Different Types of Clutter - and How to Address Them

What kinds of things do people hoard?
Commonly hoarded items can include clothing, mechanical parts, books, paper (e.g.,newspapers, magazines, mail), medications, toiletries, CDs, DVDs, containers (e.g., boxes, jars, paper and plastic bags) - and, more rarely, animals, waste matter, hair, dirty diapers, and decaying food. Often the items collected are valuable, but the quantity is in quantities greater than what can reasonably be used.

According to the dictionary, clutter is "A collection of things lying about in an untidy mass." That's pretty general. It also means that while some clutter needs to be purged (thrown out, donated, sold), some just needs to be cleaned up and put away. Both of these types will be explained here.

Medications, Toiletries, Containers and Kitchen Gadgets
Starting to declutter can be (and almost always is) overwhelming. Starting in the bathroom or kitchen can be less daunting, because those rooms are often smaller - and it is more obvious what actually belongs in those rooms and what should be elsewhere.

In the bathroom, put like things together. All medications in one "pile", all makeups, lotions and potions in another "pile".

Medications - Get rid of medications, both prescription and over the counter, as well as first aid supplies, that have expired, that you have excess of, or that you don't or won't use. Dispose of the items responsibly. For more information on how to do this, see: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/medicine-disposal.html

Makeup, Cosmetics and Toiletries - Sort like things to the next level, if needed. Look through what you've got and get rid of anything that meets the following criteria:
 * 1) Products that have expired or gotten too old.
 * 2) You don't like it for whatever reason.
 * 3) You have not used it within the last approximately 6 months.

It's actually really important, for health reasons, to get rid of old and expired makeup and other personal care products. Once you've decided what makeup and other toiletries to get rid of, you again need to dispose of them responsibly. For more information on how to do this, see: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/get-rid-of-makeup.html

In the kitchen, put like things together. Plastic food containers in one pile, jars in another, paper bag in one and plastic bags in another.

Containers (boxes, jars, paper and plastic) - For plastic food containers and jars - Prime items to declutter are those containers which are warped or stained badly, or that don't have lids (or lids that don't have containers anymore). In addition, if you've got a lot - keep the quality stuff, not the junky ones. Keep a reasonable amount only -- enough to hold the amount of leftovers you and your family actually eat before they go bad, for example. That is a week's worth of containers, or less. More information here: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-food-storage-containers.html

Paper and Plastic Grocery Bags - These bags can come in very handy for many things around the house, but we seem to have a never-ending supply of them, so they can pile up before we know it. Decide how many you think is reasonable to keep for your needs, decide where these are going to "live" - and then recycle the rest. Most grocery stores have a recycling center for the plastic bags, and paper can usually be easily recycled. For more information, see: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/recycle-plastic-grocery-bags.html

Kitchen Gadgets and Small Appliances - It can be a bit confusing deciding if something is a "gadget" or an "appliance," it's actually not a big deal whether you declutter an item when you do your gadgets or when you do your appliances. Generally, you can consider gadgets to be items like utensils, knives, measuring spoons & cups. Small appliances include things like blenders, mixers, toaster, toaster ovens, crockpots - usually something requiring electricity. Actually you could do all of these items at once - or break them into the two categories to address at different times, because the suggested rules are pretty much the same.

Easy things to declutter include anything broken or heat warped, since there is no point in keeping things that don't work. In addition, you may want to declutter duplicates of items, keeping your favorite or the one that works best and getting rid of the rest. Further, consider getting rid of utensils, gadgets or small appliances that only have one function if a multi-functional tool will do the same thing.

Also get rid of items you haven't used or needed in over 6 months to a year, or things you don't actually have room to store. That means if you've only got one kitchen drawer for utensils, you've got to keep decluttering the space until everything you keep fits into that space, with the drawer easily opening and closing and if the appliances don't fit in your pantry, keep decluttering until what you have fits easily into the space available

For more information on gadgets, check here: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-utensils.html For more information on small appliances, check here: https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/declutter-small-appliances.html

Links

 * Medicine Disposal & First Aid Supplies Clutter Removal
 * How To Get Rid Of Makeup, Cosmetics & Toiletries Clutter
 * Declutter Food Storage Containers
 * Recycle Plastic Grocery Bags
 * How To Declutter Utensils, Knives, Measuring Spoons & Cups
 * Declutter Small Appliances


 * The 6 Most Common Types of Clutter
 * What Kind of Clutterer Are You?
 * What's Your Clutter Personality?

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