and noted the various bags of things I had carefully gathered and sorted and then forgot about for weeks on end. I realised we need to come up with a few systems for getting this stuff out of the house. We need some exit strategies.
If you are desperate to clear things out of your house, a good place to start is the stuff everyone can agree needs to go. In our family no one wants to hold on to outgrown clothing, dead batteries, returnable bottles and cans, and books we’ve read but don’t love enough to keep. So why can’t we get them out of the house? Why are they piled by the door or on the end of the table, stashed in the back of the pantry or mouldering in bags in the garage? Why!
I was thinking about this as we cleaned the garage last week, and then again when I unloaded a table outside our laundry room and noted the various bags of things I had carefully gathered and sorted and then forgot about for weeks on end. I realised we need to come up with a few systems for getting this stuff out of the house. We need some exit strategies.
Identify what needs to go
Odds are it will come down to a few broad categories. In our house it’s mainly items for donation, children’s outgrown clothing that can be re-sold, books to trade for credit at our local bookstore, things to be returned (for whatever reason), library books and dead batteries.
Odds are it will come down to a few broad categories. In our house it’s mainly items for donation, children’s outgrown clothing that can be re-sold, books to trade for credit at our local bookstore, things to be returned (for whatever reason), library books and dead batteries.
Designate bags or boxes for removal
We have a bag for library books, but I use paper bags for charity and book shops. Only sometimes do I label them, which requires double checking and makes it impossible for my husband to make a run to the charity shop without my oversight.
For the books, I’m going to buy a couple of canvas bags: one to hang on a hook in the utility room and one to sit on the table outside our pantry.
We have a bag for library books, but I use paper bags for charity and book shops. Only sometimes do I label them, which requires double checking and makes it impossible for my husband to make a run to the charity shop without my oversight.
For the books, I’m going to buy a couple of canvas bags: one to hang on a hook in the utility room and one to sit on the table outside our pantry.
Establish where the designated bags live between returns
Not all of us have spacious utility rooms or garages. We may need to keep our bags out in the open, which isn’t such a bad thing, because out of sight is often out of mind. Attractive bags or baskets are nice, but function needs to come before form. Get your system in place first, before making it stylish.
Do you have family or friends who frequently visit and forget things? We have a bag hanging in our front wardrobe specifically for my sister’s family. When anything is forgotten or we come across something we want to give them, it goes into the bag.
Not all of us have spacious utility rooms or garages. We may need to keep our bags out in the open, which isn’t such a bad thing, because out of sight is often out of mind. Attractive bags or baskets are nice, but function needs to come before form. Get your system in place first, before making it stylish.
Do you have family or friends who frequently visit and forget things? We have a bag hanging in our front wardrobe specifically for my sister’s family. When anything is forgotten or we come across something we want to give them, it goes into the bag.
Create a schedule of purging
It’s natural in autumn and spring to go through clothing and decide what no longer fits. Choose a day, bag things up and get the bags out of the house. Short term, it could be designating a day every week or two to run errands, including stops at the library or shops to make returns.
It’s natural in autumn and spring to go through clothing and decide what no longer fits. Choose a day, bag things up and get the bags out of the house. Short term, it could be designating a day every week or two to run errands, including stops at the library or shops to make returns.
Always carry a basket
For a while I kept the habit of carrying a medium-size basket in and out of the house. It lived by my back door or sat in the front seat of my car. It got me thinking what I needed to take with me and what I needed to remove from my car. This would need to be modified if you don’t use a car, but the most important thing is establishing routines for removal.
For a while I kept the habit of carrying a medium-size basket in and out of the house. It lived by my back door or sat in the front seat of my car. It got me thinking what I needed to take with me and what I needed to remove from my car. This would need to be modified if you don’t use a car, but the most important thing is establishing routines for removal.
Assign a responsible party
Unless you live alone, creating exit strategies needs to be a group effort. One person may be the main curator/gatherer and another can be in charge of removal, but it probably won’t be neatly divided. Trial and error will help you figure out what works in your household.
Start small
Work on one habit at a time. What’s driving you the most crazy is a good place to start.
Refine and tighten things as you go
Perhaps you already have some successful systems in place and you just need to work on details. Be patient, keep working on things and watch the clutter diminish.
See our 5 steps to a clutter-free home series
What are your systems for getting things out of the house? Share your tips in the Comments below.
Unless you live alone, creating exit strategies needs to be a group effort. One person may be the main curator/gatherer and another can be in charge of removal, but it probably won’t be neatly divided. Trial and error will help you figure out what works in your household.
Start small
Work on one habit at a time. What’s driving you the most crazy is a good place to start.
Refine and tighten things as you go
Perhaps you already have some successful systems in place and you just need to work on details. Be patient, keep working on things and watch the clutter diminish.
See our 5 steps to a clutter-free home series
What are your systems for getting things out of the house? Share your tips in the Comments below.
In our house the only system we have is rubbish and recycling. One big reason it works well is that they come to us. If only charity shops did weekly pickups! But there were other things to notice and replicate: designated containers and a set date of removal.