Reduce Clutter in your Home

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Kitchen

Bathroom

Bedroom

Closet

Stock it, store it: Leave your upper shelves for storage, bulk items or that blender you use only in summer.

Clear containers are your friend: Put everything in takeout soup containers or other clear containers. They are tall, narrow and clear—perfect for storing rice, beans and pasta.

Know what you have: Make everything in your cabinets easy to find and see. As you restock, use eye-level shelves for high-rotation items (your basics), so you don’t keep buying the same thing over and over.

Do a quick clean out: Go through your refrigerator, freezer and pantry and throw out old food. You’d be surprised to see that even condiments have an expiration date.

Many people have multiple bottles of shampoo, conditioner or shaving gel in their bathroom, but don’t use them all. Minimize the clutter and only keep what you use on a weekly or daily basis in the shower.

Use bathroom shelving for simple decorations, but be sure that you don’t forget to dust the shelf regularly. Glass can accumulate dust, which may trigger allergy symptoms.

Be sure to throw your bathroom rug in the washing machine a few times a month to keep this dust collector as clean as possible.

Magazines and books: They don’t belong in the bathroom. They can get wet and collect mold. Keep them outside of the bathroom when you shower.

Many of us use the bathroom cabinet to store whatever we can pack onto the shelves. But there are a few items, like medicine, that shouldn’t be kept in your bathroom cabinet because of moisture. So move them out of the bathroom, and discard anything that has expired. Another tip: Minimize doubles and reduce the number of shampoo bottles, lotion or razors you keep in the bathroom.

Use hypo-allergenic bedding with zippered, dust-proof covers to minimize dust mites. Wash your sheets and blankets regularly—you can throw most pillows in the washing machine, just be sure to read the washing instructions first.

Typically, we sleep 7 to 8 hours a night. So make it as restful as possible with an uncluttered, neat bedroom.

Knickknack collector? If so, try to keep them to a minimum. If you have them on top of a dresser or nightstand, the fewer, the better…and you’ll collect less dust.

Whether your bedroom is carpeted or not, it’s important to vacuum or clean the floor every week to remove as much dust as possible. And don’t forget to clean under the bed!

Make piles: Go through each closet one at a time and make Yes, No and Maybe piles. Take the items in your Maybe piles and store them neatly in boxes; six months later, review them again. Chances are, a significant number of these items will become a No.

If you haven’t worn something in a year, donate it. Take your “No” piles and schedule a donation pickup for a few days after you clean out.

Get rid of outdated reference books and magazines—in this digital age, you often don’t need them. Put CDs in space-saving sleeves or transfer them onto a computer, to save even more space!

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