Hi, Folks
My wife and I have successfully uncluttered/decluttered our home several times - but, somehow, clutter always seems to reappear.
Are there any guidelines or rules that we can observe to prevent recluttering?
Many thanks.
-harry
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Posted 6 months ago #
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Hi harry, and welcome to the forum. This group can give you all kinds of tips for all kinds of situations. What are the specific types of clutter that keep re-accumulating in your home?
Posted 6 months ago # -
recluttering isn't a problem in and of itself - circumstances change, priorities change, so some recluttering over a period of time is normal. It's not always the best time to declutter.
Here's some stuff I, at least, would need to know before I feel comfortable that any suggestions I offer would not actually make things worse by misleading you:
- what kind of frequency are we talking about (both for the decluttering, and for the REcluttering)? Meaning: do you declutter large volumes twice a year or more, because it takes a few months to eat up your space with new clutter?
- What kind of situation are you in space wise. Clutter in a four bedroom stand alone house with garage, garden shed, full-size basement and attic inhabited by two adults in their mature years, no kids (even visiting) no pets, and cluttering a two bedroom city flat with a family of two adults and two teens are ENTIRELY different propositions. There is such a thing as living in a space that's too small for your lifestyle and interests - trust me, I should know as it's what I'm dealing with right now :-) In such a situation, you're going to have to use different standards and methods than if you have enough space, but are just not using it well.
- what are your interests like re: clutter? That includes occupation. Some hobbies and lines of work come built-in with a big need for bulky gear, much of which is frequently only used for said interest or occupation. Some will tell you to ditch those, but I think that's defeating the purpose of decluttering.
- what's your motivation for decluttering? Do you get a lot of nagging from loved ones (even each other) or is it some other motivation?
- do either or both of you work a lot outside the home (or from home, but for an outside employer)? Do either or both have your own business, including one that runs from home or a space adjacent to your home?
- what is your standard for decluttering? When you think 'declutter' do you not stop before you have something that looks like the inside of an apple store, or are you satisfied with a more lived in look? Your choice of home decor style plays a part here; a very minimalist style that's all clean lines, light-colored wood, and white walls, is going to be far more unforgiving in terms of decluttering than a more traditional interior.
in short: tell us a little bit more about where you're at, and about where you're hoping to get, and there might be more ideas :-)
Posted 6 months ago # -
Ask yourself: how does clutter happen? If you buy/get new things without getting rid of something else at the same time - over time - clutter will accumulate. Some people use the "one in - one out" rule to prevent this but i personally prefer to declutter my belongings every few weeks/months.
Of course you can curb clutter by buying less stuff and only really buying what you need/love/use regularly. Over time you might still need to declutter again but it will be much slower. What also helps is if you find a good "home" for anything new that comes into your home so things don't start to pile up randomly.Posted 6 months ago # -
This is a good question -- we've talked about it here before, but as a side issue, to my recollection, not as its own question.
For me, the key was recognizing that decluttering is a process, not an event. I've had to develop new mindsets and practices, and that can't happen in a weekend blitz.
Some things that I've found to help:
(1) As Ninakk said, a big part is being more discriminating about what you bring into the house. For me, useful rules of thumb have been: I don't have to take it just because it's free. I don't have to buy it just because it's on sale (there will be another sale, probably in about 6 weeks.) Sleep on it overnight, or for a week, or a month.
(2) Although decluttering and organization are not the same thing, they are linked. I found that when my house is better organized -- I know what I have and I know where to find it -- less clutter is generated because I'm not re-acquiring things I already have. We accumulated 15 box cutters because we could never find one. Now, they are all in a plastic shoebox labeled "knives, scissors, blades and other things that cut." The staples, rubber bands, paperclips and binder clips are in an office drawer labeled "things that hold paper and other stuff together." A corollary to that is PEEP -- a place for everything and everything in its place.
(3) Become ruthless. I've had to overcome some common mindsets. Justin Case -- I might need this someday. For most things, if I do need it I can buy another. When I buy a new, say, vacuum cleaner, I don't need to hold onto the old one justin case the new one breaks. I had to get over regretful feelings for bad purchases: if those jeans are unflattering and I never wear it, it has to go, no matter how much I spent on them. Holding onto it doesn't put the money back into my bank account. If something no longer serves me -- a hobby I no longer practice, old technology, etc. -- it goes. My house is not a landfill -- if, after a reasonable amount of trying, I can't give away or sell something, it's OK to trash it. It's OK to dispose of a gift.
(4) Be observant and notice problem areas, then brainstorm a solution. For example, we had magazines pile up. Now, they are displayed when they are current. When the new one arrives, the old magazine is moved into the library donation bin where it is still accessible if someone wants to look at it. When it's full -- about every three months -- it gets hauled away. Chip away at the problem areas one by one as they arise.
