A room-by-room guide to decluttering your home

(BPT) - Controlling clutter in your home can be a challenge; 48 percent of Americans say their houses are cluttered with stuff they don’t use anymore, according to a survey by ClearVoice Research. Multiple studies have found a cluttered home can negatively affect your mental and physical health, while a cleaner home can make you feel happier and healthier.
A UCLA study found mothers in cluttered homes had higher stress levels while dealing with their stuff, while an Indiana University study found people with clean houses are healthier than those living in cluttered homes. You may realize clutter isn’t good for you, but it’s not always easy to get organized. To help you get started, here is a room-by-room guide to cutting the clutter:

Entryway
Basic tactics:
* Decide what belongs in your entryway and what doesn’t. The size of the space will influence this decision. If your entryway is a spacious mudroom, you might choose to store shoes, boots, umbrellas and backpacks there. If you have a modest foyer, you may decide you only have room for car keys. Remove anything from the space that doesn’t help it serve its purpose in your home.
* Add storage/organization that helps the space meet its purpose. Wall-hung key racks can keep important keys at your fingertips. Shoe racks are available in a variety of sizes and styles to fit your space and décor while keeping footwear organized and off the floor.
A step up:
* If space allows, adding built-in storage such as cabinets and shelves can help keep an entry space organized and visually appealing.

Family room
Basic tactics:
* Assess the kind of clutter that builds up in your family room. Perhaps your clutter consists of children’s toys, magazines and newspapers, or multiple remote controls for entertainment components. Once you know what kind of clutter you’re collecting, decide if it belongs and must be accommodated, or doesn’t and should go.
* Add storage solutions specific to your needs. For example, storage ottomans can double as extra seating and a place to store frequently used toys. A caddy can keep remote controls organized and at hand.
A step up:
* Sometimes furniture that’s too large for a space can add to the feeling of a cluttered and congested room. Assess your family room furniture. Is it the right size for the space, or is it overwhelming the area? Replace overly large furnishings with ones that better fit the room.
* If you have the room for it, a large shelving or cabinet unit can help contain clutter. Add decorative containers to help keep everyday items like toys, magazines and other frequently used items organized on shelves.

Bathroom
Basic tactics:
* Tackle the linen closet and trash any partial bottles of shampoo, tubes of toothpaste and towels that have seen better days. Be brutal. If you haven’t used that half bottle of body wash so far, chances are you never will.
* Clean out your medicine cabinet. Discarding expired prescription medicines can help reduce the risk of someone accidentally taking the wrong medication.
A step up:
* Showers can be among the most cluttered spots in a bathroom. If you’re ready to take your bathroom organization to the next level, ditch the rack hanging from your showerhead and the precarious corner shelving and upgrade your shower to one with built-in organization, like Sterling Store+ shower. The showers feature built-in recesses and tracks where you can snap in a variety of storage accessories and shelves, such as a soap dish, storage bin, towel bar or shower hook. The storage is fully customizable, and all accessories are removable and dishwasher safe. Visit www.sterlingplumbing.com to learn more.

Kitchen
Basic tactics:
* Countertops frequently host a wealth of kitchen-related clutter, from the mail you brought in yesterday and forgot to go through to small appliances you use once or twice a year. Clearing off countertops can make a kitchen feel visually more appealing, lo
ok bigger and function better. Remove and store rarely used small appliances, ditch the ceramic container of utensils and store those items in drawers instead.
* Pantries and cabinets can be nearly as cluttered as countertops. Adding shelving and storage units within cabinets can help keep pots, pans, lids and dishware better organized and more easily accessible.
A step up:
* Some people need a bit of extra incentive to stay organized. If that’s you, consider replacing solid cabinet doors with glass ones that reveal what’s inside. Knowing the contents of your cabinets are always on display can help inspire you to keep them tidy and organized. Plus, glass-front cabinets are an opportunity to create an appealing visual display.

