Clutter Control, Ponder Your Purchases

I’ve come to this last post in this series and I have a plan for each of worst areas of clutter in my home to help control it everyday. Because let’s face it, if you don’t keep ahead of the clutter it will get ahead of you and soon your clean, clutter free house will be a mess again. But what if we could head off the clutter before it even comes into our homes?

 

So that brings me to this final way to battle clutter, it’s ponder your purchases. If you never bring the items into your home that cause the clutter, then how can it build up? It can’t. So what can you do when you are at the store, yard sale or thrift store to keep that clutter out of the house?

A few ideas to consider when making a non-consumable purchase to keep clutter away

• For kitchen items consider if you already have an items that could be used for the same purpose as the item you are considering. Do you really need an egg slicer when a regular knife will do.
• Can you use a smaller item to do the same job? Maybe a mandolin slicer instead of a food processor. Or maybe a hand blender instead of a full sized blender.
• For clothing, consider purchasing classic clothing items instead of more trendy ones that will only be useable for a season or two. Keep trendy items to small accents items so they will be easy to let go of,  when they go out of style. Keep the pieces to maybe one piece or two per season.
• For decorating items ask yourself is this something I love? Do I have a place in mind or a spot on the wall in mind where this item will go? Will I need to give up an item to make this fit without cluttering my home? Will it be a piece or item I will love for a long time?
• For linens, ask yourself if you really need another set of sheets, tablecloth or napkin set? Do you have two sets for each bed? That’s probably enough, one on the bed and one in the wash. Do you have a couple of tablecloths and a few sets of cloth napkins. There probably isn’t a need for 5-6 tablecloths or 30 cloth napkins.
• When considering toys for the kids ask, Does my kids already have a toy that is close to this one? Will my child really play with this toy long term or will it join the pile in the closet quickly?

I know as I think about these question I can think of quite a few items that are in my home that I could have avoided purchasing if I had just taken the time to really ponder my purchase. I know I will in the future think more before bringing a new item home to help keep my home filled with useful items I use regularly instead of lots of items I use on occasion.

What items do you tend to overbuy and they end up unused and unwanted way to soon?

 

[signoff]