I'm I spent this morning cleaning all the clutter away from the countertops in my kitchen. I have a wall I hit where I stop and sort through bills, magazines and newspapers. If it was left up to my husband, every possible surface would be covered all the time. I just try to stay up on it but it is not easy.

I tell my family that a cluttered house means a cluttered mind for me so I give them a little rope and then snatch it away. LOL Seriously I try to shred unwanted offers, throw out what is not needed and place bills to be made in the inbox for handling.

When you find out, let me know... I keep joking that I'm going to slant my floors so at least all the toys, etc, roll to one side.

I clean as I go - don't let things sit. Mail comes in, I go through it - chunking junk. Bills have a drawer to go in or I file if it's on auto drafts. Sign up for email billing then you won't have it come in the mail. We have three S Corps and I take care of bills, etc for my parents and older sister. Plus I'm on accounts with our three children. A total of 19 checking/savings accounts. Trust me, organization is the key!!!!!

I straighten up before I go to bed. I like waking up to a clean house. Helps that my kids are all young adults and do not live at home...but I still have DH, a couple of cats and a dog or three. lol

Read a magazin, turn down pages or tear out. Recycle, trash or give away as soon as you're finished. If you're keeping entire magazine, have a place out of sight to store these.

Don't put something in a drawer or cabinet that you do not want, need or like. If someone gives you a gift you don't like, Goodwill it asap.

Go through all drawers, cabinets, armoires, etc at least once a year. Get rid of things you haven't used, worn, etc in the past 6 months to a year.

Not sure what else I can share - I've always been a picker upper and it would take me less than 2 minutes to get my home photo ready.

"I've always been a picker upper and it would take me less than 2 minutes to get my home photo ready"

:swoons with envy:

I've always been a picker upper and it would take me less than 2 minutes to get my home photo ready.

Creekylis, sorry, couldn't help it. My jaw dropped when I read it!

Allison, you are too perfect, lol! I learned a long time ago that as nice as it is to live in an orderly house, it's not a high enough priority for me.

"Don't put something in a drawer or cabinet that you do not want, need or like." So, I'm guessing you would disapprove mightily of our art closet -- keeper of all junk that we set in there because we didn't know what else to do with it. :)

Seriously, I've never been a natural "cleaner," but after a while the piles start to really bug, so about once a month, I go on a mad de-clutter rampage. Sort through all the toys in every closet, put everything in its home; throw out all the art projects my 4-yr-old is willing to part with and hang the rest on the kids' hall, sort through the piles of paper that DH accumulates next to the phone, remove all the stickers DD has placed in inappropriate locations during one of her games (found one on the glass block next to my shower this morning -- she left me a fairy), sort through the kids' dressers and closets to remove items they've outgrown and reorganize all the little pieces and parts to their toys, which they've hidden in their closets during the pre-bedtime cleanup. I get all in a dither (that's part of the fun), DH grumbles and growls, but the kids love it. Our 1 year old goes around swiffering the whole house, the 4 yr old puts on her "Cinderella" apron and dusts. We play "clean up" music: Happy Working Song, Whistle While You Work, Spoon Full of Sugar, etc. So for one afternoon every month, my house looks clean and fresh and ready for visitors.

Then we put our mops away and make another mess...

You're supposed to keep your horizontal surfaces clutter free?

I read "somewhere" LOL, that you are never to touch an time you are never to touch an item twice. So when you collect your mail, you should read it and dispense it as needed, not put it down to come back to.

This little tidbit applies to everything and I wish I could learn to practice it. LOL I know if my new house I'll do better because I will have adequate storage and will be more organized. Let's pray anyway!!

Brutuses, I thought the same thing pre-remodel, lol. Good luck!

