10 Ways to Remove Clutter from Your Life

We inevitably accumulate rubbish and clutter over time. It could be due to the lack of time or motivation to clear them up which will ultimately increase as time passes by. Here are 10 ways to remove clutter from your life to improve efficiency.

1 Your desk. If your desk is covered in paper and other clutter, clear it off to create a pleasing work environment. The steps here are the basic decluttering steps we'll follow for many of the other steps below:

* Clear everything off. Take everything off your desk and put it in a pile on the floor. Clear out the drawers too, if you have time. The only things that should be on your desk now are the computer, phone and other similar equipment.

* Clean. Wipe down your desk, and clean your drawers if you're decluttering them too. It's good to start with clean surfaces.

* Sort. OK, here's the meat of the process: sort through your stuff, one pile at a time. Toss out or route as much as possible, so that what you're left with is a relatively small amount of stuff. If you won't be using it again in the near future, or if you can access it on the computer, toss it out.

* Designate homes. Now you get to place everything back in your desk. Set up a simple alphabetical filing system, with one folder for each project or client. Have drawers for your office supplies and other stuff. With less stuff to organize, it shouldn't be too hard. Be sure to have a place designated for everything, and keep things in those places. Sometimes it helps to label, so you don't forget.

* Leave flat surfaces clear. Don't put stuff on top of your desk. Have an inbox for all incoming papers, and then sort them each day and either toss, delegate, do them immediately, or file all documents, so nothing remains on top of your desk. The only thing that should be on your desk is your computer, phone, inbox, perhaps a family photo, and the documents you're working on right now.

4 Computer. Purge your computer files, getting rid of stuff you don't need. Clear your desktop of icons -- they slow your computer down, create visual clutter, and are an inefficient way to access files, programs or folders. Set up hotkeys with AutoHotKey or similar programs. With online search tools (such as that in Gmail) and programs such as Google Desktop, you don't need to keep your files in a complex array of directories and subdirectories -- just archive, and search later. Purge old, unneeded files at least every month or two.

6 Rooms. Are the rooms in your house too cluttered? A few rules about simplifying a room: first, start with anything that's stacked on the floors; then work to the flat surfaces (tables, shelves, countertops, the tops of dressers, etc.) and clear them completely if possible; then do the larger stuff like furniture and other things that clutter the room; and finally tackle drawers and cabinets and closets. As much as possible, keep floors clear and all flat surfaces. Sort through everything in piles as in the first step above, tossing and donating as much as possible. Organize everything else in drawers and closets and cabinets, out of sight but still neat and uncluttered. Tackle one room at a time, going for a clean, uncluttered, simple, minimalist look in all cases. It can be helpful to continually edit a room once you're done decluttering -- you can always find little ways to make a room simpler.

8 Commitments. Aside from physical clutter, our lives are often way too cluttered by the things we need to do -- at work, at home, in our civic or religious lives, with our hobbies, with friends and family, etc. Go through each area of your life, and write down every commitment you have -- from things you've volunteered or agreed to do on a regular basis, to meetings and sports games and other things you do every month or week. It can be overwhelming. Now examine each one, and decide if it truly gives you joy and value in your life, and whether it's worth the time you commit to it. It can be useful to just choose a few of the commitments that your really love doing. Get rid of all the rest. Just call people and tell them your schedule is too busy, and you have to decline. Learn to say no! One by one, eliminate the commitments in your life that don't give you value, and you'll have more time to do the stuff that's really important to you -- stuff for yourself, or your loved ones.

Excuse me as I go remove some clutter in my life.