Using Plastic Storage Boxes to Declutter Your Home

I admit it; I am a Queen of Clutter. I like organization and clean spaces, but chaos seems to be what I gravitate toward. Keeping clutter under control is a constant struggle for me and truly it is a work in progress. I have found that using plastic storage boxes can be invaluable for decluttering my home. Here are a few of my favorite tips and methods and yes, they do work, but you have to actually use them for the best effect.

Sorting Into Storage Boxes

This is a quick and easy way to declutter, but if done improperly it creates more work for you down the road. When I am in need of a quick clean sweep because someone is coming over, everything gets dumped into a plastic storage box and shoved into my bedroom. This is great for a quick fix but it really sucks when you're trying to find something. If you do this type of quick cleaning you will need to take the time to sort everything out of those boxes and into their proper places, this is where the next step comes in.

Sort items into plastic storage boxes but be sure to label each box for a specific type of item or destination room first. For example, label a box for stuff that needs to be filed away, label a box for the kitchen, a box for the garage, a box for each child and so on.

Let's face it, stuff tends to migrate and end up in the strangest places in your house. The trick to cutting the clutter is making sure every item has a place to belong and then get that item to its spot. Don't forget a box for items you plan to get rid of.

Be sure to have a miscellaneous box for those pesky items that you're just not sure where they belong. I call his my miscellaneous box when I am sorting. You can figure out what to do with the stuff in this box later.

Another trick for box sorting and decluttering is start a little bigger. Start in each room and simply box up everything that is cluttering up the room. Label each box with kitchen, living room, etc. then you can sort each box individually. Having the boxes labeled by room of origin can help you if you're trying to find something later and you only know it was in the living room. Then you can check the living room box and (hopefully) find it.

Items to Get Rid Of

If you're like me, there are things that you don't really use, don't really have a place for, but you hate to get rid of them. Maybe they are items you just really like or they have a memory attached to them or you just really hope to find some way to use them. Whatever the case, if you've had the item or items for awhile and never used them, chances are, you won't use them.

If you are nervous about getting rid of those items, here's a trick I've used - and it works. Mark a box with a date that is three months, six months, a year from now (choose your own time frame). Put those items that you don't have a use for but really don't want to get rid of into this box. Close it up and store it somewhere accessible. Set a reminder in your cell phone or email for the date you wrote on the box. When that date rolls around, if you have never taken the items out of the box, then it's really, really okay for you to let them go. You've given yourself enough time and opportunity to make use of them.

After you've boxed or bagged up items to get rid of, decide what to do with them. Do you have a Goodwill, Salvation Army, or other thrift store in your area? Take the discarded items there immediately. Don't allow them to sit around drawing dust and offering the temptation of "Well maybe I should keep that."

I have a rule that once a bag or box for the thrift store is closed up, it is never reopened. This is a rule I have to stick to because otherwise I or one of my children will see something and have that moment of indecision "Should I really get rid of that?"

If you plan to have a yard sale, set the date and everything that is left over, take it immediately to the thrift store. The trick is to get it away from you and out of your home.