Quick Ways to Reduce Daily Clutter

Home and Garden

By: gerrielynn 25-Jul-2011

Introduction:

Webster says that clutter "...impedes movement or reduces effectiveness." For many of us, daily clutter has a way of eventually interfering with one's peaceful state of mind.

Junk Mail - Hardcopy

Take action against unsolicited flyers and envelopes that invade your mail box. 1.) When unsolicited mail includes a postage paid return envelope, use a bold black marker or sharpie to write NO on the response form! Place the marked response form in the postage paid envelope and put it back in your mailbox for the letter carrier to pick up tomorrow. 2.) Keep a shredder in the room where you first open your mail. Overcome the tendency to set the junk mail aside to deal with later. Immediately shred each piece that did not come with a postage paid return envelope.

Junk Mail - Internet

No matter how good your spam filter, junk mail seems to pop out of no where. Try one, or both, of these suggestions to help gain control of internet junk mail. 1) Label each piece of junk mail that manages to filter into your mailbox as "spam" in hopes that your spam filter will block it next time. Practice the discipline of deleting each unwanted piece before allowing yourself to open your "real" mail. 2) If unsolicited email indicates that you have somehow become a "subscriber," open each it at once and unsubscribe before marking it as spam. You will normally find the "unscribe" button at the end of the email...in small letters!

Close Closet Clutter

No matter how busy or tired you are at the end of the day, try to get in the habit of either hanging your clothes up or putting them in the dirty clothes hamper before changing into something else. This will sound so easy and elementary to many, but it is far from being as easy as it sounds to others. An alternative for those who really want to keep from having a cluttered close closet, but yet find themselves failing on a daily basis, is to set aside one day a week to pick up, hang up, clean up, and organize your the closet. If you have two seasons of clothes in your closet, invest in one of the space saver options found at your local department store.

Drawer Clutter

Whether it's a clothes or kitchen drawer, it seems almost impossible for many of us to keep drawers from becoming cluttered. Consider this 5 step suggestion. 1)Clear a large space on th bed or kitchen table. 2)Take everything out of your drawer and lay the contents on the clear surface. 3)Determine what you use on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. If you do not use an item at least once a month, store it away or get rid of it! DO NOT put it back in the drawer! 4)Find a couple of containers that will fit your drawer space. They do not have to be expensive, a small cardboard box might do. Divide the items going back into the drawer into the two boxes. You should find it much easier to find what you are looking for with a bit of seperation, and you will also find new freedom in having more control over your cluttered drawer.

Car Clutter

It does not matter if a family of several children or just one person rides in the car, disorganized people struggle with all matter of clutter in their vehicle. To be able to find important papers easily, without all matter of odd pieces of paper falling out of your glove box, take everything out and lay aside your car insurance info, title, important maps, and the operation booklet that came with the car. These are the things that need to be in your glove compartment. Purchase several small plastic letter size folders with clasps to hold these important pieces of information and place the envelopes in the compartment. To bring order to the things that clutter the rest of your car, invest in a small plastic bin to put in your back seat to carry things such as an umbrella, small blanket for emergencies, perhaps a book or magazine, etc. If you do either of these suggestions, you will be delighted with yourself for taking control over some of the clutter in your life.

Final Thoughts

There is no end to what a person can do once they are organized. Be inspired by this quote:

"Electricity is really just organized lightning."
(by George Carlin)