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Everyone has some degree of clutter lurking at home.
When you're tired of moving it around, stepping over
it and losing important items in it, it's time to take
control of the clutter. But what should you do with it?
You have seven options:
1. Dispose of it. Much of clutter is trash you either
thought you might need or figured you'd throw out later.
2. Put it away. About half of the remaining clutter in
most homes consists of items that simply haven't been
put away. Fill a laundry basket then deliver the items
to the proper rooms. Avoid this trap by making things
easy to put away and by enforcing a family "use it and
put it away" rule.
3. Donate it. If you don't use it, it's not a treasured
decorative item or memento, and it's not an important
piece of paper, get rid of it. Pass it along to someone
who might need it.
4. Refer it. The novel you've been saving for Debbie,
the recipe you copied for Aunt Jan and the gloves
borrowed from Mom need to be sent or delivered to
their rightful owners. Place them together and make
your rounds tomorrow.
5. File it. Set up a "hold" file for wedding invitations
and concert tickets (after you mark them in your calendar).
Set up a "to file" file for all your important papers.
6. Fix it or have it repaired today. Those buttons aren't
going to sew themselves. Either mend them or take them
to a seamstress. The same goes for the broken toys and
watches.
7. Give it a home. Everything else is something that
belongs in your home but you don't know what to do with
it. Where DO you put extra batteries and your kids' artwork?
Designate a permanent place in your home for each group
of items you find in a clutter pile. Simplify by making a list
of items and where they belong.
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