Cluttered home interiors can make household residents feel overwhelmed and drained. It can also lead to frustration because it makes objects harder to locate and can present a safety hazard if it's blocking traffic areas throughout your home. In some cases, severe clutter also elevates the risk of fire. Some people feel helpless against clutter, but it's actually a battle than can be won using a few smart strategies. Following are three easy steps you can take to help ensure that clutter doesn't rule your life. 

Embrace the Mini Purge

Home organization experts frequently tout periodic purges to be an essential component in keeping household clutter to a minimum. However, the usual advice is to complete a major purge once per year, generally as a part of routine spring cleaning. Purging once per year can be overwhelming, particularly when paired with other seasonal duties such as deep cleaning. Instead, try performing mini purges once a month or so instead. This shouldn't take longer than five minutes, and you won't be left feeling that you've simply got too much to do. Keep in mind that purging is one of those tasks that becomes easier over time -- after your first couple of monthly purges, you'll have your own personal purging system down pat, making the chore almost automatic. 

Rent a Mini Storage Unit 

Storage units aren't just for those who are between homes or have moved into a smaller home and are in the process of downsizing. A mini storage unit that's relatively close to your house can act as a extra room to keep things when they aren't in use. Naturally, you don't want to be driving back and forth from a storage unit to retrieve item that you use on a daily basis, so think in seasonal terms. For instance, you can save a lot of closet space by storing winter clothing items in a mini storage unit and swapping them out for your summer wardrobe when the seasons change. You can also store holiday decorations, gardening tools, seasonal bedding, baby clothes that you may need again some day, speciality cookware that you might use once or twice per year, and basically any item that you only use on a seasonal or occasional basis. A mini storage unit also provides a great way to keep items that you plan on selling at a future garage sale out of the way until the big day comes. Mini storage units are also great solutions if a loved one has died and you aren't quite ready to begin the process of sorting out his or her belongings. 

You can also list objects for sale on online classified sites and have interested parties meet you at your storage unit instead of at your home -- unfortunately, modern miscreants sometimes answer sales ads as a means to access someone's home interior.

Cultivate a Junk Drawer

Cultivating a designated junk drawer may seem counterproductive, but the truth is is that every home has certain objects that don't really have any logical place to go. Items may include tape, pencil and pens, stickers, rubber bands -- you get the picture. The key to successfully maintaining a junk drawer so that it doesn't end up a tangled, jumbled lost cause is to spend a bit of time on organization. It doesn't take long, and you'll be glad you did every time you need to use something it contains. If you've already got a junk drawer going, purge it, purchase some cheap dividers, and organize any way that makes sense to you. Taking a couple of minutes each week to straighten it out with keep it organized. 

For more information, contact a business such as Sentry Mini-Storage Inc.

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