Get Clutter Free in 30-Days
With these easy Quick Tip solutions to simplify your life and organize your home, you'll see less clutter each and every day. How are you feeling - getting organized can be a BIG job but so satisfying. How did you do on yesterday's assignment? Which assignment did you choose to do?
Today let's talk about setting things up ahead of time to avoid clutter. Here are some thoughts on where clutter seems to occur the most in the home and suggestions how to AVOID it from happening.
There are plenty of areas in your home that are just waiting to collect clutter, but remember, a place for everything and every in its place, right? ...or so goes the old saying. The problem you might be experiencing is that you just have too many things and not enough storage space. If you just can't bring yourself to trim it down, then the solution is to add pieces of furniture with built-in storage to help keep things tidy in every room in the house.
30 Day Challenge
Day Seventeen: Avoid It in the First Place
Day Seventeen: Avoid It in the First Place
Personal Space
Forget about a room of one’s own - most of us would settle for a piece of furniture where we can just sit, put on our makeup, or write a short note with personal items close at hand, like a vanity or beautiful writing desk. Use decorative small trays and boxes to organize the space. To maximize stowing capacity, couple the vanity with a storage ottoman.
Provide easy access. Whether you use it for your makeup or your laptop, a lift-up compartment in a vanity is handy, and gives the piece just the slightest touch of femininity.
Family Room
Books, toys, remote controls - the biggest mess is almost certainly found in whichever room gets the most traffic. To control the chaos, select tables, consoles, and cabinets with plenty of shelves and drawers.
Keep surfaces clean and clear. Seek out a coffee table with built-in drawers. It keeps your stuff in order and provides the perfect place for everything from remotes to toys. Turn an accent table into a storage solution with extra drawer space too. If your sofa serves as a guest bed, use an ottoman for a coffee table to store blankets, an alarm clock, and other items your guest might need (not to mention the extra seating it will provide while the sofa is pulled out for a bed).
Keep your magazine, book and newspaper collections from looking messy with a simple rack or basket.
Kitchen
Pots, pans, dishes, bowls, utensils, plus the many small appliances that seem to multiply - it’s no wonder that storage in the kitchen is at a premium.
Bedroom
The bedroom offers many opportunities for storage, which is lucky, since there are so many things we need to store there. Your objective in this room is to find storage for clothes, space for jewelry and mementos, plus whatever you like to have on hand next to the bed. WHEW!
Remember, nightstands with drawers or cabinet space take up the same amount of area as those that simply have legs.
Integrate storage completely around the bed (under it or beside it, at the head or foot). Place a ottoman with storage at the foot of the bed.
There, that's a good start - I hope this got you thinking about your own 'pending' clutter crisis and how you might be able to avoid it in the first place.
Your Assignment for Day Seventeen:
Survey your home. Where are the areas that are just waiting to collect the clutter? Take a good look at each room and its furnishings. Find a way to use every square inch possible for extra storage where it is needed.
Good Luck!
