The most common clutter hotspots in your home

If you've lived in the same house for a long time, you've probably noticed some areas of your home attract more clutter than others. These are usually frequently used rooms with a bunch of various things that are tough to organize. Despite our best effort to tidy up a little bit every day, these areas are still chaos magnets that are difficult to maintain. But, don't worry - we're here to help you. This article will talk about the most common clutter hotspots in your home and give you valuable ideas on how to get rid of the chaos. So, grab a cup of coffee, and let's learn how to declutter!  

The entryway

The first thing you see when you enter a house is the entryway. Every time you pass through it, you leave something here - keys, shoes, coats, jackets, wallet, etc. Little by little, this space becomes cluttered. You won't even notice it until you come home one day and there isn't enough space for one more jacket or pair of shoes. This is why this area is one of the most common clutter hotspots in your home. 

The question is, what can you do to organize it better? First, put away everything you won't be wearing this season - winter coats and boots in summer or leather jackets in winter. Then, think about clever storage ideas. You can go for baskets, bins, cubbies, etc. Buy some hooks or a coat rack, if the space allows. Be creative but organized at the same time, and you won't struggle with this small, easily cluttered area of your house anymore. 

The garage

One of the most common clutter hotspots in every house is certainly the garage. Garages are practically storage units of every home. Here, we put everything we don't need anymore but may use sometime in the future, from old clothes and baby cribs to tools, bicycles, cars, toys, etc. So, if you want to clean out your garage in order to have a garage you can actually use, you'll have to set aside enough time and prepare appropriately. 

First, make three big piles - one for things you need and use, the second one for items you can donate, and the last one for old things that need to be thrown away. Secondly, don't forget that garages are meant for parking our cars, so make sure to leave enough space for it! Finally, purchase a couple of plastic bins and wooden baskets so that you can store some smaller stuff there. And there you have it - an organized garage you can use every day!

The kitchen counter and drawers

Whether your kitchen is small or big, you'll end up turning your drawers into junk drawers and your kitchen counter into a messy disposal site. Since every kitchen is a high-traffic room filled with little items with no permanent place in the house, it's no wonder this is one of the most common clutter hotspots in your home.

To clean out your kitchen counter, make a command center with hooks, tiny bins, and perhaps a magnetic or pinboard (ideally one that you can hang on the wall). This way, keys, mail, and other small items can be quickly organized and stored for later use. Buy drawer dividers and tiny containers for your kitchen drawers as well. Not only will you have a more organized kitchen, but you'll also improve the aesthetics of your cooking space and your house!

Where to store fragile dishware after decluttering your kitchen?

Everybody has fancy china and rarely used dishware that is hard to get rid of. So, after decluttering and reorganizing your kitchen, you'll need to find a place for this. We recommend renting a storage unit. A storage unit is a great way to keep your dishware protected and safe. Since you rarely use it, you won't have to worry about finding a place for them in the kitchen or your kids breaking them. Especially if you have expensive and valuable china. So, contact a local moving company and ask them about storing your fragile items. They often offer packing services, so you can even hire them to pack these delicate pieces properly!

The pantry

We all go crazy from time to time and buy a bunch of food and spices we don't ever use. Once we get home from the grocery store, we toss them in the pantry and forget about them. As a result, we end up with a pantry filled with expired foods and untouched kitchen stuff. More often than not, we can't even find the things we use because of the chaos we have created.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to keep things organized at all times. You should do the following to reorganize this common clutter magnet in your home:

• Pull everything out of your pantry;

• Throw away anything that reached its expiration date;

• Put aside everything edible you don't like to use - you can donate it later;

• Sort foods into groups and store them in labeled jars or baskets, put bulkier stuff in wooden baskets;

• Put everything you use every day at eye level, so you can easily find it.

Once you organize your pantry this way, it will be easy to keep everything in line!

The closet

If you think about it, pantries and closets are very similar. Usually, they are small spaces used for storing our stuff - the former for food and kitchen items and the latter for clothes. So, it comes as no surprise that closets are on this list of the most common clutter hotspots in your home.

It's extremely easy to pile things up in your closet. Too many clothes crammed into a wardrobe make putting together an outfit difficult. So, if you're currently in this situation, it's time to start decluttering. This is not a fun project - we're not going to lie. However, it is necessary. So, start by taking everything out of your closet. You can arrange clothes by season and type. Get rid of everything from the 'maybe' pile - let's be honest, you won't wear it. Donate it instead! You'll end up with more closet space and easily accessible outfits.

Are you ready to de-clutter?

Now that you know all about the most common clutter hotspots in your home and how to declutter them, it's time to get to work. The longer you procrastinate, the more mess you'll have to clean. Start now so that you can enjoy your decluttered home as soon as possible. Good luck!

