12 Ways to Cut Clutter

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  Posted by chic-uptown Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:40pm PDT

  this is a cool article but mainly it's telling me to buy stuff

  suppose I can't afford all those things?

  I guess I shouldn't be able to afford clutter either, huh

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  Posted by Latina_girl Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:03pm PDT

  Hummm... my hubby & I tried to organize and avoid clutter without buying stuff and furniture and the final result was: a horrible chaos!!! Go to W*lMart they have affordable prices or go to 99cent stores where you can buy supplies & accessories to customize your own stuff, some store may have similar products...good luck!

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  Posted by King Bush Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:04pm PDT

  Ever look at that magazine?

  Real Simple's solution to everything is to buy something to get organized.

  Real Simple?

  Real Stupid.

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  Posted by Louise Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:10pm PDT

  I want to get organized and get rid of stuff not buy more stuff.

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  Posted by Cherie L Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:54pm PDT

  Do you have a large (or medium) coffee cup you don't use much? Use it to store your pens, scissors, etc in.

  Visit the local thrift shop, like Goodwill and you will be amazed at what you can get for a dollar - or less - that will help you organize.

  I put my shoeholder in the hall closet (following a different person's advice) and my vacuum into my walk-in closet. Since the first thing I want to do is take the shoes off when I come home, I just heave 'em in. It helps keep the floors cleaner too.

  Likewise keeping a shredder or waste container for junk mail near the door - you can get rid of it quickly before it attaches itself to your table or desk.

  Those cat litter buckets are great for hauling cleaning stuff around and they cost NOTHING. If you don't have a cat but know someone who does, ask if you can get one from them. They are great for the smaller square mops too.

  If you want pockets for small things, tho, why not take mismatched socks and safety pin them to a wire hanger? To keep them separate, you might want to attach 2 on the angled parts of the hanger and get some string (Or those stupid loops that clothing mfgr's put on shirt shoulders) so they don't slide down.

  This is a few suggestions..... I know how it is to be strapped AND cluttered.

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  Posted by Cherie L Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:59pm PDT

  Oh yeah - when my kids were little, we kept a sturdy cardboard box in the living room for toys. When it was time to get the boys ready for bed, we had a race to see who got the most toys into the box. The box cost nothing and made picking up after the kids a snap.

  Admittedly, my youngest would try to cheat by throwing shoes, articles of clothing, etc in there....

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  Posted by j n Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:27pm PDT

  This isnt to "cut clutter", this is to lift it off of its current surface by means of getting more "stuff" (clutter) to do so with.

  I want a job writing "articles" on Yahoo. Its all about buying things and non food eating.

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  Posted by K Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:48pm PDT

  I agree with most of the other posts here. These ideas aren't ways to cut clutter. They are just ways to lighten your wallet. One of the best ways to cut clutter is to look at each thing you have and ask, "Do I need it? Do I love it?" If the answer to either is Yes, find a place for it. If you answer No to both, get rid of it!

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  Posted by Gail Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:02pm PDT

  While I see your point about spending money (we all know that the US is broke), these are just suggestions for containing what we have. If you have trouble with clutter and can't seem to get rid of it, hire a professional organizer. They have solutions that will solve everyday problems (like where are my keys?) as well as assisting you in money saving techniques. They will help you work with what you already own to contain items, or suggests products that will be the ultimate solution. You will be surprised how much money in the long run a professional organizer will save you! Products don't solve problems, but don't always rule them out! All of the above products are for containing items we use, not items we should have gotten rid of!

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  Posted by Nicole JR Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:10pm PDT

  I found "Shredder" sissors and while watching TV I shred the mail I don't need.

  I took my over the door shoe holder and hung it on the outside of my coat closet downstairs so that when we come in we take the shoes off, let them dry and hang them when we go by to go upstairs. when company is coming I just move it to the inside,

  My 8 year old daughter uses a laundry basket, since she leaves her shoes every where I now tell her to put her shoes away she puts them in the basket and if she can't find the match she has to dig. Eventually she started handing the shoes she wears less so she has lees shoes to search through.

  My daughter and I have tons of hair scrunchies so I use empty papertowel rolls to store them on and store the rolls of scrunchies in a large zip loc bag which is hung on the wall behind the bathroom door by two pushpins, the large bags hold 3 scrunchie rolls. This way we can see them and not have to dig for them. I also do this with the hair ties too.

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