How to Sort Your Clutter

Clutter happens, nobody plans for it to happen, and yet before you know it everywhere you look is clutter. You try to ignore it. You try to hide it. But no matter what you do you can't deny that your house is being taken over by clutter. Here are few tips on how you can sort your clutter and get your house back.

Set The Clock: When you first get started sorting your clutter it can feel overwhelming. The best way to overcome that feeling is to set a time limit. Set your kitchen timer for 15 minutes and get to work. Start at one corner of a room and stay focused and working for the full 15 minutes. When the timer goes off stop and give yourself a break. Set a time to come back to the room at a later date and walk away. You accomplished something, good for you!

Throw, File, Put Away: Stuff starts to become clutter when we don't know what to do with it. When you start to sort through your clutter it's time to decide what to do with it. You aren't allowed to put any item into a "later" bin. It must fall into one of these three categories: Throw away, File, Put Away.

If you have an item that is broke, no longer useful, or you haven't used in over a year, throw it out. You don't need it anymore. For paperwork you need to keep for personal or business reason but don't need everyday set up a file box and file it away and out of sight. For day to day items that are laying around find a place for it to be put away and get in the habit of putting there every time after you use it.

Attack The Hotspots: Every house has hotspots. They are the places where you empty out your pockets, drop your mail, and throw your keys. These are the places that catch all the day to day stuff that go with life. Don't let your hotspots become overrun with clutter. Instead of just dumping your stuff somewhere to become clutter, take a little time to sort it. A small basket, decorative shelf with hooks, and use it to sort that small pocket stuff. It'll keep it from looking cluttered and the little extra effort will help you get out the door faster the next morning.

These are only a few tips you can use to start sorting your clutter. While these steps are a great place to start you will need to get serious about sorting your clutter to truly regain your house and enjoy the rewards. Here's to you and your determination to reclaim your house and to getting your clutter sorted. Keep going!

Congratulations on working to sort out your clutter. Find more tips to help you sort your clutter and regain your house at http://www.squidoo.com/controlling_household_clutter.