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Defending the Small House #7 – Controlling Clutter

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Hello! After a two week hiatus, Brenda and I are back with our Small House series. This week? Controlling Clutter in a Small House. In the spirit of total transparency:

“My name is Claudia and clutter has taken over my home.”
I am fighting back, however, and this week is all about sorting, tossing and organizing. Let’s face it, clutter can be a problem in any home, but when you live in a small space, it can be a real big problem. We live in 1200 square feet. There are 4 of us. Two adults. Two dogs. I collect lots of things. I love books. I have stacks of them everywhere. We have a bin full of winter clothes that we have yet to hang up in the closet because….well, because we haven’t. Don has tons of stuff in his office. We are gatherers. It can be a problem.
Normally, everything is under control. But the last several months have been very stressful for me. I am convinced that the amount of clutter is directly related to my stress level. When I am in that sort of state, I don’t file things away, I leave stacks of things sitting around – I just don’t care. I can’t seem to get up enough energy to tackle it all. Thank goodness, the new year has energized me and I’m attacking it every day this week.
Scout will no longer have to cover her eyes in disgust.
All that being said, as far as I’m concerned there are 2 kinds of clutter: cozy clutter and clutter clutter.
This is cozy clutter:
Don has stacks of books, notepads and his journal on the coffee table.  I like this kind of clutter – it says ‘lived in.’
Clutter clutter, on the other hand is just plain messy. It’s stuff that is left out instead of being put away, or is not taken to the recycling bin, or is just plain unorganized.
Tip#1: Each time you make a pass through the house, pick up the clutter you see and put it back in its proper place. If you make a habit of that, you will be surprised what a difference it will make in the look of your home. You can throw everything in a basket or pail and deliver each item to its rightful place.
Tip #2: Have a designated place for mail and bills. We use this hand-painted letter holder I found a few years ago. Too many times in the past, our kitchen table has become the gathering place for all mail. Hospital bills, circulars, junk mail, statements. It makes me nuts. I’m making a concentrated effort to sort through it all, make sure Don deals with his mail without me having to bug him about it, make decisions right away about what to keep and what to toss. It’s amazing how quickly it can all get out of hand.
Tip #3: Take time at least once a week to file away your paid bills and correspondence. Oh, the feeling of being in control. Isn’t it nice? I’ll have it again by the end of the week.
Tip #4: Keep recycling bins handy and use them. This pretty little pink toile bin is right next to our front door. I toss all the paper recycling in the bin. Eventually, it makes its way to the bins we have outside.
Tip #5: Every so often, go through your books and magazines. Keep what you really want and donate or recycle the rest. I’ve already mentioned how much I love books. At least once a year I go through all my books and honestly assess them. What do I really love? What will I never read again? Whatever I know I will not miss gets donated to our local library’s book sale. I’ve passed the book on for someone else to enjoy and donated to a good cause. Magazines?
I tear out all the photos and articles I want to keep and paste them into notebooks like this one. The rest of the magazine is recycled.
Tip #6: Baskets are a girl’s best friend. Not diamonds. Baskets. I don’t know what I would do without them. I use them everywhere:
In the den to hold throws and blankets.
In the living room to hold cell phones, glasses and Scout’s ball.
In the bathroom.
In the studio.
I have them in the bedroom (holding sweaters), in the guest room (holding quilts), in the kitchen (holding dog towels). Since we have very little closet space or storage space, baskets end up being real workhorses. They corral all sorts of things and keep clutter to a minimum.
Tip#7: If you group your treasures in vignettes or with other like objects, they will make sense and not look like clutter. It’s all about the way you display them. 

A lot of ‘stuff’, beautiful or not, scattered here and there and everywhere with no place for the eye to rest, makes for a cluttery look. Let’s say you have a Hummel collection. Group them together on a shelf or in groups of three. Create a vignette. Suddenly what looked like clutter looks like a carefully thought out collection.

Tip #8: I’m all for cozy clutter. It’s what makes a house a home. It shows that the home is lived in and loved. I encourage that kind of clutter. Don’t worry about it. If you get the rest of your clutter under control, you’ve got it made!

 

I hope there are some helpful ideas for you here. Eliminating clutter is a battle we all wage. If you have any tips for the rest of us, please leave them in your comment – I know I’d love to read them.And if you have any suggestions for future Small House topics, please share them.

Stop by Brenda’s blog and read her tips on clutter. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Comments

  1. I do a lot of the things you do~using baskets controls clutter and makes it pretty. The junk mail and regular mail that comes into our home on a daily basis is tremendous and it all lands on our kitchen island!! I hate it! I have started a new system, so we shall see if it is effective.

  2. Claudia,
    Mail is my clutter problem. I just hate dealing with it. I have a basket under my coffee table which is pleasingly cluttered and I put the mail in there – then when the spirit moves me I deal with it.

    I am a collector and a gatherer as well. Grand ideas sometimes but don’t follow through….I am now cleaning out the quilting fabric which I will never use and finding good homes for it. This helps with the stress level, too.

    Carol (living in 1500 square feet – down from over 3000…..

