Early in 2008 I was looking for information on Roth IRA’s and I stumbled upon an awesome site called Wise Bread. The site and its accompanying forums provide tons of great information for anyone interested in “living large on a small budget”. I must say, I felt at home immediately among the community of like-minded frugal folks. Through Wisebread, I eventually came across Unclutterer, a website that provides tips for getting and staying organized—but in a meaningful way. Clutter is not just things (though that’s what this post is about)—clutter is anything or anyone that causes distraction and prevents you from having an efficient and happy lifestyle. (For a bit of humor, check out the Unitasker Wednesday section, devoted to silly unitasker items that are almost certainly clutter).

so, uncluttering, huh?

I’ve never been a super neat and tidy person, but I have grown to appreciate tidiness in my home, and having just moved into a smaller apartment, my uncluttering urge has kicked into high gear. The process is still very new to me, but I thought it would be worthwhile to post the steps I’ve been following to achieve a more uncluttered lifestyle.

1) Detect clutter

I have found that clutter in my home falls into three categories:

1. Clutter that is junk
2. Clutter from things we don’t need/use anymore
3. Clutter from things we need that just don’t have a place

2) Plan and execute an strategy for dealing with the clutter

For “junk” clutter, my course of action was to throw it out or recycle it. I had a much more difficult time with clutter from items we don’t need/use. I had been hanging on to a lot of stuff from my time as a college student, so there were some memories attached. I had to be brutally honest with myself and decide if I’d ever use it. My course of action for this stuff was to donate it to Goodwill.

I found that my clutter problem was mostly that items had no place to live.We have books but no bookshelf. Shoes in the entryway but no shoe rack. Et cetera, et cetera. I blame myself for this state of affairs. Until recently, I couldn’t really convince myself that a shelf or other piece of furniture was a worthwhile purchase. Let’s just say I have seen the light and it looks like a ladder-style shelf in my favorite dark wood color!

Though the thought of buying things makes me wince, I do have some future purchases planned to help me with the organizing. A baker’s rack will help store cookbooks and other kitchen items that we use a lot. The next priority is a basic desk for my computer and laptop, but I am currently very disheartened with the search for one having found nothing that is quite what I want and priced reasonably.

3) Repeat As Needed

It’s worthwhile to mention that I didn’t get rid of everything in one fell swoop. It has been and continues to be a process. The first time I went through my clothing I found a lot of donations. A couple months later I went through again and found some more. Then Jason and I went through other things and ended up with a trunk load. Now that we’ve moved we have yet another, smaller, pile building up.

If you are unsure whether you should keep an item, it may help to put it on a list of potential clutter. Then, in a month or two, revisit the list. If you haven’t used the item (and it’s not a seasonal item like a winter coat in July), then it’s probably safe to eliminate it.

Looking Ahead

You may be wondering how to maintain your clutter-free environment after the initial uncluttering is complete. A common method I have seen is the “one in, one out” rule. Basically, if you bring a new object into your home, something else must go to make room. I think my kitchen will be a prime candidate for this method. You can also modify it to “one in, two out” and so on if you need to accelerate the uncluttering.

To some degree, you also need to be committed to keeping your home clutter free. It may take a little longer to put something back in its proper place, but the payoff is a more comfortable environment.

How do you manage/eliminate clutter in your life?