Ask anyone about the one clutter pain-point in their home and the most common answer would be the flat surfaces. Be it the dining table, coffee table, kitchen counter, study table, bathroom counter or floor, flat surfaces attract clutter like a magnet and often bear the maximum amount of mess in any home. It’s safe to say that a timely declutter of the flat surfaces can actually change the entire appearance of your home.
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Although it’s easy to just take the stuff off the flat surfaces in order to declutter them, the real difficulty lies in keeping it that way. You may wipe off the entire kitchen counter in the afternoon and by the time you are done with cooking the dinner, it would have accumulated fresh clutter like it was never cleaned.
While flat surfaces can be hard to manage when it comes to decluttering them, you can easily achieve the goal with a few effective tips and tricks:
1. Flat Surface Clutter Rule
Flat surfaces always end up attracting clutter no matter how often you clean them. And the Flat Surface Clutter Rule is the easiest possible way to fight this problem with the idea that every flat surface in your home (be it the kitchen countertop, bathroom counter, dining table, study table or the floor) should be cleared of anything that doesn’t belong there. Make it a daily exercise to clear the flat surfaces off unwanted objects and make sure you return them to their rightful place immediately.
2. Prevent Clutter From Settling In
Kitchen counter, dining table and coffee table are most likely to get cluttered with items that don’t have a proper place to stay in. I, for one, often leave bills, newspapers, snack boxes and reading glasses on the dining table without realizing that they add up to clutter. The best way to fight clutter is to prevent it from settling in. Make sure that everything that you bring in your home gets a place to stay in. I now have a drawer in the center table of my living room to store the snack boxes and papers which has helped me a lot in controlling clutter.
3. Set A “No Clutter Zone” Reminder
We clutter flat surfaces because these are the most convenient places to reach. Isn’t it common for many of us to come home and toss away the handbag and car keys on the dining table? Sometimes, all you need is a reminder that these surfaces are required to be kept clutter-free. So print out a few “No Clutter Zone” reminders and set/paste them near the flat surfaces so you don’t end up cluttering them mistakenly.
4. Have An Out-Tray
For every article that you can’t find a place for, have a drop-box or an out-tray kept in your living room. Any random articles like lip-balm, combs, phone chargers, pencil or remote control should be tossed into this out-tray to be sorted out later. It may not be an ideal long-term solution to tackle clutter but will help you in keeping the flat surfaces clean.
5. Return Things To Their Rightful Places After Using Them
The habit of not returning things to their original places after using them often becomes the major reason why the flat surfaces end up getting cluttered. Isn’t it common for you to bring a knife to tear open a parcel and not keep it back into the tool box? Don’t we all leave the kitchen appliances on the countertop after using them? Or leave the juice glass on the study table because we don’t have time to return it to the kitchen? If you do intend to keep those flat surfaces clean, make it a strict rule at home to keep the things back to their original places after using them no matter how late you are running for school/work.
6. Opt For A Neatly Set Dining Table
Clutter attracts clutter. And if you wish to keep that dining table of yours clean, make sure that you don’t feel tempted to clutter it in the first place. Keep it neatly set with nicely placed cutlery, dishes, napkins and fruit baskets and you will never want to disrupt it with the tiniest bit of clutter.
7. Have A Proper Storage Space
Sometimes, a lack of proper storage space might be the reason why the flat surfaces at your home are always untidy. I like to have cheap storage options at my home rather than the expensive ones. I always keep a desk-organizer wherever possible so that any misplaced item can be tossed in. I also have a few wall-mounted shelves installed at my home to manage paper clutter.
8. Have A Small Nightstand Rather Than A Big One
I truly believe that our surroundings determine the quality of our sleep. If there’s too much clutter in your bedroom, you won’t be able to get a sound sleep. Make sure that you don’t have your work desk installed in the same room that you sleep in so as to keep your leisure and work space private. It will also keep you away from the clutter that may find its way on to the desk. Besides, downsize that bedside table to a smaller one that can only accommodate the sleep essentials – maybe a water bottle or a book that you’re currently reading.
9. Address The Habits Causing Clutter
As a kid, the reason I used to throw around my clothes and shoes after coming back home from school was because I just didn’t care enough to keep them at their rightful places. I just thought that managing clutter was my Mom’s job and that keeping things organized isn’t absolutely essential. It took me a lot of growing up to understand and change my habits that were causing clutter.
So if you haven’t been able to keep the flat surfaces decluttered even after having a large storage space in your home, sit and think about the habits you need to address to be able to manage clutter.
The fact that clutter attracts clutter is the main reason why flat surfaces become the hotspot of clutter so quickly. But what truly makes it important to declutter them is how immensely your home can transform after you eliminate clutter. While the above tips will come to your rescue every time you are looking to declutter the flat surfaces, you can simply follow the Flat Surface Clutter Rule if you are running out of time.