  3. Claudia,

    This is a wonderfully written post about clutter and you look like you already have the issue under control. I, on the other hand, have some work to do! I do firmly believe that the amount of clutter in my home reflects my inner state. My issue is my guest bedroom (the place where I get dressed in the morning). We don’t have enough closet space so things get hung on a hook behind the door and piles of clothes end up on the bed (guess I need to donate some clothes soon).

    Love all your pretty baskets and collections. I’m with you, if things are displayed in little vignettes it makes the home cozy, warm, and lived in! I don’t much care for the sparse look in a home.

    Thanks for this very helpful series.

    ~Sandy

  4. What a great post full of good ideas!
    I also use alot of baskets and bins.
    I developed the habit years ago of going through my mail as I bring it into the house. Junk gets tossed into recycling instantly, bills get put with the checkbook…etc. No paper piles for me! Love your blog….

  5. You just got an Amen! in Texas. I know my stress and clutter go hand in hand – it’s like I’m wired to show the world something is bugging me (“Look at this room, I’m sad/angry/just plain not happy/etc.”) I tease my family that we are gather hunters. We gather all kinds of stuff and then spend the rest of our time hunting for it. I’m enjoying this series. My house somehow feels bigger.

  6. I agree that clutter has something to do with stress. For years things started to build up in my home. The not good clutter…..lots of paper items and clothes. Then we decided to sell our house. (Well it never actually sold) We went nuts tossing things. My DIL was so much help She would open a cabinet and I would say that we could do it later. Then she would dump the contents. Then I had to deal with it. It has been two years. Some of the clutter is back but not alot. It has been so freeing. Love that you and Brenda and doing these series.

  7. I am just coming over from Brenda’s. What a lovely fun home you have created. And your tips are very practical and doable.

    I have always loved the simplicity of living in a small space.

    Fondly,
    Glenda

  8. I think I may need to get some baskets! Great tips, your blog, and Brenda’s, is an inspiration, and I did actually say that today.

  9. Good morning, like you I live a small space and love books and collections of things. I just bought a stair basket at the thrift shop after looking for one for years. It’s great to corral all the things I need to put away upstairs and keeps us from tripping on them.

  12. Clutter does add stress. I am always working on clearing flat surfaces (like the kitchen table) so there is some visual rest. My rule for me is to pick up 10 items and put them where they need to be (dishwasher, folded, in a drawer, in the washer…) It helps me get started and usually I carry on after that, and if not at least there are 10 less visual clutters in my space.

    Thanks for writing about controlling clutter. It has to be controlled but it takes constant effort.

  13. I love baskets for holding items that I use but my big problem can be paper clutter and junk mail and just too much comes into the house from the mailbox! I try to keep on top of it but sometimes I am just not in the right frame of mind. I redid our office last year but it is starting to look cluttered again since the holidays. I NEED to get on that project! I am enjoying Brenda and your ideas in this series!~Hugs, Patti

  14. I am loving the shots of your interiors Claudia. Some how cosy doesn’t look cluttered when it’s collected, you are right.

    After living in a small space 850 square feet, for 17 years, my husband and I are ready to spread our wings just a tiny bit. But we are still searching for what most people consider a “small house.” That’s find by us…we don’t need much room, just enough to live.

    You have come up with some great ideas, and I can’t wait to use them when we find our dream home.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

  15. I must say I think this is one of your best posts, Claudia. Your wit is so enmeshed in your words that I get a kick out of reading all your posts. Yes, your clutter is even beautiful! And so are you, you skinny creature. Great ideas I will take up here at my house too.
    Brenda

  16. I live in a small apartment and have many, many “containers” holding my treasures! Unfortunately I am a clutter bug… I really try to keep it under control, but among all our books, carvings, and other lovelies you might find a coffee cup sitting on the bookcase, forgotten and although pretty, not belonging there. Sigh.. 2012 is a new year. Maybe this year…..

  18. My mother was right when she said it is much easier to live in a big house than a small one — it’s even easier to clean the big one!

    Claudia, your “cozy clutter” looks like my “neat.” I think I need to re-assess!

    Good post. I, too, use LOADS of baskets.
    They make clutter picturesque.
    Cass

  19. SO TRUE…SO TRUE….CLUTTER….WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT……I HAVE BEEN THROWING A LOT MORE IN THE TRASH LATELY…..NOW MY BASKETS ARE NOT OVER FLOWING…..SANTA BOUGHT ME A SMALL DOLL HOUSE FOR CHRISTMAS……
    DON’T KNOW WHEN I AM GOING TO START IT..I GUESS WHEN I HAVE SOME SPACE :)
    I LOVED LOOKING AT YOURS AND ALL YOUR BEAUTIFUL CREATIVE WORK….GREAT POST…….RIZZI

  20. Great post … and yest there is a difference! I subscribe to some of these practices and then some I need to incorporate. My house magazines? I just can’t toss yet. But at least I’ve quite buying them!

  21. Great ideas & great sense of humor….I am always glad to hear more about how I can organize myself! Thanks for all the tips that equal encouragement!
    I have tried to comment on Brenda’s (always have been able to in the past) but something must be wrong on my side as I can’t even get an email to her!

