Legos. Work sheets. Soccer cleats. It's one of the paradoxes of family life: nobody can ever find the things they need, and yet there are things everywhere--underfoot, under the bed, on every tabletop. Our paradoxical solution? Less stuff means more stuff. The more clutter you clear away, the easier it will be for your family to find and use the things you actually need. So clutter, beware! There's nowhere to hide.
Maintain control. Determine your worst clutter zones -- inside the front door, may be the kitchen counter. Then develop a system for managing incoming items and stick with it. Make sure your dis understand the strategy, and solicit their help in implementing it.
Save selectively. Do you need to keep all of your children's artwork? HOld onto every catalog? Store outgrown tosy and clothes in the garage? Wherever stuff is accumulating, ask yourself why, and whether you can live without it.
Do more, bring home less. It may seem like clutter multiples while you're not looking -- but he truth is that things end up in our homes because we buy them, kkep them, or collect them. Encourage your family to do activities that don't entail acuiqisition: visit a museum, take a bike ride or a hike, or build a sand castle at the beach.
by Deanna F. Cook
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