Dealing With Other People's Clutter

Organized Success

An organized entertainment area helps family members find and replace videos and DVDs, or find a good read. Seeing a benefit helps the entire family learn to be organized.

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Establish Clutter Preserves

There’s no such thing as clutter-free living. Even the tidiest among us still tosses clothing on floors from time to time.

Accept reality by establishing dedicated clutter preserves. Like wildlife preserves, these are limited areas where clutter may live freely, so long as it stays within boundaries.

In a bedroom, one chair becomes the clutter preserve. Clothing may be thrown with abandon, so long as it’s thrown on the chair.

A kitchen junk drawer can house vitamin bottles, rubber bands, clipped recipes, expired coupons and shopping receipts that are unwelcome outside their clutter preserve.

A large magazine bucket in the living room is fair game for catalogs and magazines, so long as they can fit inside the bucket.

Crafting, sewing, or hobby projects create instant chaos, but, too, rigid pickup rules invade scarce crafting time. Dedicate a small folding table or outfit a spare closet for craftwork to keep inspiration flowing. To keep the hobby clutter in bounds, close the closet doors or screen the table between sessions.