From making your space look disorganised and untidy to creating distractions and hurdles affecting the smooth implementation of your daily routine, a cluttered home is bound to affect your productivity. More importantly, things like documents which are essential to you might end up disappearing in the clutter, taking up a considerable amount of your time as you hunt through the heap in a panic-stricken state!  

A profession like that of an Architect can be very demanding and time-consuming. The last thing you want is these little roadblocks all around your workplace only making it difficult to get the job done as soon as possible.  

Here are eight tips to take control of the clutter around your house or office and make your life significantly easier!

1. Prioritise

Designate one space for all your essentials. Your keys, wallet, phone are some of the things that you can not leave without. Keep them in an easily accessible place, and you’ll never lose them again. 

A front entry table, a shelf right by the door, and virtually any convenient place can be used for this. 

2. Clean Your Desk 

Remove anything and everything that doesn’t belong on your desk. Old newspapers, sticky notes, and other office supplies like junk mail, blank sheets, are not to be seen on your desk. Assign separate trays and stands for pins, paperclips and pens. Your desk drawers or storage bins can be used for this process. Make sure you get this done before you start working on your desk. No one likes to run into paperclips and unnecessary junk while working on a cognitively demanding task. 

3. Establish a Sorting System 

The “3-Box Method” works well. Take a marker and designate all of the clutter into three categories. The stuff you are going to keep, comprising of all the essentials, the stuff you can sell and the things you are just going to give away. 

As simple as it sounds, this can help you prioritise your belongings and at the same time, get some value out of the things that are not in use. 

4. Donate the Things You No Longer Need 

A yard sale can make you richer by a few bucks. It is up to you to decide whether you can donate these things for free to the people more in need than you. A little act of charity costs nothing and comes with a sweet boost of self-esteem!

5. Decluttering Routine 

 Make sure you don’t spend a lot of time decluttering when you should be working! It is important not to lose sight of your responsibilities. 

In case you find yourself in the middle of a huge workload, you can break the process into small intervals and get it together at your own pace. There is no hurry. You are doing it for yourself. 

Establish a comfortable decluttering routine, preferably after a long day at work. Cleaning your place is an excellent stress buster and can help you unwind!

6. Don’t Forget the Closet.

Closets are one of the most cluttered spaces around the house because they are so well hidden from the view that we tend to forget most of the clothes that are stuck at the back. Clothes that no longer fit you need to go. There are lots of NGOs and organisations that can help you donate clothes to the underprivileged. 

A cluttered closet can make it difficult for you to decide what to wear, only adding to the difficulties in your life! Make your life easier by decluttering your closet and never be late to work!

7. Forget About Sunk Costs 

Sunk costs are the items or objects that you bought long ago and can not be sold again. If you can’t sell them or donate these things, you need to think of some way you can use these. (Remember the time in school when we used to make pen stands from old drinking glasses?)

Even if you are out of ideas, you can put these items on hold and store them in a place away from your working environment. Storerooms can be a place for these things until you decide what to do with them. 

8. Get Some Help 

A lot can happen over decluttering!

You can get some help from your colleagues, friends, family and virtually anyone. People generally love the idea of helping one another. Decluttering can be an excellent opportunity to bond well with your network and have healthy, meaningful relationships!