A clutter-free home

CEBU, Philippines - With probably every one of us, the word "clutter" is negative. We desire its opposite in our lives - good order. In fact, mass media has acknowledged this seemingly natural human hankering for good order by coming up with various shows on proper house arrangement and on getting organized.

Clutter has several effects on us - physical, financial and psychological. Many people cannot think straight with clutter in sight. Some feel irritable or depressed.

But how do we prevent or deal with clutter? Especially house clutter, the home being supposedly our sanctuary from the stresses of the world outside?

 Experts say that it's not simply an accumulation of too much stuff. Clutter results from failure to use home space properly. Home clutter eats up our time, as it often takes many minutes looking for something.

 Clutter stresses us out, strains our relationships and even hurts our health too! We can solve the problem before it starts. Or solve the problem that's already there. How?

Divide and conquer.

Of course, it's not easy getting rid of clutter that has accumulated through the years. And not realistic, either, to want to turn the whole house clean and orderly overnight. Focus on one area at a time - say, the bathroom, or the kitchen, or the living room or the basement. Include every drawer and closet in the checkup. You'll be surprised at how some things even get to where they are.

Sift objectively.

Assign your finds into groups - whether necessary, potentially useful or complete trash, they likely need to be moved from where they are. Try to be very objective in classifying stuff. If you have no forseeable use for something in one year's time, you probably have to let go of it. Letting go, however, doesn't necessarily mean throwing it away.

Sell, give or donate.

Some things might still be useful to others. These are stuff that you need to set aside and move to a safe place where they won't create clutter or escape your attention again. A good practice is to decide to let go of a certain number of unnecessary items at regular intervals - say, every other month. You may not have to give the items away at once, if they're not really significant pieces. You may, instead, just collect them and you will have quite a number of them to give as presents by Christmastime. Or, if you really want them out of your sight quickly, put out the items on rummage sale and donate the money to your favorite charity.

This is a win-win endeavor. The recipient of your charitable act will be happy - and you are happy too for regaining some house space.

Organize the remaining stuff.

As soon as the house is cleared of anything whose only purpose is eat up space, you need to organize what you retain. Put everything right where they're easy to reach for their intended use.

The practical place for a lighter is in the kitchen (with the candles and oil lamps), flashlight by the TV set, umbrellas by the main door etc. Something useful placed in its proper spot never makes a clutter. In fact, the home is "a place for everything, where everything is in its proper place."  

Involve the whole team.

Getting the whole family involved in assigning certain areas for certain things is important. The kids have to be trained to allot a few minutes at the end of each day for putting things where they belong. Involving the kids is key, since they are often the ones blamed for messing up the household. The best way to restrain them from messing up is to make them clean up their own mess.

A happy home may not be all due to tidiness and proper organization. It takes a lot more to make a home happy. But organizing the house properly - keeping it neat and tidy - is definitely a good starting point!