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How to Become an Unclutterer

by on Mar 7, 2008

A desk near a computer monitor is cluttered.

According to organization guru Erin Doland and editor-in-chief of Unclutterer.com, ‘The main difference between being someone who is just clean and someone who is an unclutterer is that unclutterers look for permanent solutions.’ To get us all started down the road to an uncluttered life, we need to ask ourselves these questions:            

1. ‘What process is in place for papers that come into your home or office? If you don’’t have a process already, take a few minutes and set one up in the location where those papers arrive. If you open mail at your office desk, make sure you have a trash can/recycling bin, filing cabinet, shredder, tickler file, sticky notes, pens/pencils, and paper clips within arms reach. If your filing cabinet is hidden in a closet, will you really take the effort to stand up and walk over to it? Really?

2. What process is in place for meals in your home? Do you make a weekly meal plan and grocery list based on that meal plan? Or, are you constantly standing in front of your refrigerator asking yourself, “What is for dinner?” If you need help getting this system in place, feel welcome to check out the post Creating a weekly meal plan over on Unclutterer.com for suggestions.

3. What process is in place for handling laundry in your home? Does it pile up out of the hamper until it spills out on the floor and causes you stress? Having clothes on the floor shortens the life of your clothing and provides more chances for the clothes to be damaged. The first step in having an uncluttered laundry routine is not to have more clothes than you can store. If you can’’t put all of your clothes away, you’’ll always have a reason to have dirty clothes. More laundry tips can be found here to help you get laundry under control.

4. How do you handle cords and cables for your electronic equipment? Are all of your cords labeled at both ends of their plugs? Masking tape or a labelmaker are great for this task. Do you have the cords you use on a regular basis in a place that is easily accessible and well marked? Are there extraneous cords you don’t need? How many cell phone chargers do you have for phones you no longer use?’

For more inspiration on living an organized life, visit Erin’s blog Unclutterer.com. Via Zen Habits and Lifehacker. ‘A wee bit of the clutter’ courtesy of trojosan on flickr.

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