Post by Loupy on Oct 31, 2013 20:57:01 GMT -7
34 Ingenious Ways To De-Clutter Your Entire Life
By: Peggy Wang @ www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/how-to-de-clutter-your-entire-life
If you would like to see pictures about these tips, click on the link above. Loupy's comments are in parenthesizes.
1. When buying electronics, download the manual and store it in the cloud.
2. Enlist the rule of five every time you clean.
Whenever you’re cleaning a room, get rid of at least five items, whether it’s a piece of trash, an old magazine, or just something you haven’t used in ages.
3. Velcro your remotes to the side of the coffee table or your TV.
4. Hang your bags and purses with shower curtain hooks.
The hooks take up less space than hangers. And it’s a great way to compartmentalize the things in your closet that don’t have a place — scarves, belts, socks.
5. Utilize your under-desk space.
It’s a great place to keep organized baskets.
6. Make the kids a stuffed animal pen with bungee cords.
They’re easier to find, easier to put away. And your child gets a kick out of having a zoo-like pen for all the stuffed animals.
7. When cleaning the bedroom, always make the bed first.
There are a myriad of reasons.
1) It serves as a mission control center for organizing and folding,
2) you’ll be less likely to climb into bed and take a nap in the middle of your cleaning sesh, and
3) your messy stuff will look weird and out of place once the bed is all neat.
8. On a super hot day, clean out your fridge and freezer.
It’ll feel less like work and more like a treat.
9. Limit your closet to 40 hangers.
10.(was unnecessary and used profanity)
11. Or simplify it to this one question...
If I were shopping right this second, would I buy this? If the answer is no...out it goes.
12. Corral cords with a sock.
Cut off the toe and thread the cords through...
13. Use compartmentalized boxes for small things you need to keep organized, like batteries.
14. Declutter your Facebook feed.
Tip #1: When you see pesty updates from Candy Crush or Spotify which you seriously could care less about, hover your mouse over the post and click “Hide all stories from ______”
Tip #2: Make friend lists. Only follow your close friends. This also comes in handy later on when you want to post an event or news item that you only want your legit pals to see.
15. Fold your bed sheets up and put them in a matching pillowcase.
16. Employ the “Crap Basket” system for your family.
Everyone gets a crap basket. If you see or collect anyone’s crap throughout the house, it goes in that person’s basket. And then they’re responsible for putting it back into their rooms.
17. Hang your mail holder on the side of a table or kitchen counter.
It’ll keep the clutter off your precious visible surfaces.
18. Always open your mail next to the recycling bin so you can immediately purge unwanted junk mail.
(This would be for people who live in apts in big cities. Not in our little part of the world.)
19. Hang your lesser-used cords on Command hooks on the inside of your cupboards.
Command hooks are magical.
20. For the garage or backyard, hang a basket so you can wrap the hose around it and keep the sprinkler inside the bucket.
21. Run a power strip through the back of a nightstand so you can charge your gadgets out of sight.
Most nightstands with drawers should have a gap in the back.
22. When you buy a new shirt, donate two from your closet.
Or just do the one-in one-out rule for ALL possessions. ESPECIALLY if you’re a shopaholic.
(If you are like me this might not work. I have very little space and very few tops. If I get a new one it's because I wore out the old one.)
23. Put your cosmetics into palettes.
You’ll feel so good after you do this. It’ll make getting ready so much faster, too. Z Palettes makes customizeable magnetic ones.
24. Use a pegboard and zip ties underneath your desk to keep your wires neat.
25. Keep your discount cards virtually on your phone with the Key Ring app.
And if you don’t have a smartphone, hole punching your discount and gift cards and adding them to a single keyring can keep your purse organized.
26. Find ways to get rid of your old books.
1. Donate any children’s books that the kids have outgrown to a local library, or to their school library.
2. Give books away to family and friends you believe would enjoy them.
3. Sell your old textbooks for a little extra cash.
4. For cookbooks, only keep the ones with a large number of recipes you plan on making. If there’s only a couple useable recipes, photocopy them and keep them in a binder and give the cookbook away.
27. Keep your cleaning supplies in a mobile bucket caddy.
You (or anyone else) will be able to go room to room to clean very easily with this handy bucket.
28. Use hooks, not towel bars.
They’re much more likely to keep your towels off the floor. And would work great if you have a small bathroom.
29. Wrap the cords around your unused appliances and secure with velcro.
30. Get rid of your board game and puzzle boxes and keep them in bins instead.
But, do not discard the directions. (Personally I would not do this. It's better to keep them in the box with all the pieces together. Easier to put them in a cupboard than a big bin.)
31. Identify your clutter traps. Then divide and conquer.
Is there a certain place where everyone just dumps their stuff out of sheer laziness? Is it the entryway? Under the kitchen sink? A junk drawer? Identify each of the clutter traps and dedicate an hour each weekend to each one. See if there’s an easy way to compartmentalize the stuff you really need while throwing out the things you can bear to part with.
(I just did this one the other day. So happy the clutter is gone and found I didn't need it anyway.)
32. Use your iPhone or iPad as a pocket scanner with Genius Scan.
(If you have one. Not everyone can afford or wants to be all techy...me for one.)
You can keep all your documents electronically without having to invest in a scanner.
33. Limit your dish sets to two or three more than the required place settings.
This keeps your dishwasher from getting insane, and if you don’t have a dishwasher, household members will be more prone to actually do the dishes if there are none available to use. And you have enough extra place settings for guests.
34. Spread your minimalist lifestyle by only giving gifts that people can use.
Take a friend out to eat for their birthday. Give a coupon for a free oil change as a Christmas gift. A bottle of wine is always handy. (If they drink and make sure you know the preference.) This cuts down on lame gifts and people will learn to reciprocate similarly.
