Clutter Correctly - Keeping Clutter Contained
Arrange Your Junk in an Orderly Fashion - No Need to Throw it Away!
Apr 4, 2009
What control freak decided that clutter was bad? As children we naturally gather items and group them into messy piles, anyone that has watched a toddler playing with his clutter can not deny the pure joy and satisfaction he exudes. Why do we have to give up our clutter when we grow up? Does it make us happier? More mature and independent? Nope, it just seems like the right thing to do because people have been saying it for so long.
Some sense of order is a good thing; no one will deny that.
There is no sense in tripping over garbage and old clothes while trying to go to the bathroom or get a snack. A clean house is a good thing indeed.
Dirty and overrun: bad, but knowing something is “cluttered correctly” and close at hand when someone may need it later (even if later comes 20 years from now): good.
The solution to happy clutter is simple; use an extra room! How about that?
Most houses today have at least one unused room that would make a great clutter collector. This ensures the rest of a person's home stays tidy while still allowing them to collect things. Here are just a few ways to keep clutter easily at hand.
Collect and Conquer the Clutter
- Have plenty of bins on hand; use a marker to clearly label each items area. Clothes, shoes, newspapers, etc.
- Keeping everything in its own area assures a person can find it easily when needed.
- Wrap delicate knickknacks, etc. securely so they don’t break.
- Build custom shelves for shoes, books, and other hard-to-store items.
- When stacking boxes, the heavier ones should be on bottom as this makes them easier and safer to get to later.
- Keep one box of “a little bit of everything” to dig through later; this gives the feeling of crazy thrift store shopping! Fun, fun, fun!
- Store fabrics like they do in the store; it is easy to roll fabrics on a piece of cardboard. This keeps them neat and easily assessable/accessible when a person needs them later! They also stack easily this way. What clutter collector doesn’t like stacking delicious fabrics? Yum!
- Keep beads and small baubles in clear plastic containers; ones with compartments are especially nice.
- Walkways are essential; a person needs to actually be able to get to their things!
- Do not store perishable food items; when they spoil they can actually kill a person or pet if eaten. The same goes for ammunition and things like gasoline. Ammo and gas improperly stored can explode and kill.
Clutter is great, but do not forget to use common sense.
Funding the Clutter Addiction
Eventually the room is bound to fill up past holding capacity. A great way to clear it out is to have a yard sale. A person should not look at this like losing their stuff rather, look at it for what it really is:
- Money for more and better clutter!
- For the hardcore clutter collector, this could even become a family tradition. Give it a try!
No need to feel bad; we all have clutter, and yes, we like it!
