Defeat Clutter (Part 2: Prevention & Maintenance)

Yesterday we talked about how to clean up the clutter that has already found its way into your home. You can read about it {here}. This is part 2 of "Defeat Clutter" and today we are talking about how to keep your home looking neat and tidy: preventing clutter in the first place and maintaining organization after cleaning up.

Once all the hard work has been done cleaning and purging the clutter from your home here are a few pointers to help you keep it looking nice.

First of all, commit to spending at least 10-15 minutes tackling a spot that always seems to be messy. If I spend just little time putting things away I find that these spots never have a chance to get out of control.

Another really good idea is to use the 'One-Touch Method.' When you bring something into the house take care of it right away so that you only have to touch it once. For example, when you bring in the mail - trash the junk, pay the bills and file the receipts right away. Or when you clear the table put the dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher instead of dropping them in the sink. The fewer times you have to touch an item the more time you will save and less clutter you will have.

Finally, instead of changing your habits look for ways to make your habits work. What can you change about the area so that things that used to make clutter not have a home?
A basket can be added to the countertop to catch the keys and loose change.
A coat rack can be placed where coats used to once fall on the floor or onto a chair.

- - - Pinterest is a gold mine for finding cute ideas for your space!- - -