  22. I have been following Brenda for sometime now and since both of you have joined up together on this “The Small House” I have been following you as well. Thank you both for sharing!
    ~Karrieann

  23. Hi Claudia,
    Thank you so much for your note. I think you are right, Amber is not designing any longer and did not let anyone know, hence all the design problems.
    Gary and I have been cleaning out closets and getting rid of everything we have not used or hehehe (out grown). One of the first big steps for him was his office, Oh man was it a mess. The next big thing we have to tackle is the garage its still has boxes we have not unpacked. I love cozy clutter too, not the messy clutter it just drives me crazy.
    A really great post!
    Wishing you and yours a very sweet and happy New Year, Elizabeth

  24. Claudia, thank you so much for these ideas and for all the comments from your followers! together they make me feel like I’m not alone in my goal to “de-clutter”. I used to be a very neat person but I think situations and illness and the accompanying stress have led me to feeling overwhelmed most of the time. It seems like I can’t keep up anymore. You and Brenda have been a real life raft to the rest of us! Thank you both!

  25. Claudia
    Wonderful tips. My cabin is 1200 sq. ft. too and it’s a real battle here with ‘stuff’. I know I have way too much furniture, but I won’t part with it as much of it is inherited.
    I especially like your tip on the mail tin. Mine does end up laying on the kitchen counter-which I hate
    Kimberly

  26. Claudia, we currently have bad bad clutter clutter at our yellow house but I have been working on sorting it out all day. I do like cozy clutter and having books around me makes me feel cozy. Wonderful and helpful this was, Olive.

  27. Amen- the only thing I would add for people who have stairs is to have a basket at the base and/or at the top and as things need to migrate up and down they are contained neatly in a basket until it occurs.. Couldn’t live without mine.
    xx
    z

  28. Haven’t visited for a few days-my computer was in the shop. So nice to visit and catch up. I have my favorite place to sit and there is always clutter around the area. I call it my nest, or now I can call it cozy clutter. Good idea.

  29. I started 2012 decluttering today and, as it’s going to be a really wet day tomorrow, I’m planning to stay here and seriously work on the kitchen cabinets. I have far too many pots, platters, bowls etc. taking up space. I no longer entertain large groups – come to tea but don’t expect to stay for dinner, sorry!!! I’m now in my dotage and ready to be waited on by grown children and young friends, ha! ha! When you’re as old as me you get away with saying stuff like this!!!!!

    Baskets are fabulous – I wanted to bring dozens back from Thailand, hand woven and gorgeous, but they wouldn’t fit in my luggage. My favorites now are the vintage metal gym baskets – three under my coffee table to store my magazines.

    Great post, and Brenda sure has made a delightful home in her sweet cottage – she is really organized!

    Hugs – Mary

  33. Really great tips Claudia! I don’t have a small house but a very old house with way too few closets! I love the basket for sweaters idea in the bedroom! And the basket by the front door for a quick drop of junk mail to be recycled. great stuff!

  34. First of all, I must comment on your photo. Along with the caption underneath, it’s just so endearing. You look like a character in a soap opera. The other day when I saw you and Don dancing, I laughed so much. Have you seen that commercial where they have all those characters from different comedy shows dancing to rock music? Third Rock from the Sun characters, Roseanne and her husband, King of Queens, That 70’s Show, and others I can’t think of right now. Well, that’s what it reminded me of. Priceless!

    Thank you for all the decluttering tips. I have one of my own that you missed. My bed is up on blocks that I purchased at Zellers. It allows me to store containers underneath that would otherwise not fit. Here’s another one. If you have a decorator table with a long floor length cloth, you can hide things underneath. Also, the decorator table in my living room is really a filing cabinet. I simply had somebody cut a round top which I put on top of the cabinet and added a decorator cloth which I made from fabric I had on hand.

  37. This is so off topic, but it’s why I love reading blogs… That “Hymns” sign in back of you in the first photo is adorable! We had one like it in the little church I went to as a child. There was a second one just like it that held the attendance and offering amounts. I love religeous items, I have my grandparents’ crucifix (catholic) and my other grandparents’ bible (Baptist), also a church pew, a collection of various denominations of hymnals, a collection of Last Supper prints, and about 30 of the teensy weensy communion glasses!
    Now back to the subject of controlling clutter (I didn’t totally miss the message even though I was caught up in a Baptist flashback). Like I told Brenda, I scan the articles and photos from books and magazines and save them in a file on the computer. That way the book/magazine is still intact and ready for someone else to enjoy.

  38. PS – After I posted the previous comment and read it, it kinda sounds like I’m a religeous kleptomaniac. Let me clear that up by saying I collected the hymnals and communion glasses from garage sales.

  40. I like your concept of “cozy clutter”
    Everything! must have a home, including things to go out-the-door to our next meeting or event or pet toys and leashes, so I even have a large baskets for them.
    Your practical tips are right on

    I see too many who are “depressed” because their homes are overstuffed, or cluttered, or unorganized. Literally, their stuff is weighing them down emotionally. If they followed your ideas, they would feel better.

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