Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast - Homeless Clutter Challenge | Clutterbug Podcast # 42

Episode Date: March 8, 2018

Tackle your homeless clutter once and for all with this Free Homeless Clutter Challenge. Declutter your home once and for all with these quick and easy tips.    Get your Free Homeless Clutter Challenge Printable Here: http://clutterbug.me/2018/03/homeless-clutter-podcast-free-printable.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys and welcome back to the Clutterbug podcast. Today we're talking about homeless clutter. So let's talk about homeless clutter and what exactly it is. It's that crap in your house that's just laying on surfaces because it doesn't have a proper place to go or the place where it's supposed to go is just too hard to find. and some people might have zero idea what I'm talking about. So I'm going to just give you a quick explanation. Recently was at my sister's house organizing her kitchen. And while we were going through the piles, she's a butterfly and she's a messy butterfly. So every single surface in her home is just covered with layers of stuff. And as we were digging through and pulling things out, I would grab, say, batteries and say,

okay, well, where do your batteries go? And she would look at me with this, like, she had no idea face. And they're, you know, sometimes she would shove them in a basket here or put them in a drawer here or, well, leave them on the counter. And as we were coming across more and more things, it was really apparent that nothing really had a home that was in this pile, which of course is why it was probably piled here on the counter. And when she was trying to put things away. I'm using air quotes that you can't see because it's a podcast. But when they were cleaning up and putting things away, they were usually just shoving or hiding things because it didn't have a proper home. And after living in this house for 10 years, there still wasn't a home for mail. There still

wasn't a place to put papers after they paid the bills. They didn't have a place for those actually to go. So they were just shoved here or there and everywhere in piles and in boxes and in baskets all over the house. And what had happened over time as they were, you know, speed cleaning because people were coming over or they quickly wanted to pick things up. They were filling boxes and laundry baskets and bags and moving them to the basement or upstairs. So they literally have zero idea where anything is. And they're not alone. I've had a lot of clients over the years who struggle with this exact thing. And what it really is is homeless clutter.

If we're not taking the time to set up places for these things to actually go, we're just going to continue moving them from surface to surface or shoving and hiding, losing things and never really getting organized. And that's what organization really is. It's having a place for everything. and everything in its place. And I'm talking everything from your sunglasses to that extra button, to your keys, to your batteries, to the extra light bulbs, your first aid, and not just like, well, we keep it here in a pile on the counter, but an actual home for those things to go in.

And that is really what organization is all about. And so many people struggle with this. So many people struggle with creating homes for their homeless clutter. So just we're going to use my sister as an example because I was there last week and, you know, it's fresh in my mind. So we're just going with it. So as we were coming across things like the kids' artwork that were in the pile, I said to her, well, where's your memory been? Like, where are you keeping the memory things of your kids, things you want to keep? Their report cards, things like that. She didn't have a spot. They were just everywhere in the house. So we took a basket. I made a label that said,

had memories on it and we just started putting things in there and that's it that's as simple as it has to be creating a home labeling it and just trying to remember where that where that home is so what we did i asked her i said if you were looking for your kids report cards where is the first place you look and she said in the in the living room buy where they have the desk for the office there's a bookshelf and she tends to shove things just around that area. So that's exactly where we put this basket called memories. And as we were coming across more drawings and artwork and things, we had now a home for them to go. We also created a spot for the extra cords in the house to go, charging cables, all of those things. And again, when I asked her where she would look for those if she was needing one,

she said by the computer. So that's exactly where. we put that basket, labeling it cords and cables. That's it. That really is the secret. We also created a basket for extra batteries, one for light bulbs. We had all of these little homes that it just took minutes to create. But that is the huge difference between having homeless clutter and an actual home for your clutter. When she's picking up these things at the end of the night, she now has a really easy and convenient place to put them, and she didn't before. And I know it sounds like common sense, doesn't it? It sounds like, okay, well, doesn't everyone do this? But the truth is no. Not everyone is doing this. They don't have a proper home. Maybe they shove their bills in their kitchen cabinet or