Basically I try to find a balance between "stuff" (which is NOT clutter) and "empty space"

I crave both beauty and function -- so those qualities must be factored into the equation. For example -- my DH MUST have a place to stash his wallet, keys and cell phone plus charger near the door to the garage so there is a nice, small painted box in our kitchen that handles those items (mine too!) It is a solution that simple works for THIS house -- in another place -- it might require a different solution.

For example -- I try to create "systems" that work for us -- the mail is brought into the house, opened right away, junk thrown out or shredded, and the "must be paid" bills and items are stashed in a kitchen "mail box" The paid bills are transferred to the inbox in the closet in the home office -- and every three months are filed into the Home Files.

So you have to create "systems" to handle the daily routine items ((from groceries to mail to laundry)) and "places to stash" ((from groceries to mail to laundry))

No different at all from running an office or business or factory!! Each place MUST have systems to handle Inventory Control; Accounts Payable and Receivable; Purchasing etc. Think of all of the businesses that have screwed up those basic functions -- and failed!

Yes -- I do pick up and "clean as I go" This is a small house -- so stuff-turned-into-clutter can really get away from us very very quickly!

BUT -- for accessories -- think in terms of odd numbers! For example -- one large bowl filled with apples or lemons on a table. Three candlesticks (of different heights but matching in color or shape) on the left-hand side of a mantel with EMPTY space on the right .....

Or think of Pairs -- for symmetery -- a candlestick at each end of the mantel AND one pretty box in the middle ...... OR a lamp at each end of the sofa on end tables with a single small floral arrangement (fresh for a party) on each table. A matching arrangement (long and low) for the dining table.

Or think of placing items on a tray that "cuddles" them together -- and makes it easy to lift the whole thing off to clean or use the surface for another purpose.

I bet most people pick up/clean up for the pictures posted here.

I tend to get a little pile on one spot on the kitchen counter but I try to keep it under control. The idea of everything having a place is very helpful. I go through the mail right away and recyle the junk mail and put the bills in a special drawer.

You've gotten some good ideas already. I have 3 kids, 2 dogs, and a husband. None of them seem to mind the clutter like I do! But I do have some "systems" in place. I have actually had friends come into my kitchen and say "where the heck do you put all your clutter?" LOL. First off, and I know I'm lucky here, I have a LOT of kitchen cabinets and drawers. I also have storage under built-in seating in the kitchen. So I have a place for everything. The only appliance-type things that are on my counter are a toaster and a coffee maker, because those are the only ones that are used every day. Everything else is put away. I literally open the mail next to the trash and recycling cabinet. Everything that's junk goes away immediately. Bills go in a designated box in a desk drawer. Magazines/catalogs that I want to read later go into a magazine basket in the living room. I have designated drawers for stuff like cell phone chargers and pens and paper. I have a sort of butler's pantry area between the kitchen and dining room that you can't really see unless you're going from kitchen to dining room (not a common traffic pattern in my house) and I do tend to let stuff pile up on one side of the counter there.

Then I have designated "clutter collectors" such as: on a bookcase in the family room, each kid has a basket. If I find misc. junk around the kitchen or family room, it goes into the basket. Then if a kid is looking for something, s/he knows where to look. My husband and I also have our own baskets on another shelf. If I have some little item that I can't deal with at the moment, it goes in the basket and periodically I go through the basket and empty it (my DH, on the other hand, NEVER empties his).

Keys go on hooks by the back door. Kids' backpacks go in a big basket by the door. The family room has a big old desk with plenty of drawers -- some for the kids and some for the adults. We have two coffee tables in our house, both with storage -- one is an old trunk and the other just has a bunch of drawers.

It's not easy! And what I've described above are the "public" areas of my house. Don't even ask about the bedrooms!

This is very interesting....I go through stages....clutter free for a week, then....well....I don't know what happens.
What i want to know is, how long do you keep papers?
I'm not talking about inportant documents, I'm talking about utility bills, car insurance bills, stuff like that.
How about your check registers? I have every one, almost, that I've ever used. I never have to go back and refer to them after about a year. Do I need to keep them and ALL monthly bank statements forever?
What do you all do with these things?

