How to clear chronic clutter zones

There’s at least one area in the home (sometimes ​​multiple!) where items just pile up and it’s impossible to keep clear. When I analyze these areas with clients, there are a variety of distinct (and legitimate!) reasons why the items are there. When you understand those reasons you can address the areas effectively. Here are the reasons I’ve found that items pile up, and what to do about them.

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1) Items in transition: This is one of the most common reasons I see that stuff is lying around, and it makes sense that often these items are coming in and out of the home. Things aren’t always put away immediately when they come into the home (hello, that’s life!), and there are often items waiting to be taken out (for errands, returns, etc.). My recommendation is to create a formal “drop zone” (e.g., with a bin) for transition items so it looks more intentional and there’s a space limit to how much can pile up. 

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2) Items you’re unsure what to do with: This is the next most common category of items I see in these piles. These can be things you’re unsure whether you want to keep (like gifts, or memorabilia like kid art), or items you’re not sure where to store (like those extra parts from putting together a piece of furniture—pro tip: store them all in a “household hardware” box!). I think it’s okay to defer the decision for a short period of time as sometimes you just need a hot minute to think about it, but don’t let yourself off the hook for too long. Take a moment to reflect about the item: 

• If you want to keep it, you need to find a home for it. Think about where similar items are called (I call it finding the item’s “friends”). For example if you don’t tend to have candles in the house and are given one, consider storing it near light bulbs or decorative items.
• If you want to think about it some more, move it to a temporary home where it’s clear your decision will be made later (like having a bin just for kid art, or putting the gift candle with other candles and mentally noting you might end up giving it away).

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3) Objects that represent tasks: One of the most interesting and pernicious piles I’ve seen is, as a client coined recently, “objects that represent tasks.” They are things like items that need to be returned or given away at some point, items that need to be fixed, or even books you’re considering reading. These items are not going to be handled immediately, so they need a less annoying place to sit until you’re ready to deal with them. I recommend that people identify an area for these items (which I affectionately call the “action center”) so they don’t clutter other areas. A great place for this can be a side table next to a desk (the desk itself often has items like this, but is ideally cleared of these items so you can focus on the task at hand).

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4) Objects belong in areas that are hard to access: Sometimes objects that are sitting around do have a home, but it’s difficult to access. Here are some recommendations for how to solve access issues.

• If it’s because the area is too full, you may need a larger amount of space for that category of items, or you may want to limit yourself by adopting a “one in, one out” rule. In general I recommend that people aim for storage areas to be 75% full to make it easier to put things away and add new items.
• If it’s because the area is hard to access, first consider frequency of use. If you access these items a lot, then swap them with something that’s taking up “prime real estate,” but is used less frequently. Or sometimes you can keep the location, but implement a tweak, such as getting an easy-access step stool, or changing the bin to one that’s open or not annoying to open.

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5) The items are papers or memorabilia: These two categories are especially hard to deal with. Here are recommendations I make in these cases.

• For memorabilia, if you want to see the item for a little while, find a place where temporary memorabilia can be on display. Limit the amount of space for these items, and rotate them out into a memorabilia box when new items come in. 
• For papers, set up an “inbox” bin for items associated with actions (such as paying bills), and a “file” bin for items to keep. Here are 3 great bonuses for using a “file” bin: 1) You don’t need to file things until the bin is full, and it takes less total time to do a batch of filing at once. 2) If you need to find something you were recently using but that hasn't been filed yet, you can find it quickly in the bin, and 3) When the time comes to file things in the box, you may find that some items seem not that important anymore, and thus don't need to be filed.
• For kid art, I recommend setting up a bin to hold onto these items for a little while, and when it gets full, go through it and archive the items you want to keep longer term. The time distance allows you to be more objective, and selective, with what you choose to keep.

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Don’t get annoyed or beat yourself up about these piles. Assess what’s going on, and then you can take action!

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