I'm fascinated by other peoples' clutter management strategies. It's handy that I've lived in apartment buildings for most of my life. I've had ample opportunity to see other people's clutter -- and to pick up on the occasional great decluttering technique.
For instance: the lobby/mailroom of my old building was graced with a recycling bin. It was a neighbor's idea, and this industrious woman had not only convinced the Super to accept its presence there but had persuaded him to empty the bin for us on a regular basis. Because of this wonderful, well-placed bin, junk mail never even passed the threshold of my apartment.
Another building I lived in had a book exchange table in the laundry room where you could anonymously trade your unwanted books, magazines, and CDs. The table didn't stop me from buying new media, but it did keep the overall mass down.
But alas, junk mail, books, and magazines are only part of the clutter management story. There are also all those pesky pieces of mail that aren't junk, that have fleeting importance. Like wedding invitations that come four months before the event. Where do you keep them in the meantime? My solution for many years (cribbed from a room-mate in college) was to tack things like that on a cork-covered stretch of wall that I called my ever-changing "top-of-mind" board (sort of like an Inspiration Board). There they would live for a time beside other small objects, photos, and snippets that I wanted to keep in my consciousness. Over time the board also became a way of making my clutter into art.
For many people there's also the old "binge and purge." A friend of mine has mastered this technique. He lets it all slide for six months at a time, but come Daylight Savings changeover days twice a year, he hunkers down in his apartment for a big day of sorting, cleaning, and loose-end resolution. (He also checks the batteries in his smoke detectors and updates his resume.) Those days are painful, but they only come 'round twice a year.
Image: MC =)
An acquaintance of mine keeps a shopping bag in her closet. Instead of sorting through her clothing for a major "purge" a couple of times a year, she uses this bag for the items she finds herself "rejecting" on a daily basis when pondering what to wear each morning. When it is full, it goes to Goodwill.
She also refuses to keep books she has already read. She has a book case for books she wants to read. Once she reads them, they are given away.
Her home is completely clutter-free...
view MamaChilanga's profile
As for books, getting most of mine at the library and only buying ones I reckon I'll read several times or want to have on hand for reference has cut down that clutter.
(Unfortunately, I can't do the same for plants, crafts and office supplies.)
view Kuri's profile
I keep all my books. I love books. I love the idea of having a library and my kid growing up surrounded by books.
What I need help with is the junk drawer. Personally, I'm ok with it being overflowing with all kinds of odds and ends. That's the one place in our house that we let that kind of thing happen. But it drives my husband crazy. He wants EVERYTHING.IN.ITS.PLACE.
So I'm trying to figure out how to organize the junk drawer.
Sigh.
view jake's mom's profile
fyi- for junk mail to NEVER given get to your mail box, sign up at :
www.greendimes.com
they recently lower the fees for service, and it's such a great cause... i've been doing it for about a year and there is a MAJOR difference
check out all the info on their site
view JenJen's profile
You can opt out yourself (FOR FREE)--this has worked for us--we dramatically cut down on our junk mail--now we get only the catalogs that we've requested and cards/mail from people we actually do business with. When we opted out the first time, we did it for five years, and believe me, as soon as that five years was up, the offers filled our mailbox....within a month of opting out again (this time permanently) we are back to getting only the mail we want to receive.....
1-888-5-OPTOUT is an automated service run jointly by the four main credit bureaus. With one phone call you can opt out of pre-screened mailings from all four bureaus.
1. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT.
2. Select option 2 to skip a message about an internet email (described below).
3. Select option 2 to opt out of mailings permanently. Be careful, because option 1 only opts you out for five years.
4. Follow the prompts to enter your phone number, name, zip code, address, and social security number.
The service states that your request will be processed within 5 business days, and a "Notice of Election" form will be mailed to you.
For more information about this, visit the ftc.gov website
view polkadot's profile
I keep a "yard sale box" in all of my closets. My community has a yard sale twice a year. We arrange for Goodwill to do a donation drive and have a truck park in the neighborhood, so at the end of the day all of the neighbors can donate what they didn’t sell. Even those that don’t participate in the yard sale take advantage of the opportunity to rid their homes of clutter. We filled the truck in April and plan to do the same in September.
view Tanna's profile
I like organizing by bowls. It's easy enough to toss stuff in, and everything is still visible, so you can just fish around for what you need. I have a bowl on the coffee table with the remotes, game controllers, tape measure, a slinky. A bowl in the bathroom with all my hair clips and bands. A bowl in the kitchen with rubber bands, twist ties, etc. It's a great way to limit the footprint of clutter while still keeping everything accessible.
view Miniature Dance Party's profile
My partner and I have completely different clutter management strategies (mainly I have one and he doesn't) so we are always at odds about clutter, especially when it comes to books. He likes to keep his books and re-read them, and I (like Mama's friend) give books away after I'm done reading them to somebody who will enjoy it . He lets me organise his good books on nice bookshelves and he keeps the books he insists on keeping but doesn't read regularly in the attic.
DVDs were also a problem (he has gazillions) but I've managed to hide them in the entertainment centre drawers where they are still accessible, but aren't such an eyesore.
So for us, it's a matter of keeping the clutter he's attached to to keep him happy, but hiding or decorating it so that it doesn't look like clutter to keep me happy.
We also purge the closet every six months or so and donate clothes we don't wear often to charity.
Hooks tucked away out of sight (behind doors) are also helpful for towels, jackets, keys, etc.
view stoat's profile
Like JenJen, I also do greendimes. I love it, and yes, now it's only about 15 bucks a year. If only they could do something about my bills.
My apartment building has a recycled reading basket and it's a godsend. I keep old issues out of our apartment without the guilt of 'but I only read it once', and I always have something new to read on Muni.
view Shannon in SF's profile
jake's mom: my junk drawer solution is an empty egg carton: great tiny compartments for little screws, rubber bands, twist ties, etc. and you can easily cut it to custom-fit any size drawer!
view pinko's profile