Yesterday, we started talking about clutter hot spots and how to control the clutter that always seems to land in them. And today, we’re continuing our mission through the home to attack and control even more clutter collecting areas.

Hot Spot #3: Study/Worktable

The study or worktable is wear you and/or your kids do some work/homework, pay bills and where many other things may land along the way. Papers, folders, coloring materials, books, magazines, and newspapers are only a few of the possible things that you could find. You would probably be happy to see any semblance of a table under all the chaos. And what’s most frustrating about it is when you have to find something important that you really need and you’re not even sure it still exists on the desk anymore.

The table is the place for your and the kids to work on projects and things and it should at least serve its purpose. So, start by organizing papers and folders into neat stacks. Next, I’m sure you could find a cheap desk or drawer organizer somewhere, or even make it as a family project to come up with one to keep all other materials – pens, staplers, erasers, and rulers. Also, put a trash bin below so that unwanted paper are automatically thrown away. Get yourself a filing bin or two which can hold mail that needs to be dealt with (bills to pay, invitations to RSVP to, etc) and file away or scan anything that you don’t need to keep out immediate if possible, or set yourself a date to file and scan once a week.
organized-desk

Source: Real Simple

Hot Spot #4: The Refrigerator

We put a lot of stuff in the fridge, ingredients, condiments, meat, dairy products and a lot of times, leftovers. Sometimes though, we forget we have all this stuff and the remain untouched until we continue to add more stuff in and that results to your fridge being one big mess.

At certain days of the week, take a peek of your refrigerator and see which food items need to be thrown out, leftovers that should be consumed and take inventory of the stuff you already have so that you don’t have to get new supplies of them when you go to the groceries the next time. Then use your inventory list to make up meal plans which will help you consume those items quickly.

fridge-organize

Hot Spot #5: Children’s Bedroom

While parents have the ability to keep their room clean and neat, it just isn’t always the same for the kids. When you enter your children’s room, it almost always feels like a tornado just hit it. Clothes all over the floor, food, school stuff and toys are just lying there on the floor, across the bed, and even when you have assigned storage areas for all these things, it just doesn’t seem to end up there.

Make it your children’s responsibility to take care of his or her room. Offer a prize or reward for a clean room at the end of the week to keep them motivated. But of course, before you do this, you still have to teach them how it is done. Remember that small kids are easily distracted and have the attention span of a gnat, so you may need to pitch in to keep them on task. Also keep in mind that the fewer toys they have access to and the more organization you provide them with in their room, the easier it will be for them to clean up!

Decluttering of the home needs commitment. It is not a one time thing, cleaning and tidying up your household needs to be done regularly and you have to be dedicated to keep everything clean and organized to make it work. If you need help to keep yourself motivated and the clutter flying out the door, check out my new ecourse, Decluttering Made Easy.