You’ve gotten rid of the clutter.  Good for you!!!!  Take a moment and celebrate your achievement.

Now, it’s time to think about ways to avoid building up clutter in the future.  You don’t want to have to de-clutter too often.

Here are some strategies for keeping clutter to a minimum:

• Identify the places where you tend to accumulate clutter –a specific corner or cabinet or closet or drawer.  Make a special effort to avoid putting things in those places unless absolutely necessary.
• Don’t buy something new if you know you already have one but just can’t find it.
• Don’t get sucked into “stock-up” sales that encourage you to buy huge amounts of something.  Most sales are on a 2-3 month cycle at the most.  You don’t need to buy enough of something to last a year.
• If you like something, you don’t need to buy it in every color.  Pick the one you like best.  Note the noun is singular.
• When you want to indulge with a purchase, buy a service, not an item.  You don’t have to find a place to store a pedicure or a ghost tour.
• Make it a habit to rotate your closets and cabinets so nothing gets stuck in the back for too long.
• Repair or discard things immediately.  You don’t want them to build up.
• Borrow, don’t buy, things you don’t need to own, especially books and videos.
• If you want to be really hard core, discard something for every item you buy.  You buy a book, you donate a book.  You buy a pair of sneakers, you discard a pair of sneakers.

What strategies work for you?