Guest Post - Different Degrees of Clutter vs. Hoarding

It’s not uncommon to have some clutter lingering in different areas of your house. It might be a small collection of things taking up space, like a cluttered attic. Or, it could be a room that looks untidy, filled with items that aren’t in their place or don’t need to be there. 

A little clutter isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe you just haven’t had time to clean, or maybe you’re comfortable with leaving things alone in an attic or basement. 

But, there may also be an underlying psychological effect causing your clutter. If it gets out of hand, that might even lead to hoarding. 

With that in mind, let’s look at why you might be okay with too much clutter, and what to do when it becomes a problem. 

What’s Really Causing Your Clutter? 

Sometimes, clutter comes from indecision. Bringing things into your home and leaving them in a certain place could be the result of not knowing what to do with them. Other times, clutter builds up because you’re not ready to let things go. Maybe they have a sentimental value, or you’re putting too much emotional weight on them. 

If you dig deeper into those causes, you can probably see that there is a psychological attachment. For some, it’s indecision. For others, it might be a fear of letting go of something familiar. Other underlying emotions that can contribute to clutter include: 

• Uncontrolled impulse purchases

• Memories

• Fear of needing something in the future

• Guilt

• Obligation

• Hoping for a change

Unfortunately, too much clutter can also contribute to psychological issues. It can cause stress, make you feel inadequate, and can even distract you from things you’re supposed to focus on.

How to Know When Clutter Becomes Hoarding

If the beginnings of clutter can quickly become a problem, what happens when it gets worse? 

Most people have heard of hoarding, but where is that line crossed between a cluttered home and one that is overflowing with “stuff?”

Hoarding simply takes the psychological effects of clutter to another level. The American Psychiatric Association recognizes Hoarding Disorder as a real problem when someone excessively saves items that would have no value to others. Some of the most common behaviors and signs of this disorder include the inability to get rid of things (even things like food containers or what others might consider trash), and extreme stress or anxiety about throwing anything away. If someone has a buildup of clutter that causes rooms of their home to become unusable/unliveable, it has gone into hoarding territory. 

Everything from stress to OCD, and the factors listed above, can cause someone to become a hoarder. Whatever the case, hoarding can cause a lot of damage to your home. You might start to experience:

• Vermin infestation

• Mold growth

• Plumbing damage

• Pet damage

• Structural damage

Hoarding can cause you to feel anxious about your possessions. You may even realize that you have a problem but aren’t willing to let things go. Because of this, it’s not uncommon for those who hoard their belongings to avoid getting help or the treatment they need. Recognizing the signs, even understanding that your living conditions are unstable because of the extreme clutter, is the first step in getting help for a hoarding problem. 

Clear the Chaos and Build Organized Habits

If you have mild clutter in your home, consider why you might be avoiding it. Cleaning up and creating more space can give you a sense of freedom and take away some of the weight that clutter is causing. Choose to put some things in storage if you can’t let go. Additionally, utilize corners, buy organizers for your items, and use elevation to your advantage by putting things on shelves or tables. 

If your cluttering problem has gotten worse, you may be dealing with Hoarding Disorder. Self-help starts with recognizing you need to make a change, but that isn’t always easy. If necessary, seek support. 

Hoarding is often the result of underlying psychological issues, and a therapist, counselor, or support group can help you to work through those issues. It will be easier for you to manage your thoughts when they do and to start to get rid of the things you don’t need once and for all.

Author Bio: Noah Rue is a freelance writer.

Organizing Mistakes Making Your House Look Cluttered

What Makes a House Look Cluttered?
Have you ever walked through your supposedly clean house and gotten an uncomfortable creeping feeling? Despite your best efforts to keep things clean, it can still sometimes seem like you’re drowning in clutter.

Clean and uncluttered are two similar ideas that may come from the same book but are not on the same page. Clutter is an organizational mistake that loves to hide in plain sight.

Here are some common culprits that might be making your house look cluttered:
• Your entrance is the first thing you and others see when entering your home. It’s easy to let your entrance become a clutter trap for shoes, coats, keys and mail. A cluttered entrance can put a cluttered tint on the rest of your home.
• Those neat little piles you put things into when you’re organizing can end up swallowing your home. A nice pile is better than a tornado, but even the neatest of piles is still a pile of clutter.
• These days, everything comes with a cord. The plugs and chargers belonging to your appliances and devices may not be clutter, but they can look like clutter if you let them run wild in plain sight.

Should You Clean or Declutter First?

Decluttering before you clean will make cleaning much easier. If you put your mind to sorting through your clutter first, you’ll probably end up donating or throwing out a lot of things you don’t need. The more junk you get rid of, the less there will be to clean.

Once you’ve gone through your open-air junk and sorted it into things you want to keep and things you don’t, you will have eliminated much of your future cleaning work. Instead of looking for a way to keep all those things clean and organized, you’ll simply have fewer things. Fewer things means fewer piles, more space for your eyes to rest and less work for you.