(5) ATAD -- a thing a day -- has been really useful for me. It is a minimal time/energy investment that keeps uncluttering top of mind. After about a year and a half of doing this, it's getting harder to find things, but I have also been exercising my uncluttering muscles, so I am able to make harder decisions.
Good luck to you -- this forum is a great inspiration.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Lots of great advice here already. Minus specifics, I have 3 strategies to share:
1. Maintenance - try to see decluttering as an ongoing project rather than a one-time thing. Your possessions and needs for stuff evolve as your life does. Be sure to keep your things tidy (e.g. put them away when you're done with them) and in good working order, and keep editing your house regularly. This forum's ATAD thread is a good way to keep up the momentum.
2. Gatekeeping - Nina and Susan hit the nail on the head: be mindful of what you bring into your house, including freebies, gifts and things that seemed like a good idea in the store. The more clutter you ward off before it comes into your home, the longer it will take for your house to get re-cluttered.
3. Attitude - your house will likely still get recluttered occasionally. Life happens, priorities change, and we all fall off the wagon sometimes. It's not the end of the world. As long as you're mindful of keeping clutter at bay most of the time, recluttering will be infrequent and will not take very long to clear out once you're back on the wagon, so don't let it frustrate you.
Best of luck, and hope to see you around the forum!
Posted 6 months ago # -
I'd add another thing to consider about the recluttering: is someone who lives in your home (including you) just more comfortable with a higher level of clutter? There's an emotional and aesthetic sense of "enough" stuff that might not fit between family members, or even fit for one person who has an intellectual ideal that's less cluttered than their emotional one.
The solution to that is to either go through the emotion long enough to figure out if you'll acclimate (not add new stuff until you've been uncomfortable with less for a while and are sure it won't go away) or find a way to satisfy the emotional need without causing practical problems - like, having lots of visual clutter, but all in flat hanging-on-the-wall formats so they dont't take up floorspace.
Posted 6 months ago # -
What helps me more than anything is having my home in order - peaceful, soothing order - and remembering what a horrid, ugly pit it was before, and how utterly miserable my life was then. It took me two months to empty the house out, using a professional organizer and two, sometimes three assistants, in preparation for our renovation.
I am absolutely determined that NOTHING is coming back in here that doesn't add to the glorious peaceful, welcoming, atmosphere. This is my home, not a storage facility. I don't want things in it, I want experiences; experiences with family and friends, and with my husband and me.
We had family with us for several days before and after Thanksgiving. Friends joined us for Thanksgiving, and more friends came Thursday evening for coffee, dessert and the 49ers football game. My nephew commented on how calm and enjoyable everything was. "There wasn't any chaos, and no one was fretting over getting things just right, but everything was wonderful. It isn't like that everywhere you go." I know, and I'm grateful.
Posted 5 months ago # -
PMP, what lovely feedback from your nephew!
the main thing that stops recluttering in my life is having a very clear idea of what i want in my life.
so when a thing presents itself, i can very quickly hold it up against my blueprint and see immediately if it fits or not.
then my way ahead is clear.
of course i reserve the right to alter my blueprint at any time i like and as often as i like.Posted 5 months ago # -
Sustaining the pristine state has been my biggest challenge.
I found the following three principles to be of help (I learned them from the Toyota principle of manufacturing)
1) Matching the levels of consumption and purchases - I buy too much food at once, too many books, DVDs and clothes. Once I figured out how much food I consume, how many books I read per month, which clothes I wear most often, it was shocking to find that my estimate of what I need was often 100 to 200 percent higher than what was necessary.
I found out that I have about 10 to 15 years worth of books to read (about 600). I have enough clothes to last next 5 years. And nobody else ever thinks that I have too much stuff because I was already disciplined not to acquire too much in the first place, and things are relatively properly organized!
If I like an author, I buy a bunch of books by that author. If I like some food and it is on sale, I buy two or three of it.
I had to stop buying books, DVDs and buy exactly what I need to cook for the next meal, and nothing more.
I put away about half of my clothes and wear the remaining, and once a shirt looks threadbare or worn out, then it is gone.
2) Keep all surfaces clear (table, counter, floor, desk, shelf).
That rule really forced me to put things away or discard them very quickly before the clutter accumulated to a painful level.
I became very good at discarding things so my place felt more spacious, but until I practiced this rule, it never felt calm and clean. Only when I began to put things away as quickly as possible and seeing a coffee table with nothing on it made me feel like I have a clean place.
3) Storage is waste.
Storing goods for the future use is literally creating waste. This rule has proven to be true over and over again.
Whenever I read a book, I stored it. I bought two shampoo bottles and stored one. It turns out stored goods are invariably forgotten and never used. Out of sight, out of mind.
Since then once I read a book, it is gone. It is so difficult not to buy things and store them for the future scarce times, but those difficult times never arrive.
Once I began to practice the above three rules, my place has been steadily improving over time and staying that way.
Posted 5 months ago #
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