Hate Clutter? 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Beat It.
In my house, clutter is a "five letter word" that actually means "paper - and too much of it."
Yes, this is what my desk looks like sometimes - cluttered with junk mail, newspaper advertising supplements, business cards, receipts, throwaway packaging, and more.
All this wasted clutter weighs down the recycling bin I have to lug out to the street every week.
Plus, it pains me to think about the environmental impact paper clutter has. According to 41pounds.org, a group that works to reduce unwanted junk mail, more than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail. Just creating and shipping junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 9 million cars.
What to do? Reduce, Reorganize, Recycle. Here's how:
1) Pay bills and bank online. Many banks now actually charge their customers a monthly fee to send them a paper statement (my Bank of America outlet charges $8.95/month for this "service."). So not only does online banking reduce the clutter in my house; it saves me money, too.
2) Read newspapers and magazines electronically. Why? To avoid all the ads. The news part of the paper is actually rather thin; the advertising supplements are huge. If I bought what they're selling it might make a difference, but I don't. When I want to know what a store has on sale, I check out their website before I go shopping, or pick up their sales paper when I enter the store. If I want the coupons, I can usually find them online. Meanwhile, I read the paper on my laptop or my phone. I don't have an e-reader, but you could certainly read newspapers and magazines there, too.
3) Skip paper receipts. I don't take receipts at the ATM, the gas pump, or the grocery store. I've discovered that grocery stores will usually take back a product they sell without a receipt; but honestly, I almost never take anything back to the grocery store, so why bother with the receipt? I only take receipts when I buy hard goods, like clothing or some kind of equipment. I keep all receipts in a file, just one file per year, so they're not on my desk. NOTE: Whole Foods market gives its customers the option to receive receipts online, though I don't want this clutter in my e-mail box, either.
4) Limit business cards. I only give out business cards to people whom I really should be networking with, and I only take business cards so I can follow up with people I really want to be connected to.
5) Use a blackboard. Note pads and stickies are supposed to keep people organized, but they're a big source of clutter for me, given how easily they stack up. A clutter-free alternative? Blackboards. Put one in the kitchen where you can leave "notes" for family members, and put one in your office or workroom so you can write notes to yourself.
You can get the rest of the tips here. Will you also leave your own suggestions for conquering clutter? Thanks.
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