Solutions to Clobbered by Clutter

We have all been there. You walk into a room and you see five, maybe six things that need to be taken care of. What do you do? You procrastinate. You go get the mail. Oh no! Even more things that need to be taken care of, bills, statements, a request from the charity you plan on giving to.

What has happened to you? You have been clobbered by clutter. And to magnify the problem, there is probably more than one room in your place. What are you going to do? I am glad you asked as I am about to give you a solution! It’s not painless but it does work. You need to be ruthless!

First step – go into one room and make a list that is pertinent to that room only. For example, I tackled the coat closet. I made a pile of coats that I had not used in 2 years. I would donate them. Then I looked up at the storage area and saw 5 oriental carpets that were all rolled up. I took down the rugs, photographed them front and back, measured them and entered the information on a website that auctions off carpets. (Conclusion: The rugs were auctioned. The house kept 30% and I made $1,800, not shabby). Repeat with each room. That was enough for one day.

Second step – all that paper! Put it in one big pile, all of it. Now you need some manila folders. Start separating out the paper into categories. I assume you already have a filing system for household bills, Con Ed, rent/common charges, insurance statements. Think about it. Do you really need all that paper? Would it be more efficient to pay your bills online with your bank? Solution: I now use Chase for online payment of my monthly common charges. No more worries about mailing and having your envelope phished. Your internet bill? Could you have that automatically paid? Same for Con Ed. Please do examine your Am Express/Visa bills for possible strange charges but you can pay that online also and you increase security and decrease use of stamps. File everything. That is enough for day two.

Third step – attack the kitchen. Do you really need 3 can openers? Nope. Leave one and put the other two on the dining room table. Do you really need more than 4 place settings? Nope. Put the extra plates on a high shelf and use the open area for things you use more often. How about the containers from the Chinese takeout? Do you already have glass containers with lids? Time to recycle the takeout containers in the garbage! You only need one of everything else. Be ruthless! If you can’t bear to throw things out, put them all in a bag. Put that bag in the bottom of the closet. Make a note in your calendar and revisit it in 2 months for final decisions. Enough for day three. Feeling better already!?

All those catalogues that you are sent? Rip off the back page with the phone number. Call and ask to be withdrawn from their mailing. Other mailed requests? Write DECEASED on the envelope and say “return to sender”. Think about cutting the cable and getting Roku. Do you really need a landline? I just disconnected mine (all I ever got was robo calls).

Now it is your turn! Tell me how you got yourself “unclobbered.” What was your clever solution? Please join the conversation and email NGoldInteractive@gmail.com. Let’s continue the conversation!