By: Peggy Wang @ www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/how-to-de-clutter-your-entire-life
If you would like to see pictures about these tips, click on the link above. Loupy's comments are in parenthesizes.
1. When buying electronics, download the manual and store it in the cloud.
2. Enlist the rule of five every time you clean.
Whenever you’re cleaning a room, get rid of at least five items, whether it’s a piece of trash, an old magazine, or just something you haven’t used in ages.
3. Velcro your remotes to the side of the coffee table or your TV.
4. Hang your bags and purses with shower curtain hooks.
The hooks take up less space than hangers. And it’s a great way to compartmentalize the things in your closet that don’t have a place — scarves, belts, socks.
5. Utilize your under-desk space.
It’s a great place to keep organized baskets.
6. Make the kids a stuffed animal pen with bungee cords.
They’re easier to find, easier to put away. And your child gets a kick out of having a zoo-like pen for all the stuffed animals.
7. When cleaning the bedroom, always make the bed first.
There are a myriad of reasons.
1) It serves as a mission control center for organizing and folding,
2) you’ll be less likely to climb into bed and take a nap in the middle of your cleaning sesh, and
3) your messy stuff will look weird and out of place once the bed is all neat.
8. On a super hot day, clean out your fridge and freezer.
It’ll feel less like work and more like a treat.
9. Limit your closet to 40 hangers.
10.(was unnecessary and used profanity)
11. Or simplify it to this one question...
If I were shopping right this second, would I buy this? If the answer is no...out it goes.
12. Corral cords with a sock.
Cut off the toe and thread the cords through...
13. Use compartmentalized boxes for small things you need to keep organized, like batteries.
14. Declutter your Facebook feed.
Tip #1: When you see pesty updates from Candy Crush or Spotify which you seriously could care less about, hover your mouse over the post and click “Hide all stories from ______”
Tip #2: Make friend lists. Only follow your close friends. This also comes in handy later on when you want to post an event or news item that you only want your legit pals to see.
15. Fold your bed sheets up and put them in a matching pillowcase.
16. Employ the “Crap Basket” system for your family.
Everyone gets a crap basket. If you see or collect anyone’s crap throughout the house, it goes in that person’s basket. And then they’re responsible for putting it back into their rooms.
17. Hang your mail holder on the side of a table or kitchen counter.
It’ll keep the clutter off your precious visible surfaces.
18. Always open your mail next to the recycling bin so you can immediately purge unwanted junk mail.
(This would be for people who live in apts in big cities. Not in our little part of the world.)
19. Hang your lesser-used cords on Command hooks on the inside of your cupboards.
Command hooks are magical.
20. For the garage or backyard, hang a basket so you can wrap the hose around it and keep the sprinkler inside the bucket.
21. Run a power strip through the back of a nightstand so you can charge your gadgets out of sight.
Most nightstands with drawers should have a gap in the back.
22. When you buy a new shirt, donate two from your closet.
Or just do the one-in one-out rule for ALL possessions. ESPECIALLY if you’re a shopaholic.
(If you are like me this might not work. I have very little space and very few tops. If I get a new one it's because I wore out the old one.)
23. Put your cosmetics into palettes.
You’ll feel so good after you do this. It’ll make getting ready so much faster, too. Z Palettes makes customizeable magnetic ones.
24. Use a pegboard and zip ties underneath your desk to keep your wires neat.
25. Keep your discount cards virtually on your phone with the Key Ring app.
And if you don’t have a smartphone, hole punching your discount and gift cards and adding them to a single keyring can keep your purse organized.
26. Find ways to get rid of your old books.
1. Donate any children’s books that the kids have outgrown to a local library, or to their school library.
2. Give books away to family and friends you believe would enjoy them.
3. Sell your old textbooks for a little extra cash.
4. For cookbooks, only keep the ones with a large number of recipes you plan on making. If there’s only a couple useable recipes, photocopy them and keep them in a binder and give the cookbook away.
27. Keep your cleaning supplies in a mobile bucket caddy.
You (or anyone else) will be able to go room to room to clean very easily with this handy bucket.
28. Use hooks, not towel bars.
They’re much more likely to keep your towels off the floor. And would work great if you have a small bathroom.
29. Wrap the cords around your unused appliances and secure with velcro.
30. Get rid of your board game and puzzle boxes and keep them in bins instead.
But, do not discard the directions. (Personally I would not do this. It's better to keep them in the box with all the pieces together. Easier to put them in a cupboard than a big bin.)
31. Identify your clutter traps. Then divide and conquer.
Is there a certain place where everyone just dumps their stuff out of sheer laziness? Is it the entryway? Under the kitchen sink? A junk drawer? Identify each of the clutter traps and dedicate an hour each weekend to each one. See if there’s an easy way to compartmentalize the stuff you really need while throwing out the things you can bear to part with.
(I just did this one the other day. So happy the clutter is gone and found I didn't need it anyway.)
32. Use your iPhone or iPad as a pocket scanner with Genius Scan.
(If you have one. Not everyone can afford or wants to be all techy...me for one.)
You can keep all your documents electronically without having to invest in a scanner.
33. Limit your dish sets to two or three more than the required place settings.
This keeps your dishwasher from getting insane, and if you don’t have a dishwasher, household members will be more prone to actually do the dishes if there are none available to use. And you have enough extra place settings for guests.
34. Spread your minimalist lifestyle by only giving gifts that people can use.
Take a friend out to eat for their birthday. Give a coupon for a free oil change as a Christmas gift. A bottle of wine is always handy. (If they drink and make sure you know the preference.) This cuts down on lame gifts and people will learn to reciprocate similarly.