According to a survey conducted by the furniture company, Joybird, the living room, kitchen, and bedroom are the spaces we tend to neglect the most in our home. As much as we like our home to look neat and tidy, the rush to accomplish our tasks sometimes causes us to make mistakes that, no matter how small, contribute to the accumulation of clutter.
Today, we will tell you about some of the mistakes that make the spaces in our home look crowded with unnecessary things and also how to avoid them.
1. Confusing clean with organized
It is very common to confuse order with cleanliness. Just because a space is clean doesn’t necessarily mean it’s tidy, as you may find yourself with a lot of items piling up or things out of place. Be sure to find a place for each item, one which won’t only make it less likely that too many of them will pile up, but that will also help to avoid disorganization.
2. Not leaving stuff close to where it’s actually going to be used
A common thing that goes along with clutter is the habit of placing things away from where we will need them. This is not functional. Why would we leave our shoes in the living room if we usually put them on in the bedroom? It’s better to apply functionality and keep items where we use them frequently to avoid any unnecessary clutter or scattering.
3. Not making a distinction between garbage and clutter
Many times, it can be confusing to identify whether an object is part of the clutter or something that could be discarded. To do this, it’s important to differentiate the time or stage of use and the usefulness of the product. For example, if we have old clothes or toys from when we were children, we can consider donating them. And if there are items that no longer match our current life, such as old school notebooks, then we should be able to throw them away.
4. Neglecting the garage
It’s a common habit that the garage, in addition to being a space for storing the car, ends up also acting as a storage area for things that we no longer use. This usually makes it look untidy and poorly maintained, so it is advisable to observe the available space and analyze what is really necessary and what can be discarded.
5. Over-decorating the walls
Decorating the walls can be an attractive idea that can give life to a home. However, when overloaded with too many pictures, photos, and shelves, far from being functional, the walls can become cluttered. With an attractive element that more or less stands out and enhances the rest, it is enough to give a unique touch to the home space.
6. Using the fridge as a messaging service
Placing notes on the fridge to leave messages is very common, in addition to decorating it with small everyday things. However, this practice doesn’t guarantee that the message will be seen, and as notes accumulate, along with magnets or calendars, the space becomes overloaded with unnecessary objects and old notes.
It’s better to opt for a common area in the house to leave messages or pending bills and be sure to discard everything once it’s no longer needed. Also, leave only a minimal amount of magnets on the refrigerator.
7. Piling up more than necessary
Stacking a lot of things on top of each other doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily tidy. A tower of books or papers on a desk, no matter how nice it looks, is still a tower. That’s why it’s better to go paper-free and have all your documents stacked on your computer.
8. Accumulating objects in the kitchen
The kitchen is one of the central spaces of the home, so it’s of utmost importance to maintain its order and cleanliness. One of the most common bad habits (when it comes to neglecting its stability) is to accumulate objects on the countertop, which damages the space needed when working in that place.
9. Overloading cabinets and drawers
Closets and drawers are essential components when thinking about the order in a home since it’s there that we keep what we use in our day-to-day. Leaving them untidy with all the clothes lying around and scattered can be very counterproductive when thinking about our daily organization.
Always put things in their place and leave the clothes that we most commonly use at hand (such as outfits for work or school). These are good ways to create a more orderly and functional space.
10. Leaving things piled up next to the bed
When we end our day tired and overwhelmed, it’s normal to leave our things cluttered by the bedside. But the laziness of that moment of tiredness can lead us to be more overloaded when it’s time to continue with our routine. This also makes the bed look crowded and messy. It’s better to keep everything in its place so you won’t regret it later.
What space in your home do you hate to see cluttered? What is your favorite method for maintaining order?