How to Break the "I'll just put it here for now" Clutter Habit

Clutter around the home is often caused by family members perceiving that they are too busy to put things away after using them. Adults may say to themselves as they set purses, keys, shoes, mail or other personal items down "I'll just put this here for now." Kids often leave out their toys, school supplies or other personal items lying around underfoot. Pretty soon piles and clutter results.

The reality of our busy lives, is that we often don't get back to the stuff that we have procrastinated about when we said "I'll just put it here for now."

One easy way to reduce clutter in your home is to remember to never leave a room empty-handed. You can teach this to kids too by providing them with a basket to throw things in, that they then carry to their rooms at the end of the day. Encourage your family to be responsible for their belongings by taking the time to put them where they go when they're finished with them and to not bring anything else out until they do.

As a professional Organizer, I have trained myself to do this little trick in my own home, but I also coach my clients to learn the same habit in their home. While working with a client, while I am taking items to another space to put away, I look around for an item that does not belong and I carry that item back to where I started. For example, I often see clothing and shoes laying around in cluttered homes. It's so easy to just kick off your shoes where you light or peal off a jacket and leave it over a chair. Before long a pile has developed along with a bad habit. But leaving these items there is just delaying the inevitable and the more you succumb to this bad habit, the pile grows and creates a bigger clean up job. Instead, never leave a room empty handed. As you move around your home for various reasons, like going to the kitchen, to the restroom, to your closet to get shoes before leaving the house, pick up a misplaced item and carry it with you and drop it off during your trip. Before leaving that space, pick up another misplaced item and carry it with you and drop it off where it goes. Train yourself and your family to think this way and before you know it, you'll have devoted time to clutter control without even realizing it! It takes minimal effort and it's less work later on for all.