Live alone? Have no possessions? The truth of the matter is that gravity is not the weak force that physicists claim it to be. Gravity is the strongest force in the universe, stronger than any magnetic force. Objects come from everywhere to be stopped from falling by the nearest horizontal surface. The second strongest force is inertia. Once the object comes to rest on the horizontal surface, it takes effort to put it away. The third strongest force is laziness.

I can't keep the horizontal surfaces clean because I'm always sitting here, vertically, reading the GW forums! :-D

I learned a long time ago that as nice as it is to live in an orderly house, it's not a high enough priority for me.

I don't consider it a priority for me, it's just something I do. It is much easier since the kids are grown and of course the house was not neat when they were in the house. I wouldn't want to be remembered as Mean Mommy! lol

We have a lot of kitchen and laundry room cabinets. DH the first/top drawer in the laundry room for his junk; change, billfold, keys, etc. The dogs/cats have a drawer of their own for pills, medicine, extra collars, etc. DH also has a drawer in the kitchen for his laptop/cord so when he's not here, it's not left out. We usually have two stacks of magazines on the coffee table - along with our feet. A dog toy or two on the rug.

We have two large storage rooms, under the stairway storage closet is also large and an extra one car garage downstairs with a gigantic room under the front veranda for DH and his tools, yard things, etc.

Some of it is an optical illusion; you may come in and the house looks all neat and clean, but if you looked closely, the DR table needs dusting....or the baseboards. One thing I am not is OCD about is regular cleaning more than once a week. Second thing I do every morning is make the bed. It's all habit.

A GREAT source of information for all kinds of organization is RealSimple magazine -- and its website -- some really brillant ideas there!

Check with your tex professional or online resources (like the Real Simple ones) to see how long papers should be kept! Of course -- the most important ones like wills, trust papers, deeds, etc. do have VERY long "shelf-lives" LOL!

Jan

Here is a link that might be useful: Real Simple magazine website

"Maybe I need more accessories so there's not room to lay things down?"
Actually, having LESS on the surfaces makes your clutter stand out more, and you might be more prone to not put anything down there.

"Where do you put your mail and bills?"
Mail is dealt with when it comes in.
Junk is tossed, as are all outer envelopes.
DH's mail goes to his desk.
New catalog goes into the catalog basket, and the previous one is tossed.
New magazine goes into the magazine basket, and the older one is tossed.
Bills are paid that day, and the receipt is filed.
Done.... with no piles!

"How come my stacks of books or magazines don't look like some of the ones I see on here?"
I don't know... mine are in baskets.
The magazine basket is only big enough to hold one issue of the monthlies and 4 issues of the weekly. When one comes in, one goes out. If we haven't read it in a month, we never will!
The catalog basket holds only the current issues. Again, when one comes in, one goes out.

Also, I got rid of the coffee tables. They served no purpose to MY family, except to be clutter magnets. Amazing how things get dealt with when you cannot just toss them on a coffee table!

Regarding photo-ready... yeah, I can be ready in two minutes also. I am that decluttered too!
Just don't look too hard for the dust!

Like teacats, i have a pretty painted box on my kitchen desk for DHs wallet, change, keys etc. HOWEVER, he seems to prefer to drop his stuff next to the box, not in it. Since it is now just me, DH and the two dogs, i can no longer blame the mess on the kids, haha. There have been some great ideas here for you, imsoconfused, i think it just takes time to get your own system. Start in one area, get a handle on it, and move to another area.

Nice thread Beth... I think most people clean up before the photos and I have tremendous respect for the people who take and post pics of their houses without cleaning first to help another poster. Usually there is a "don't mind the mess.." note, but I respect their security in who they are in their families - not just who they are as decorators or house keepers.
Personally, I do have many of the systems that people mention, and I go through my closets and bins of toys regularly as it serves as a weird form of stress-relief for me. Regardless though, things stack up, dishes collect, etc. It is all about balance - and given a well balanced home comes days with extreme organization and disorganization....

