The twenty-seven most important rules for keeping your house in order.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.
This Wednesday: The twenty-seven most important rules for keeping your house in order.

To keep your house from falling into cluttered chaos:
-- never buy “souvenirs.”
-- somewhere, keep an entirely empty shelf or drawer.
-- strive to keep surfaces bare. Put away kitchen appliances you don’t use every day; don’t cram stuff onto every ledge.
-- get rid of newspapers and magazines as soon as possible. Never keep a newspaper overnight, and never keep a magazine for more than two months—unless you find a positive joy in keeping an orderly collection.
-- have an exact place for everything.
-- know where to give things away: books, clothes, kitchenware, toys. It’s much easier to get rid of things if you can imagine who will benefit. Figure this out before you start a major clutter-clearing effort.
-- fight the piles that accumulate in the hallway, in corners, on bedside tables, on the dining room table.
-- use dimmer switches.
-- don’t buy things on impulse, particularly from bargain stores.
-- storing a thing means you don’t need to use it. So before you squirrel something away, ask yourself, “Do I really need to keep this?”
-- never accept anything for free, unless you’re thrilled with it. A mug, a tote bag, a hand-me-down toy, the lamp from your mother-in-law--if you don’t need it, don’t take it.
-- According to “broken windows theory,” signs of decay like broken windows or graffiti create an atmosphere that contributes to larger crime. Burnt-out light bulbs and empty toilet-paper holders are the broken windows of the home; don’t tolerate them.
-- have enough hangers in every closet.
-- make your bed every morning.
-- keep your keys in the same place each day.
-- every night before bed, do a tidy-up to put away everything that’s out of place.
-- if you have stacks of unopened CDs, unread books, unwatched videos of PBS series, or unopened spice jars, don’t let yourself buy any more until you’ve made a dent in what you already have.
-- don’t let yourself run out of necessities like envelopes, tape, toothpaste, stamps, Band-aids, batteries, and the like. If you hate to shop, buy large quantities and stockpile them.
-- don’t hoard huge quantities of things that you could never use up: binder clips, rubber bands, clay pots, florist vases, plastic grocery bags. Give the rest away.
-- hang up your coat (this is probably the rule I personally violate most often).
-- buy a box-cutter. They really are handy.
-- if you have lots of things that you’re reluctant to throw away because you’re not sure what they are—mystery cables, random remote-control devices, important looking screws that appeared mysteriously on the floor, obscure vacuum-cleaner attachments—put them all in one box. You’ll never use the stuff, but you’ll know it’s there.
-- for extra credit, put a date on the box, and if you haven’t opened it in a year, throw it away.
-- never allow a drawer or a closet to get so full that it’s hard to open and shut.
-- get rid of things that don’t work. If you’re like me, you’ll be amazed at how many things you have around the house that are perfectly useless.
-- set aside a place where you put things to give away, and as soon as you realize you want to get rid of something, put it there. That way, you prevent clutter from accumulating.
-- if you can’t find something, clean up.

Comments

[Barbara]

This is all such wonderful stuff. I have only just found your web-site but I am visiting daily. Thank you so much. I do not have a blog and hope this message is fine as it is. So much positive advice and really excellent help. Thank you again.

[Mark]

I agree. Great tips, and great site. As a small side note, the web designer in me would really like to see these tips marked up as an unordered list.

[Monica Ricci]

Gretchen are you channeling me again!?! LOL... ~Monica :)

[Gretchen Rubin]

I'm so pleased you're finding the rules useful.

Mark -- I don't even know what it would mean for the tips to be marked up as an unordered list. Sounds desirable, whatever it is! I throw yourself at your mercy for a quick web-design lesson. thanks, Gretchen

[me]

Heres one tip for you.
Whenever i feel im not happy, i just think to myself "this is happiness, get used to it"

[Rhea]

Keeping your keys in one place is a great one. I know so many people who spend tons of time searching for them -- every single day.

[Starbucker]

Gosh Gretchen, where was this list when I needed it last weekend! I just posted my thoughts about hoarding mementos and other "stuff" yesterday, and here is your post - how serendipitous. I just need to repeat "storing a thing means you don’t need to use it" about 25 times every day. Thanks.

[mk]

Regarding the tip "never buy souveniers". I just saw a bit on a morning news show where the subject was happiness. Seems that experiences (like vacations) rather than things make us happier. Souveniers remind us of that experience.

[Anita]

You can always buy "useful" souvenirs like T-shirts... just nothing to add to the shelf CLUTTER!

[Meg]

Why not change NEVER buy souvenirs to only buy what you will use when you get home. Journaling books with the city name on it, gardening gloves, bookmarks, even coffee to grind and drink while reading the book. I love knowing that I am using something that came from a place my neighbors don't have one.

[passby555]

Look in the Mirror...every morning
Love yourselves more...
Take great care of yourselves...
then you'll be happy...
Do 10 little things today that help to get what you want to be..

[Joe Andersen]

Dimmer switches? I don't understand that tip. The others are good ideas and I'm working on applying them.

Joe

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[rusty morgan]

When you bring something into your house throw something of equal size out.

Keep as much space as stuff; If there's more stuff than space throw some stuff out.

[Nick Kiey]

Who needs souvenirs when you have a digital camera or camcorder. And a scanner lets you convert loads of paper clutter into digital format. Convert your CDs (even LPs and tapes) to mp3 format. Just remember to keep a backup and you can store your whole life in your iMac.

[JFK]

These "tips" are ridiculous. Reading over it is like peering into the diary of someone with OCD.

Also, why is "-- use dimmer switches." in the middle of that list?

[JFK]

I take back my comparison of this list to the diary of someone with OCD as it casts that disorder in an unfavorable light.

These tips are more like the guidelines used when setting up rooms for furniture catalogues. It would make your house look and feel sterile. Maybe that's your thing if you are a surgeon, but most people's houses do look like the pictures in a magazine (just as they don't look like the people in magazines either).

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[Erin]

I really liked this list and try to keep those tips in mind in my own home. One very cool souvenir tip (I think) is if you are going to buy a souvenir make it a pretty watercolor or print of a painting of the place you are visiting. I like the 5x7 inch size prints and those fit into any 8x10 frame at Michaels. You'll get beautiful artwork and a cool story behind the painting!

Also, my interpretation of the dimmer switch thing, is that lighting can make everything look better (even people...) so why not use them to help your house :)

[wondering]

As far as getting rid of things that are uselss, and don't work.....does that include signifigant others?

[naga]

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[Mary G.]

Here are two things I do to keep from swimming in clutter:
-If something new comes in then something old MUST Go.
-If I have something I don't need anymore I have a box I put it in in my entry closet. When guests come to visit before they leave I pull out the box and ask if they or anyone they know who may need anything in the box. Many times someone needs something or knows of someone needing my discards. I feel great helping someone out while not filling the landfill. Note: I never share "the box" with folks with a clutter problem...sorry mom!

[eaglerose88]

Good list! I laughed a little when I saw the box-cutter on the list. When I worked for a health-food store, I always had a box cutter and pen in my pocket, and when I came home, I would automatically reach in my pocket for the cutter for some reason or other, so I went and bought several- they really do come in handy!

[Cheryl C]

I also love my box cutter!