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It seems like in the blink of an eye, your home can go from neat and tidy to tornado touchdown. If you want to try to establish some order in the chaos, here are the top sources of home clutter and how to minimize it.

Clothes

It can feel impossible and tedious to keep your clothes uncluttered. But if you don't, the clutter can spread like a virus all over your home. To tackle this issue, here are a few tips:

Get organized 

Ensure you have designated places to store your clothes. In a dresser, for example, have a drawer for shirts, a drawer for underwear, a drawer for sweaters etc. In a closet, segment the hanging bar so pants are on one side, dresses on the other etc. 

Avoid the pile

Clothes tend to end up piled on top of furniture. Say no to this bad habit. Instead, make a conscious effort to put clothes you've worn into a hamper if they need washing, or back in their designated place (dresser, closet) if they don't. 

Fold away

Clothes in drawers can easily become a cluttered mess that's impossible to sort through. If you're already dealing with this issue, take everything out, fold it and create organized stacks within your drawers. Whenever you put something in, fold it up first. Sounds tedious but it will be easier to find the items you're looking for and once you establish a baseline it's easy to maintain order.

Shoes

Shoes tend to pile up in closets and entranceways. This kind of clutter is actually dangerous as it's a potential tripping hazard. To tackle this issue, here are a couple of tips:

Try a rack

A shoe rack can be a great investment for your home. It lets you tap into vertical space and organize your shoes so they take up less real estate on your floor. They're also great paired with shoe trays in winter when you track in slush on your shoes.

Try a hanging rack

If you can't spare any floor space for your shoes, hanging shoe racks are great. They attach to the back of a door and keep your shoes clear off the ground and organized. 

Toys

If you have kids, you're probably not surprised to see toys on this list! Toys are a huge source of clutter in family homes. Here are a couple of tips to tackle this issue:

Try a toy box

A toy box is simply a storage container where you can stash toys when they're not in use. It can be anything from a large storage bin to a storage piece of furniture like an ottoman with a storage compartment. If your kids are old enough, teach them to put their toys away in the toy box when they're finished playing to save you the hassle. 

Try a shelf

If your child doesn't have a lot of toys, or if they have toys that require adult supervision or support, consider storing them higher up on a shelf. If you don't have space in your existing shelving,try a floating shelf.

Dishes

Anyone who cooks or eats in a lot knows that dirty dishes can really pile up. Dishwasher machines help, but if you don't have one it can be a real pain to deal with dirty dishes. Here are a couple of tips to tackle this issue:

Clean after use

It's tempting to leave dirty dishes around your home and in the sink, but this actually works against you. As they pile up, the cleaning task only gets bigger and more intimidating and can render areas like your sink unusable. Instead, tackle the problem one dish at a time. Whenever you dirty a dish or dishes for a meal, wash up afterwards. It'll take less time than you think and you won't have to work around clutter. This is a great practice to establish with roommates as determining which dishes are whose responsibility can become a real source of tension. 

Store away

When you have clean dishes, put them away right away. Leaving them on the drying rack or in the dishwasher only makes washing new dishes harder as there's nowhere to put them. Cupboards and drawers are the best places for them to be stored.

We hope these tips help you keep the top sources of clutter at bay!

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