Survey Finds 36% of American Homeowners Think at Least Half Their Home is Disorganized

According to a recent survey by the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and Decluttr, it couldn't come at a better time. In anticipation of the time-honored tradition to clean house and home, the organizing experts at NAPO and the decluttering experts at Decluttr, teamed up to find out just how disorganized Americans feel. Turns out not only could they feel more organized in their homes, but being more organized would also save them time and a great deal of stress.

"We want Americans to realize that organization isn't just about making sure your home looks clean," says Stephen Sumner, Group Marketing Director, "it is also about peace of mind and actually ends up saving people a significant amount of time in their day when they know where things are in their home."

In addition to finding that 36% of homeowners think at least half their home is disorganized, the survey also revealed the following:

• 75% of Americans turn to mobile apps like Decluttr to help them get more organized
• Of those surveyed who hired a personal organizer, 37% did so to have a less stressful home
• More than a third of respondents listed family living spaces as the most disorganized area in the home
• 85% of respondents would save up to an hour a day if they were more organized

While organizing a home may seem like a big task, services like Decluttr that pay for unwanted clutter can provide an additional motivating factor. Last year, Americans sent 1 million units of media (DVDs, CDs and video games) to Decluttr and made almost $1 million collectively.

For more information on the survey and any questions, please contact Decluttr at decluttr@cerconebrown.com

About Decluttr Decluttr is an easy-to-use online service for people looking to earn cash by selling used DVDs, CDs and video games that are taking up space in their homes. Decluttr is owned by Entertainment Magpie (http://www.musicmagpie.co.uk), a UK-based multi-category recommerce business enabling consumers to go online and sell a wide range of used media. Decluttr marks the brand's first U.S. venture. For more information, visit www.decluttr.com. 

About NAPO The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) leads and advances the organizing and productivity industry. NAPO was founded in 1985 as a nonprofit professional educational association for professional organizers. Today, NAPO has nearly 4,000 members worldwide representing the full spectrum of the global industry: professional organizers, productivity specialists, manufacturers, retailers, service providers, trainers, authors, educators, and more. NAPO is The Organizing Authority®. NAPO serves its members and the public by providing professional educational opportunities, industry leadership, productive partnerships and expert information and solutions to foster growth and fulfillment for all who work within the organizing and productivity industry or benefit from its services. NAPO is headquartered in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, and is on the web atwww.NAPO.net.

Clutter and Downsizing

When looking at moving on in life an individual needs to look at the clutter that surrounds them.

BALTIMORE, July 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- When looking at clutter and downsizing you have to remember that you're moving from your old life to a new one. Downsizing is one factor that many individuals need to take into account when looking at retirement and moving on with their life. Life is about moving and clutter removal is one of the first parts in moving in forward in regards to handling a wide variety of different issues that occur before possibly moving onto a new stage in your life.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140710/125883

When sorting through your home and possessions it often is a long and difficult process. You want to decide which items to keep, which items junk, and which possessions to donate. This daunting tasking often taken on alone is often very trying for an individuals, since they may have emotional attachment to certain items that may have belonged to their loved ones that may no longer or friends who are no longer with them. This could include old pieces of clothing, children's toys, books, furniture, or a multitude of different items that could be considered clutter. This decision making process does not have to be handled alone a clutter cleanup company could certainly help.

A clutter cleanup company can help an individual sort through the clutter and find the treasured items that the individual in reality really wants to keep. These are trained professionals who are willing to helping a person sort through their past in order to better their future. They are trained in encouraging the individual to realize that they will not be losing memories, but adding room to create no ones. The past can always be remembered, but the items are presently taking up much more of an area than the memories themselves. 

Clutter cleaning can involve a company taking the items sorting, and disposing of them. When you think about the costs associated with it. It is not a bad scenarios, where you have professionals handling the disposal of items that you yourself you cannot dispose of upon your own account because of the decisions involve or the size of the items that need to be removed. Also, the items that you decide to keep can be sorted by them for storage, and this is a great time saver for those individuals who are looking to avoid a significant amount of time being wasted.

When dealing with the clutter of time a clutter clean up company can help you answer any clutter cleanup questions. They are professionally trained to deal with these variety of situations and certianly address them for you. Once again you do not have to handle downsizing your clutter alone a compassionate company is out there to help you.