9 Exit Strategies for Your Clutter
How to efficiently — and regularly — rid your home of the things you don’t want
Alison Hodgson
July 9, 2015
Houzz Contributor. Author of The Pug List: A Ridiculous Dog, a Family Who Lost Everything, and How They All Found Their Way Home http://alisonhodgson.net
Houzz Contributor. Author of The Pug List: A Ridiculous Dog, a Family Who Lost Everything,... More
Many of us have a problem with clutter. It can be so hard to get rid of things. Often the difficulty comes down to deciding whether something really is clutter. The struggle can be internal (“I could use this some day”), or with various family members (“Are you kidding me? That was my Aunt Agatha’s!”)
If you are desperate to clear things out of your house, a good place to start is the stuff everyone can agree needs to go. In our family no one wants to hold on to outgrown clothing, dead batteries, returnable bottles and cans, and books we’ve read but don’t love enough to keep. So why can’t we get them out of the house? Why are they piled by the door or on the end of the table, stashed in the back of the pantry or moldering in bags in the garage? Why!
I was thinking about this as we cleaned the garage last week, and then again when I unloaded a table outside our laundry room and noted the various bags of things I had carefully gathered and sorted and then forgot about for weeks on end. I realized we need to come up with a few systems for getting this stuff out of the house. We need some exit strategies.
If you are desperate to clear things out of your house, a good place to start is the stuff everyone can agree needs to go. In our family no one wants to hold on to outgrown clothing, dead batteries, returnable bottles and cans, and books we’ve read but don’t love enough to keep. So why can’t we get them out of the house? Why are they piled by the door or on the end of the table, stashed in the back of the pantry or moldering in bags in the garage? Why!
I was thinking about this as we cleaned the garage last week, and then again when I unloaded a table outside our laundry room and noted the various bags of things I had carefully gathered and sorted and then forgot about for weeks on end. I realized we need to come up with a few systems for getting this stuff out of the house. We need some exit strategies.
First Steps
Assess successful systems of removal. In our house the only system we have is trash and recycling. One big reason it works is they come to us. If only Goodwill did weekly pickups! But there were other things to notice and replicate: designated containers and a set date of removal.
Assess successful systems of removal. In our house the only system we have is trash and recycling. One big reason it works is they come to us. If only Goodwill did weekly pickups! But there were other things to notice and replicate: designated containers and a set date of removal.
Identify what needs to go. Odds are it will come down to a few broad categories. In our house it’s mainly items for Goodwill, children’s outgrown clothing to go to consignment, books to trade for credit at our local bookstore, things to be returned to the store (for whatever reason!), library books and dead batteries.
Designate bags or boxes for removal. We have a bag for library books, but I use paper grocery bags for Goodwill or the bookstore. Only sometimes do I label them, which requires double checking and makes it impossible for my husband to make a run to Goodwill without my oversight.
For the books, I’m going to buy a couple of canvas bags: one to hang on a hook in the mudroom and one to sit on the table outside our laundry room.
For the books, I’m going to buy a couple of canvas bags: one to hang on a hook in the mudroom and one to sit on the table outside our laundry room.
Establish where the designated bags live between returns. Not all of us have roomy pantries, mudrooms or garages. We may need to keep our bags out in the open, which isn’t such a bad thing — because out of sight is often out of mind.
Attractive bags or baskets are nice, but function needs to come before form. Get your system in place first, and cute it up as you go.
Bonus: Do you have family or friends who frequently visit and forget things? We have a bag hanging in our front closet specifically for my sister’s family. When anything is forgotten or we come across something we want to give them, it goes into the bag.
Attractive bags or baskets are nice, but function needs to come before form. Get your system in place first, and cute it up as you go.
Bonus: Do you have family or friends who frequently visit and forget things? We have a bag hanging in our front closet specifically for my sister’s family. When anything is forgotten or we come across something we want to give them, it goes into the bag.
Create a schedule of purging. It’s natural in fall and spring to go through clothing and decide what no longer fits. Choose a day, bag things up and get the bags out of the house. So easy to type but so many steps — I know!
Short term, it could be designating a day every week or two to run errands, including stops at the library, Goodwill or shops to make returns.
Short term, it could be designating a day every week or two to run errands, including stops at the library, Goodwill or shops to make returns.
Reuseit
Always carry a basket. For a while I kept the habit of carrying a medium-size basket in and out of the house. It lived by my back door or sat in the front seat of my van. It got me thinking what I needed to take with me and what I needed to remove from my van. This would need to be modified if you don’t use a car, but the most important thing is establishing routines for removal.
Assign a responsible party. Unless you live alone, creating exit strategies needs to be a group effort. One person may be the main curator/gatherer and another can be in charge of removal, but it probably won’t be neatly divided. Trial and error will help you figure out what works (or doesn’t) in your household.
Start small. Work on one habit at a time. What’s driving you the most batty is a good place to start.
Refine and tighten things as you go. Perhaps you already have some successful systems in place and you just need to work on details. Be patient, keep working on things and watch success build upon itself.
Your turn: What are your systems for getting things out of the house? Share your tips in the Comments.
More: How to Build Your Housekeeping Muscle
Start small. Work on one habit at a time. What’s driving you the most batty is a good place to start.
Refine and tighten things as you go. Perhaps you already have some successful systems in place and you just need to work on details. Be patient, keep working on things and watch success build upon itself.
Your turn: What are your systems for getting things out of the house? Share your tips in the Comments.
More: How to Build Your Housekeeping Muscle
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Rosemary, it sounds like what you have isn't really "clutter", because you know where and what it is and where to find it when you need it. I see clutter as something that you couldn't find if you did need it!
I have a few strategies that have worked for my husband and me.
I keep a large basket in the front closet. When it is full, I call for a Charity Pickup.
I sell or give away items on Nextdoor.com. This has been very successful for me and I have met some very nice neighbors in the bargain!
I have learned that organizing clutter is useless - it’s still clutter. Get rid of it. All the beautiful bins, cubbies and shelves in the world will not move unused, extra stuff out of your space.
We just had our kitchen cabinets refaced. Two of the lower cabinets were converted into drawers. (best decision EVER). I didn’t have a lot of things to get rid of in the kitchen, but there were a few things that were donated. I actually have empty space now!
Congrats on that empty space! I, too have empty spaces. Some would ask just why that is considered to be a valuable thing and I would answer two things. The first would be that I no longer have to store and keep those things, and the second is that my kids will not have to dispose of them. And, further, there is the added appreciation value of having fewer things and being able to see the inherent value that the remaining items contribute to my enjoyment of living.
I agree with you that organized clutter is still clutter.
I have found myself in a posistion of finding that I got rid of something that I have found a use for. But, in not one of those instances has it ever led to a crisis. In all instances the keeping, organizing and storing of the object far outweighed the minor use.
I love that photo in the above post of the short row of clothes that are hanging up and the shoes under it. But, how realistic is that? There appears to be only shirts there. Most of us have pants, also. And, pajamas and underwear and socks and those old thsirts that are not fit for the public anymore but absolutely bring us joy to wear when no one is looking.
I have found that getting down to the important basics in your life is a lot like an onion in that it comes off in layers. Just when you feel that you have gotten down to a nice shiny layer you realize that it is still too big and you don't need that layer either.