I have been de-cluttering my spare room (I do this about once every month and you would never know it -- not so successful) and am stuck. It's the "useful" clutter that gets me: note pads, pens, baskets, empty photo albums, etc. You know, the stuff that I can and would use over time. I can't decide if I should give those away until I need them and then purchase new? Or is it justifiable to organize them and pack them into storage boxes? What would you do?
Overall Rating: 1 vote
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Posted 2 years ago #
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If it is a consumable that I know I will use, like a pen or a notepad, it gets filed with my stationery supplies. For which I have drawers, with plastic bins for sorting things. Baskets and photo albums may or may not be used. If I'm not SURE I will use it in the future, I usually opt for letting it go and buying another if I really do need it.
It's the "just in case" thinking that leads to clutter. There is a cost to storing things.
Posted 2 years ago # -
For pens and notepads, they magically have a way of just appearing in my house. They take so long to use up that I don't even bother keeping them all. By the time one runs out, 5 more find their way in. I keep my favorite 5-10 pens/pencils which stay in a small pencil box.
For other things I ask myself, "How long will it be before I would use this?" If I have no idea or if it will be years from now, then I'll get rid of it. Chances are that I will never use it or will find something better.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I had that problem too when I decluttered my desk. I had so many pens, pencils, notebooks and notepads of every size imaginable. I kept my favorite pens, a few pencils and small pads and gave the rest to my son and grandson. I know they will use them.
Photo albums seem to almost be a thing of the past with so many keeping their photos on their computer. Personally, I like photo boxes from Ikea. And I want a digital photo frame.
Baskets just seem to be collectors of clutter.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I like some baskets. There is no linen closet in this house. I have a rustic hutch I keep in the bathroom I put baskets on it to hold washcloths, toilet paper, soap, and other important items. The towels and sheets are in a cabinet in the bottom of the hutch. I also use baskets for important items in other rooms. I am so visually oriented, if I can't see it, I have a lot of trouble finding it.
As for pens, pencils, and pads, yikes! I have a problem with those, too. I won't be able to find anything to write with, and I start looking. Then I find too much! :)
Posted 2 years ago # -
Thanks, guys!! This really helps. It occurs to me that another source of "useful" clutter is my cabinet of makeup/nail polish/lotions/body washes/etc. I have TONS! But when I try to get rid of them I convince myself that I will use them all.
I am slowly, but steadily, getting there! :)
Posted 2 years ago # -
I bought a tall, narrow dresser at Ikea to store office supplies. It stores a lot of stuff in a very small amount of floor space, and I can get to everything easily. The larger drawers at the bottom store folders, pads, and other large items, and I use the smaller drawers at the top for pens and pencils, etc. The only thing I don't store in there is printer paper. The nice thing about having one place to store all my office supplies is that whenever I'm done using something, I just toss it back in the dresser. The top drawer may get cluttered with all the pens and pencils, but at least they're all contained in one place.
This is the dresser I use: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90106506 but any kind of dresser or cabinet would probably work as well.
Posted 2 years ago # -
The way I see it, clutter is stuff sitting around without a home or unused. If it is something you will use in the next 12 months and has a place to be stored, then it isn't clutter.
To use the notepad example, I use the 1 year rule. If I use a notepad every 3 months, then there is no need to store more than 3 more. Any more than that can be thrift-stored or re-gifted.
Posted 2 years ago # -
That's a good solution, toberead!
Posted 2 years ago # -
an idea for printer paper: since our bedroom is also our living room and also our office, space is at a premium.
We put away our laptops to keep the desk (mostly) free, but the printer is on a repurposed bedside table a bit lower than the desk (working on moving it under the desk, that is another possibility to be explored)
One ream of printer paper fits perfectly into a magazine file which gets stored upright in the bookshelf right beside the printer. No more messy stacks of paper. It is tidy, accessible, and efficient.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Maybe it would help to not have an "all or nothing" approach. Keep 5 extra pens and notebooks, donate the rest. Or whatever # works for you.
I tend to stash office supplies because they come in quantity. I need one 9 x 12 envelope and the office supply store sells them prewrapped in quantities of 5. I'm going to start using what I need and not storing the leftovers for 20+ years!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Regarding the Body Washes, shampoos, makeup etc. You can always "declutter" backwards by instituting a moratorium on the purchase of additional toiletries until you have used a certain amount of what you have backlogged. Draw down on the inventory, as it were.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Combine the bottles, too, if you have partially used ones. My pump bottle of hand lotion by the bathroom sink is an unusual combination of scents, but it eliminated a lot of cluttered tubes and bottles.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The moratorium works pretty well with office and art supplies, too - with those or beauty stuff, if you don't let yourself buy any more til the old stuff is gone, you may find yourself looking at something and realizing you'd rather donate or toss it than use it.
Posted 1 year ago #
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