in a pile on their counter or when they come home with their keys, they're either in one of six places and they have to look around for them the next morning. That is exactly what's causing the issues. It's not taking the time to make a concrete home. So let's talk about the different areas that I think are essential, the things, the homeless things that I think are essential to have a home. And there are 20 that I think. There's, I mean, there's lots more, but 20 that I think everyone should make a priority. And I have a printable that you guys can download. I'm going to put it on my website. It's a homeless clutter challenge. And I want you every day or once a week or take a couple of these on the weekend and take the time to make homes for any of these that you don't currently have.

If you have homes for all of these things, totally pat yourself on the back. You're rocking this homeless clutter thing. But so, so many people are really struggling with this. And it's a simple concept, but taking the time to create homes for these 20 items will completely change your life. So let's just get started talking about these. The first is your keys. I know. It's pretty basic, isn't it? But having a spot that you consistently put your keys every single time when you come home is pretty much key and knowing where that spot is. For me, I keep them in my purse, but I have a home for my purse. It's a hook as soon as I walk in the door that I hang my purse in the same spot every single day and my keys are in there. For my husband, it's the top drawer of this shoe organizer that we have in our It has a little bin inside, a little drawer divider, and that's where he puts his keys. It's a simple thing. It's as simple as hanging a hook as soon as you walk in, or using a 3M hook if you don't want to damage your wall, or having a basket on top of your entranceway table.

It's really, really as simple as that, creating a home for your keys. I also think you need, well, you do, you need a home for your mail. So a spot where you drop your mail when you come in, we don't always have time to sort through it as soon as we walk in the door. We need like a catch spot, a catch basket or a file folder or something where we can immediately drop our mail. Speaking of paper, it's really important that you have a spot for your short-term files. So it doesn't even matter if it's just a basket or a small accordion file folder, something where you can put those files that you don't want to keep forever, but you want to keep for a short term. Maybe that's bills you've paid. Maybe that's bills you've paid,

maybe it's statements, maybe it's all these little tiny things that, you know, you might want to hold on to, you want to make sure those aren't getting mixed up with your important long-term papers. So you need a home for your short-term papers. Of course, you also need a home for your long-term papers. Those are contracts, your taxes, any, I don't know, you guys know, things you want to probably keep forever, birth certificates, copies of your passports, all of that type of stuff. you need a long-term filing system for that and again it's fine if for now it's just a file box or a banker's box or an accordion file folder or even a basket that's just labeled for now it's not about making a perfect

system it's about creating a home so you know where that stuff is you can find it and you can easily put things away in that spot we're also going to talk i'm just going to quickly blow through some of these. You have to have a spot for your batteries. You have to have a spot for your light bulbs. Your cords and cables. So extra chargers, those extra, you know, plugs for things that you have no idea what they're actually for. You might come across the thing one day and be like, where the heck is the cable for this? And so you need a spot in your home for all those extra cords and cables. Again, a dollar store basket, label it cords and cables, toss everything in there. Pet supplies. It's really important that you have a designated spot for your pet supplies. I designate like a little

cupboard in my kitchen and that's where I keep his dog food and the dog treats and the bird food and the you know leash and extra collars and all the anything that's pet related goes in this one spot, even his toys and things like that. So we know where everything is at any time. I also have a binder in there with all of his vet information. So like a little fold. with all of his updated vaccinations and all of that. It's kept with the pet supplies. It's really important that you have a spot for your kids' backpacks, and it's not on the floor in their bedroom in the room

or dumped in the entrance way when you first come in. I mean, an actual spot for backpacks. You also need a spot for your office supplies. So extra things, I don't know, pens, paper, postets, staples, all the things that you would use when it comes to office supplies. Again, it could just be a dog. dollar store basket where you toss everything in. But having a designated labeled home is really, really key. Lost socks. You guys know I'm obsessed with lost socks, but not that I'm like

