American consumers have a tendency for purchasing a lot of stuff which leads to clutter-filled homes. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get your house in order, then you may need some help in managing the clutter before it begins to manage you.
Whose clutter is it anyway? Usually the disorganization of household belongings has become a family affair. So, make getting the household back in order a family task. It is unfair to expect one person to restore order.
Cleaning is a chore, but taking a positive approach will encourage family members to become involved. When youth and adults help with household chores, they learn to carry out tasks, accept responsibility, and help others.
First of all, each family member shares the responsibility of picking up after themselves. Everyone needs to do a little bit every day.
Then look at which household tasks can be done on a weekly basis. Whose job is it to sort the mail each day or to take out the trash? Who does the laundry? Who prepares and cleans up after meals? Who dusts and vacuums?
Make these tasks a family affair, deciding who gets which tasks or which can be set up on a weekly rotation with each family member taking their turn at a weekly job. Tasks need to be appropriate for the age and abilities of family members. Teach family members simple and effective ways to do their household tasks.
You may need to start by having a big family clean-up day. Or you may want to set aside several Saturdays and take one room each week.
To get started on eliminating the clutter you may want to use the box approach to sort the clutter. Designate boxes for: Keep, Store, Give Away (or sell) and Throw Away.
Once the clean-up is completed, the items in the keep box need to be returned to their proper places. You may need to add shelves, hooks, hangers or baskets to organize and manage the storage space for the items to be kept. The general rule to keeping organized is to have a space for everything and everything in its place.
You may need to get storage containers to organize the store items. These are often seasonal items such as winter clothing, holiday decorations or seasonal play equipment which are not used on a daily basis.
The give-away box can be the beginning of your next yard sale or be taken to a consignment shop to earn some money for a family vacation. Your family may decide to give these items to a secondhand store or to a local charity.
The throw away box can be trash that will be taken directly to the dumpster for disposal. Anything that is broken, ripped, worn or stained will go in this container. Some of these items may be taken to the recycling center.
Your family may wish to have a maybe box that may be gone through and looked at later.
Children and other family members can feel unsettled by the lack of organization in the home. Getting your household in order and keeping a handle on a clutter-free environment can help to eliminate some household stresses for family members.
For more information on getting your household in order, visit the K-State Research and Extension web site at: www.ksre.ksu.edu.
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American consumers have a tendency for purchasing a lot of stuff which leads to clutter-filled homes. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get your house in order, then you may need some help in managing the clutter before it begins to manage you.
Whose clutter is it anyway? Usually the disorganization of household belongings has become a family affair. So, make getting the household back in order a family task. It is unfair to expect one person to restore order.
Cleaning is a chore, but taking a positive approach will encourage family members to become involved. When youth and adults help with household chores, they learn to carry out tasks, accept responsibility, and help others.
First of all, each family member shares the responsibility of picking up after themselves. Everyone needs to do a little bit every day.
Then look at which household tasks can be done on a weekly basis. Whose job is it to sort the mail each day or to take out the trash? Who does the laundry? Who prepares and cleans up after meals? Who dusts and vacuums?
Make these tasks a family affair, deciding who gets which tasks or which can be set up on a weekly rotation with each family member taking their turn at a weekly job. Tasks need to be appropriate for the age and abilities of family members. Teach family members simple and effective ways to do their household tasks.
You may need to start by having a big family clean-up day. Or you may want to set aside several Saturdays and take one room each week.
To get started on eliminating the clutter you may want to use the box approach to sort the clutter. Designate boxes for: Keep, Store, Give Away (or sell) and Throw Away.
Once the clean-up is completed, the items in the keep box need to be returned to their proper places. You may need to add shelves, hooks, hangers or baskets to organize and manage the storage space for the items to be kept. The general rule to keeping organized is to have a space for everything and everything in its place.
You may need to get storage containers to organize the store items. These are often seasonal items such as winter clothing, holiday decorations or seasonal play equipment which are not used on a daily basis.
The give-away box can be the beginning of your next yard sale or be taken to a consignment shop to earn some money for a family vacation. Your family may decide to give these items to a secondhand store or to a local charity.
The throw away box can be trash that will be taken directly to the dumpster for disposal. Anything that is broken, ripped, worn or stained will go in this container. Some of these items may be taken to the recycling center.
Your family may wish to have a maybe box that may be gone through and looked at later.
Children and other family members can feel unsettled by the lack of organization in the home. Getting your household in order and keeping a handle on a clutter-free environment can help to eliminate some household stresses for family members.
For more information on getting your household in order, visit the K-State Research and Extension web site at: www.ksre.ksu.edu.
