The Best 6 Tips for Stopping the Inflow of Clutter
Before we get too far into clearing out the clutter in the house, we need to tackle one task that might be easy or it might be hard to do. I know when I first started to stop the inflow of stuff into our home it was hard. Now it’s much easier. But there is really no reason to start to clear items out until you have a plan to stop more from coming in at least for a short time.
In the last post, I talked about how clutter can be a roadblock. Seeing all the stuff and feeling like you have no room or open space can really affect you. We want to start cutting down on the visible clutter in the house and keep it down for good. The first step to doing this is to stop bringing more things into the home. Because if you don’t control and eliminate the clutter it will grow. I know my clutter seemed to multiply overnight.
It’s just not our homes that can get cluttered but our days can get cluttered with too many activities we need to do. When schedules get too full, it hard to keep up and the constant going can really wear on you. It can make you feel like you are constantly behind and can’t get caught up. Limiting the tasks we take on each day can make a big difference in how we feel and what we can get accomplished.
6 Tips for Stopping the Inflow of Clutter in Your Home and Day
Be Kind and Just Decline
If you are like me you have lots of friends who are so very generous. When they have something they don’t need, they are really good about passing it onto someone else and often it’s our family. Having generous friends is just wonderful and truly a blessing. But while you are trying to cut down the clutter in your home, it’s time to kindly say no thank you to new stuff.
Share with your friends what you are trying to accomplish and let them know for a short amount of time you won’t be accepting anything new into your home. Who knows maybe you can even recruit them to help you clear out your clutter. Then once the clutter is gone if someone offers you an item you can decide if it’s something you truly need and love, before accepting it.
Stop Buying Things
I used to use shopping for entertainment. I would love to shop and just go to Target to look around. I never really needed anything, but it gave me something to do to get me out of the house. But I would almost always find something we needed. If you limit your shopping, you can limit the inflow of clutter into your home. Consider committing to a spending freeze for a while. If you shop for entertainment, find something new you can do for free instead. Or better yet use the time you used to spend on shopping for clearing out the clutter in the house.
Limit Your Commitments
A lot of us have days that are stuffed full of tasks. We have commitments that take up our time inside the home and outside the home. As you are trying to simplify your life limit your commitments. If one commitment ends don’t take on a new one. Limit your commitments so you can have time to make the changes you want to make. It might be hard at first but just cut back a little it can make a big difference in your day.
Scale Down Your Subscriptions
In this age, we live in it’s easy to get information overload. At the touch of a few keystrokes, you can find a lot of information. Which is great but it can also fill your day very quickly if you aren’t careful. Consider scaling back on your subscriptions. If you don’t read the paper cancel it. If you get magazines you don’t have time to read, let them go. If your inbox is way too full too often like mine can get, unsubscribe to emails you just don’t read anymore.
Turn Off Notifications on Your Phone
I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I have it because I need to stay in touch, but I don’t want my phone ringing every time someone posts something. It just gets to be too much. If you feel the same way, just a little overwhelmed with all the notification that pop up on your phone, turn them off or limit the ones you get notifications from. You might find you are no longer attached to the phone as much and claim more time to get things done.
Limit Entertainment Time
It’s easy to get lost in a good television show or a great movie. I love a good show myself and have my favorites, but I try to limit my watching to certain times. It’s easy to sit mindlessly and watch show after show. But by limiting your screen time you can make room in your day for more important things. You can gain the time you need to make the changes you want to make.
Saying no to something can be hard. But when you say no to something that isn’t that important it opens up time and space for something that is important. Saying no to new things will just be a short time and once your home is free up of all the extra stuff and your day is uncluttered, you’ll have more time to say yes to the things you love.
What is one thing you can say no to today, that will free up space in your home or time in your schedule for something you love? I would love to hear what you have to share in the comments below.
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My downfalls with clutter are free magazine subscriptions and buying stuff on clearance. It’s hard to refuse free magazines, but I never seem to have time to read them, and I feel guilty about throwing them out, so they sit in my magazine basket until it’s overflowing. When I see something on clearance, I tend to want to buy it, since it’s so cheap, but I’ve learned that it’s kind of like throwing that money away, since the clearance item will usually get donated or thrown away.
I love free magazines too. But like you I don’t always find time to read them, but I do pass them along to friends and family to read. I try to remove the old magazine when I get the new one and it has helped to keep the magazines from building up too much. Yes, clearance items can be a hard. I try not to look at them unless I know I need something at the time. 🙂
There’s a typo in your graphic – “Delcine” … thought I’d let you know!
Good tips – I’ve been on this journey a while and still struggle to maintain after a declutter. I’m learning…
Thanks, Rebecca I have it corrected. It is a hard to keep the clutter at bay. 🙂 I’ve found having systems to never let it come into the house works to best but some always sneaks through.