loving lost socks, but I really think it's important to have a spot in your home where all of the lost socks go. So when I'm doing laundry, I don't know what it is, but I always come across socks that don't have a match. And I toss them in a one bag, a lost sock bag. And then once a month or once every couple of months, let's be honest, I go through that lost sock bag and I match up the pairs. And that way I'm never having mismatched socks in the drawers, which is such a pain. That's like a pet peeve of mine. And I have a spot where if I'm like, oh man, I'm running low on socks or I come across some extra lost socks, I know exactly where they should go and they're not just living in the bottom

of your laundry basket forever. Loose change. A spot too empty your pocket. when you come in or maybe it's in your bedroom before you take your clothes off at the end of the day or whatever it is. You need a spot for your loose change in the house. Receits. When you're buying something and you're like, oh, I should really hold on to this in case it breaks or we have to return it. Where do those receipts go? For me, I have a drawer in our home where we keep gift cards and receipts together and it's just a simple little basket inside a top drawer of an armour. But that's where

the whole family knows that that's where the receipts and gift cards go. And that's, you know, where we gave them and we never forget. Recyclables. You have a garbage can, but how many people actually have a designated spot in their home, a home for that recycling? A lot of places, a lot of homes that I visit, they keep it on their counter until they take it out to the recycling bin. And sometimes it can add up to a huge amount of clutter. Why not create a home? Mine is underneath my kitchen sink. I have one for paper and one for other recyclables. And it's like little mini garbage cans that are very slender and they're attached to my cabinet doors. And it really works. But it's a home for those recyclables. What about your sunglasses? I mean, if you have kids, you could have a lot of

sunglasses in your house. You have to have a designated spot. where you store your sunglasses. Little tools, and I'm not talking garage tools, but tools that you use inside the house. Extra screwdrivers when you're opening up the backs of toys for batteries, those extra flashlights, you know what I'm talking about, those little tools that for some reason just always end up in your house. They need a home.

Where are yours? If you don't have a spot, you need to create one. Cleaning supplies. Where do your cleaning supplies live? Do you have a designated home for them? do you have a cleaning caddy? Do you have a special bucket? Do you have a closet where you keep all of those extra cleaning supplies? If there's some here, there, and everywhere, what happens is we end up buying and rebuying things that we don't need because we can't find what we have or we can't see what we have.

And it's not really easy for other family members to pitch in if there's not one designated spot where everything's stored. First aid, it's really important that you have a bin somewhere. that has all of your first aid supplies. So your band-aids, peroxide, polysporin, maybe it includes aspirin, and pain reliever, all that kind of stuff. You know what I'm talking about. A container for first aid, again, that's labeled. So everyone in the family knows exactly where that stuff is and how to get it.

And last but not least, I really recommend you have a spot for extra toiletries. So if shampoo is on sale or you get a lot of smelly lotions because it's Christmas and that's what everybody buys people that they don't know what else to buy. them. Where do you put that stuff? Where do you store it? You should have a bin or a basket that's labeled extra toiletries and keep that in your bathroom or hall closet. So those are just some of the homeless clutter things that I think are essential that every home needs. And I really recommend you take the Homeless Clutter Challenge and create homes for your homeless clutter today and whether it's one of these 20 things that are on my list or take a look at the piles in your home

and see what is laying around. Odds are if you're struggling with clutter in one space in your home, it's because that stuff doesn't, it's homeless. It doesn't have a really easy, convenient place to actually get put away. So create one today. It doesn't take long. It doesn't have to be hard. Grab a bin, grab a box, grab a basket, label it, toss that stuff in.

And you know what? You've just solved your homeless clutter problem. Thank you guys so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed. And don't forget if you haven't already to take that clutter bug test and discover what your organizing style is. And there's a free ebook on that page as well. It's a 30 page ebook that helps you not only discover your style, but learn how to work with other bugs in your family and work together.

So make sure you take advantage of that free ebook. Thanks so much and I'll see you guys next time.