Keep The Clutter Out

So the topic of this post was actually suggested by my husband, which makes a lot of sense because out of the two of us, he is way better at doing this than I am.

One way that we have found to declutter is to take steps to keep clutter from even entering our home.  Prevention is way better than treatment, right?  So I wanted to share a few specific things that we do to keep the influx of clutter at a minimum.

Mail.  Our kids love taking a trip down to the mailbox to pick up the mail, so it has become a regular evening event for us.  One trick that we do is to very quickly sift through the mail to pull out any advertisements, credit card applications, or other "junk" mail.  On our way into the house, we dump those items into the recycling bin.  Then, those pieces of mail never even make it to our kitchen counter, where they used to stay for days before they were tossed.

Kids' meal toys.  You know exactly what I'm talking about parents.  We don't do a whole lot of fast food in our family, but we tend to hit up Chick-fil-a fairly often.  (Not this month though!)  I get it, I used to love all the little toys I'd get from my Happy Meals as a kid.  I still think back fondly on some of them.  And I love the types of items that Chick-fil-a includes; things like books, trivia cards, etc.  But they end up all over my house since my kids are still too young for most of them.  (Except the books, which hang out in our car.)   What we do now is evaluate the toy, and if it's not something that will be well used, into the recycling or donation box it goes.  I know that seems so wasteful, right?  Well, one cool thing that Chick-fil-a does (No, they are not sponsoring this post, I promise!) is allow you to swap the toy out for an ice cream cone.  Voila, no waste and a sweet treat!   Otherwise, I'm feeling convicted to start asking for them to omit the toy when we order.  My kids are at an age where they don't even miss it.

Books.  This one is two-fold.  I love to read.  Like, really and truly love to read.  At this day and age, maybe it's a no-brainer, but as much as I love to read with a book in my hand, I tend to go the e-book route.  I know, that's not super original, but it doesn't have to be.  Also, my kids just love books.  So we go old school and take trips to the library on a weekly basis.  The "new" books keep them engaged, but rather than having our book collection get out of control (and expensive), back to the library they go.  Again, I know it's not an original concept, but it's not something we've always done.  And it may be something you don't normally do.  I highly encourage you to try it out.  It's a fun activity for the kids and helps keep our belongings in check.

Okay, I am dying to hear ways you keep clutter from even making its way into your home.  Please leave a comment and share your tips, because I'd love to try to implement them in our home!

Kelly