.png)
1. Live within your means
This isn’t a new idea, but I think it’s a wonderful place to start if you’re aiming for a simpler, less cluttered life. What “live within your means” implies for your home is this: Let the size of your home dictate how much stuff you have, and not the other way around. If your closet is bursting at the seams, instead of dreaming of a bigger closet, why not try paring down your clothes to fit the space you have?
2. Purge often
Even if you get to a point where you have only as many things as will comfortably fit into your space, stuff has a way of accumulating. So set aside a time, a few times a year, to go through your things and get rid of the ones you don’t use anymore. You’ll feel so much lighter, and your home will thank you.
3. Have a place for everything
A place for everything, and everything in its place. Almost a cliche, but still some of the best organizing advice out there. A bit of further suggestion: If you have lots of things in limbo on tables or countertops or the floor and are struggling to find places for them, maybe you need more places. This is where clear plastic shoe boxes or a filing cabinet or maybe just a console with lots and lots of drawers can come in handy.
4. Don’t underestimate the importance of a junk drawer
This is the other side of the coin to the commandment above. Every household has those little things — pens, tape, twist ties, whatnot — that get used a lot but don’t really have any logical place to go. Instead of agonizing over finding a home for every little thing, keep a junk drawer. The last few little bits of clutter get swept in there, and you’re done.
From The 10 Commandments of a Clutter-Free Life
by NANCY MITCHELL