A good piece of advice I read once is handle an item as few times as possible. E.G., don't read your mail, then put it on a counter to be filed away later. File it immediately. Or don't take your clothes off and lay then on the bed or a chair, hang it up right away. This is a great rule of thumb I tried, with varying degrees of success, to teach my two sons, now grown.

The only time I don't try to heed this is when I have items that need to be take upstairs or to the basement. I tend to pile them by the stairway until the next time I go up or down the stairs or I'd be running up and down every 5 minutes. Although, that would be good exercise!

To keep horizontal surfaces clutter free is to have a place for everything and put it back when you are finished with it, whether it is mail, a book, magazine, or the dinner dishes.

My home may not be spotless but it is not cluttered ... but please don't look in a drawer or cabinet!!

I keep a basket at the top and bottom of the stairs.

My house "appears" clutter free and I also often have folks ask "Where's your stuff?. I have clutter but it's all out of sight. I have a ton of downstairs storage space - laundry room closet, kitchen desk drawers, large pantry, two downstairs hall closets, built ins etc. and they all get cluttered periodically. I'm not looking at the mess all day so it doesn't really bother me. I have friends who have more visible clutter, but their storage areas are hyper organized. Different strokes for different folks!

I am mentally drained by clutter. And my spouse is a non clutter-er, too. My motto is when in doubt, throw it out.

The children, however, claim every scribble a masterpiece worthy of the Louvre. We contain those with folders and drawers for artwork and art supplies.

But I find if you never stop cleaning and straightening (as in you move throughout your day and remove this or that, fold this or that), as opposed to dedicating a day a week or a certain time, then it actually stays that way pretty easily and really takes no time at all. A pillow fluff and a re-arranged blanket and I'm good for company.

Now, I ask you, when is the last time you washed your garage floor? Hmmm?

That's why I love drawers and furniture which I can "put things in". I'm horrible with clutter. I keep a LARGE basket on a shelf in the kitchen for bills etc, once a month or so when the basket begins to overflow I pay the bills. As for magazines and catalogs, my coffee table is a huge chest, just open the top and dump everything in when companies coming. I do have to remove about a hundred pounds of old catalogs and magazines several times a year to recycle, but heck, it looks good for awhile! In the foyer I have an antique dresser with a mirror and drawers. Keys go in tea cups on the top of the dresser,clutter goes in the drawers. Remember, every so often all these "places to put stuff" do become full, so I have to cull the heard of junk on a semi yearly basis. It's something I do (open the drawers) when no one is watching. It can be very embarassing!

susanilz5, I do the same, I'll put it all in a big container than a couple of months later I go back and clean it out, file, etc. At least it's out of sight while I'm working up the energy to go through it. LOL

tea, I love the Real Simple e-mail newsletter.

I can't stand clutter and I live with 4 of the most clutter loving people on the face of the earth! They no longer ask me where something is because they're so sick of hearing the same response "if you'd put it back where it belonged you wouldn't waste so much time looking". My clutter phobia stems from my childhood having been raised by a woman who is the clutter queen. I open my mail next to the trash/recyling bin, this really helps. I pay my bills twice a month and file them immediately (former accountant). I'm also a huge believer in storage bins of all sorts. I love baskets with lids, hides the mess. I live by this motto "as long as you can't see it, it's not messy".

I live in a 113 year old house and back then they didn't have any closets, except for brooms and the like. I guess they had one dress for summer and one dress for winter. lol And the husband had a suit for church and overalls for work.

Unless they lived in one of those plantation houses and still they didn't have any closets, just armoires.

Thank God the previous owner built two walk in closets upstairs and many tall kitchen cabinets. And I have three large armoires for clothes downstairs. And enough cabinets in the bathroom's for towels and personal items.

