Hasta La Ideas

Today’s guest post is by Amanda Scudder, Organizing Consultant with the company Abundance Organizing. Please give her a nice welcome.

Are you a basket case in the making? If you have a spot where clutter tends to collect — the table by the front door, the kitchen counter, the foot of the bed — you are! And I’m going to make the case that a basket, properly managed, can be just the solution you are seeking.

Clutter hotspots are a leading cause of aggravation for just about everyone. I recently worked with a client who lamented that a basket on her counter constantly filled up with clutter that didn’t belong there — sun screen, library books, art supplies, children’s toys and the like. She had tried removing the basket, but the items still landed on the counter. And without the basket to contain things, it looked even messier. What she didn’t realize was that the problem wasn’t the basket. In fact, she’d intuitively set up a clutter-management strategy that can be very effective. A basket gives you a place to contain things that are not convenient to put away in the heat of the moment, as you are running out the door, emptying book bags at the end of a busy day, or otherwise trying to get on with life. The trick to turning it from a clutter problem into a clutter solution is to establish a routine for emptying it on a regular basis.

In my house, we use an “up-and-down” basket on the table at the foot of the stairs — in it go things I’ve picked up off the kitchen counter, living room floor, end tables, and other clutter-collecting surfaces. Like the dishtowels that need to be washed, the hairbrush dropped by my daughter in her mad dash out the door, socks found under the couch, books, and toys. When I go upstairs, I grab the basket, put the laundry in the hamper, the brush on the dresser, and the books next to the bed for nighttime reading. When the basket is empty, I use it to collect things that belong downstairs and it goes with me the next time I go downstairs.

To set up your own basket system, find an attractive, portable container to hold the clutter. You probably have a basket or tote around the house that you can press into service for this purpose. Reusing things you already have saves you time, money, and space. But if not, there are lots of options available for purchase, like this classic, eco-friendly collapsible bamboo-jute basket from Crate & Barrel:

Or this market basket:

Whatever container you choose, the next step is to put it in the spot where clutter seems to collect. Then, set a time each day to empty the container by returning everything that is in it to its proper home. Some people enjoy the routine of a few minutes every morning or just before bed to take on this chore. Other people use the basket itself as a visual cue — when it is full, it is time to empty it. Just make sure you don’t get a basket that is too big, as you want to be able to empty it pretty quickly on a regular basis.

Think about your clutter hotspot — will a basket strategy work for you?

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