How Do You Organize Your Household?

Start by designating a place for all the kinds of things that tend to pile up around your entrance. Use a crate for all the shoes, or train your family to keep them in rows against the wall. Use a coat rack for the winter wear, a tray or wall hooks for the keys and a pretty little basket for the mail.

Next, you may find it useful to come up with a system for the kinds of piles that tend to accumulate around the house. If bills tend to pile up on the counter, designate a bill drawer to keep them out of sight. If random clothes seem to materialize everywhere, assign a closet space for lost and found clothes.

I like to keep a chaos cupboard where I put anything that I regularly use but would otherwise leave out in the open. This can include sports gear, headphones, pet toys and even small tools. If you like organized chaos but despise clutter, keep it behind closed doors.

This also applies to all those devices and their cords. Assign a drawer where random mobile electronics belong so they don’t clutter up the couches or get lost between the cushions. Keep all the cords from your entertainment or work stations together in one place using a cable hider. Strategically placed cable hider sleeves can help you avoid tangles and lost chargers as well as reduce visible clutter.

Why Is It Important To Be Organized at Home?

Living in a mess can cause you stress. Piles and tangles can force you to constantly think about minor things that don’t deserve your attention. The less junk you keep in the open demanding your attention, the more you’ll be able to focus on the important things.

Coming up with storage systems and sticking to them also makes it easier to find things. When you designate a place where shoes go, you won’t have to spend another second thinking about where you put your shoes. Knowing where things should be is a great time saver.

Conclusion

You can usually hide in plain sight anything you don’t want to throw out or can’t move. These awesome zip-up cord concealers can consolidate all your wall and floor spaghetti. Imagine going from a mess of chargers, extensions, audio wires, Ethernet cables and USB cords to just one neat jet black line. 

When decluttering, we recommend using trash bags rather than storage bins. Storage bins signal to your brain that you might be keeping the items, which isn’t really decluttering. Trash bags tell your brain that the stuff in here is definitely leaving the house.

The easiest way to get a handle on your clutter is to start from zero. Take everything out of the room except the furniture, and then only let back in the items you use and love. This can give you a fresh perspective on both your rooms and your things and help you see the forest instead of just the trees.

Book Review - The House We Grew Up In

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell

Set in Cotswold Village England we meet the Bird Family. There are four children all with very different personalities. Meg is the oldest, followed by Bethan and then twin boys Rory and Rhys. Their dad Colin is a lanky young looking college professor. At the center of the novel is the mom Lorelei a bit of a hippy, fun loving stay at home mom. Lorelei “treated the children like precious gems and made every moment sparkle.” 

One Easter weekend tragedy strikes and as a result the family starts to fall apart. We follow the Bird family over the next three decades even as they are estranged. Ms. Jewell explores a variety of topics such as mental illness, family secrets, emotional trauma, incarceration and death. However, the main topic which is threaded throughout the entire book is Lorelei’s hoarding. We find out that Lorelei is a compulsive shopper and hoarder which ultimately damages all her relationships.

So what exactly is hoarding?  Many times in casual conversations people who collect many things refer to themselves as hoarders. Yet, hoarding is not the same as collecting.  

The American Psychiatric Association states “People with hoarding disorder excessively save items that others may view as worthless. They have persistent difficulty getting rid of or parting with possessions, leading to clutter that disrupts their ability to use their living or work spaces.”

As in the book, hoarding can cause a strain on family relationships. Many times family members get frustrated after trying for years to help their family member. Ultimately, Lorelei is left alone and isolated from her family. Hoarding may also lead to safety concerns such as fire hazards or tripping and falling due to lack of paths and open spaces. 

So what to do when you are in this situation? 

• Encourage the person to seek professional help. There are many therapists trained in hoarding. Hoarding is not something that just goes away. The disorder that leads to hoarding will likely be something your significant other will face forever. Having a good therapist will help the person not just during the cleanout but with moving forward in their life.

Read and learn about hoarding. There are many good resources online such as The International OCD Foundation  and The Mayo Clinic.

• Try not to judge. Try to be supportive and suggest professional treatment.

• If they ask for your help try to be helpful. If you find the task too daunting or it leads to arguing consider hiring a professional organizer to work with the individual.  Make sure you find an organizer that has experience dealing with hoarding issues.

• Decluttering can take months and even years with a person with lived in experience as a hoarder. Do not expect overnight success. Be encouraging and supportive. Baby steps can lead to bigger steps and success down the road. 

The House We Grew Up In is an emotional book filled with twists and turns. In the end the family returns back to the house they grew up in to come to grips with the many secrets and topics they need to discuss as a family. It certainly will keep the reader hoping that the Bird family can move forward in spite of all the history and issues they have faced.

Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York bestselling author of eighteen novels, including Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs and Invisible Girl.

The House We Grew Up In: A Novel

By Jewell, Lisa

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