Although, I do have a weakness for boots and shoes and bags. In fact, I have so many shoes and boots that I have them lined up in a bedroom like art work. I am going to have to deal with that, and soon. I thought I would have something special built just for my shoe collection in one of the walk in closets.

But paper work can drive me crazy. I file it or shread it immediately. I am firmly convinced it will take over the world if given the chance. lol

Thanks for all the great ideas here! I do already try to do some of them, but like someone else here said, it doesn't seem to last more than a few days or a week or so. Gonna keep trying and gonna try some of your other ideas as well. Good to know that there are others that do have the same problem. Thanks again!

Warning-grumpy vent/rant ahead!

"I don't consider it a priority for me, it's just something I do. It is much easier since the kids are grown and of course the house was not neat when they were in the house."

Allison, sorry to pick on you; I noticed the same sentiment from a couple of other folks who have responded in this thread. Frankly, people without kids living at home, IMO, are living in a different universe as far as ease of keeping a home clutter free.

I'm a neat and tidy person myself. So is my husband, with one important exception (more on that later). When I lived alone, and after we married but before kids, it was not a huge or impossible task to keep my living area clutter free and serenely tidy. Now, after 19 years and 2 kids and with those 2 both teenagers...forget it.

I would like to hear from some folks in this topic who are experiencing life at its 'fullest', ie living with children, pets, a couple of fulltime jobs for the adults in the house, no household help. I want to learn how THOSE folks are living the dream of a house with empty horizontal surfaces :).

As for me, I have all the above clutter creators in addition to living in a house built in 1950 with a single (not walk in) closet in each of 3 bedrooms and one (narrow) linen closet in the hall. No other storage. I sort mail and throw it away. I have places for everything. Etc etc etc. My house is also filled with stuff and between the kids and my packrat husband (who loves to bring home stuff OTHER people have thrown away-arrgh) clutter free is not happening. And it won't for a long, long time.

Sorry to pick on ya, Allison and the other neatniks. But to make amends, can I ship a couple of teens and maybe a husband to you? That would free up a LOT of clutter around my abode!

Ann

I don't work, but i do still have two teens and home, five cats and a dog! Maybe my surfaces stay clear because I am always dusting up the cat hair?

I have this probably completely ridiculous theory that as long as I keep my surfaces clear, I can have more crap on the walls.

Anyways, my sister-in-law works all the time and never cleans. When my brother gets to his boiling point with crap lying around, he simply takes his arm and sweeps every single thing from the counter onto the floor - voilÃÂ ! counter cleared!

My mother-in-law has no clear surfaces anywhere in her home and hasn't in years. This is a form of OCD and should be treated. But, I'm not going to be the one to deliver that message.

I hate clutter. It sucks my energy. There will always be evidence of our life lying around, but clutter is a different thing altogether.

I too do the "only handle it once" thing. As I walk to the house with the mail, I'm sorting it into trash and keep. The junk mail goes to the trash immediately, and the keep mail goes in the mail basket at the front door. (DH likes to see the daily mail instead of me just putting it away.)

Another trick I learned long ago was to never leave the room without taking something with you. If I have a drink at my desk, the next time I leave the room I take the cup to the dishwasher. When I'm leaving the kitchen to go check laundry, I take the new magazine on the table and put it in the magazine stack. When I leave the living room, I pick up any stray item and put it away on my way to wherever else I'm going.

Sorry to say, even with kids this is a very effective clutter-management technique. When they come home and spread their bags and books on the table, we go through what needs to be done, they throw away trash, and *as they leave the room* I tell them to take their stuff and put it away. They are so accustomed to hearing me say, "On your way out, grab that pair of shoes and put them away." that they'll now just do it naturally. Honestly, if you're going to be expending the energy to move to another room anyway, you might as well have something in your hand!

I don't have time to let it pile up and try to tackle it later. It takes way too much time that way.