Cleaning and Decluttering - The Clutter Catcher

Image Source: Clean Your House in Ten Minutes by SheKnows

"Quick! My husband is going to be home in an hour and the house looks like a disaster!"

My definition of disaster is not the same as most people's level of disaster - because I have decluttered to the extremes. But here is the best way to fight clutter and the quickest way to apply a bandaid to creeping clutter (clutter that is moving from places it SHOULD be into places it SHOULDN'T be is "creeping clutter")

I have a small laundry basket that sits near our basement door. Whenever I feel like the clutter is starting to creep and I don't feel like 'cleaning', but the husband is on his way home - I grab that basket (hopefully empty?) and go through the entry spaces: entry way, living room, dining room.

I pick up anything that doesn't belong in the room and put it in the 'clutter catcher': My laundry basket. It should take five minutes. Your only question is "Does it belong in this room - yes or no?"

Now, set the basket down and deal with it later. I didn't say put stuff away! (Unless you have time for that.)

The fun part is that if you are using the Uh-Oh box and you picked up any children's things - shoes, clothes, toys, what-have-you, you can transfer any of that stuff straight into the Uh-Oh box from your Clutter Catcher and 9 times out of 10 that cuts down what you need to put away by at least 40% or more.

The Trick? Dont get a BIG laundry basket. This is the exact laundry basket I use for this:


If you get a basket that is TOO big, then you are going to have a beast of a mess to put away. If you keep your basket small, then when it gets full you know you have to sort things out (start with that Uh-Oh box!) before you can use your clutter catcher again. But the basket is small enough that it won't be a nightmare to deal with.

I love my clutter catcher. I can quickly look like I've picked up, 5 minutes before company or the husband or the mother in law shows up, and the basket disappears during the visit and gets sorted when I get to it.

Be in charge of the mess - don't let your mess walk all over you and stress you out!

Now go find your new best friend and give it a cute name like "Clutter Catcher"!

I hope this helps you fight the clutter monsters! aka children...

I better post this and snatch up my clutter catcher - the husband will be home in an hour and I want to do other things besides clean...*wink*