Things become clutter when they don’t have a specific place they belong. That’s why assigning everything a “home” is a fundamental organizational principle.  While it’s a simple concept to follow, several everyday household items are often overlooked, leading to clutter building in your space.  Read on to discover the top ten hidden clutter culprits and how you can deal with them!

What Are Hidden Clutter Culprits?:

Hidden clutter culprits are everyday items common to almost all households that are frequently forgotten when assigning your things a home.  As a result, they end up as clutter in random places throughout your space.

Hidden clutter culprits generally have a few things in common:

1. They’re found in almost all households
2. They only become clutter at the end of their working/useful life when they need specialty disposal and
3. It’s inconvenient and unrealistic to properly dispose of each item when their working/useful life ends.

But the good news is that there is one simple solution to dealing with all the different types of hidden clutter: identify them and assign them a home! Yep, knowledge and a simple box, bin, bag, or designated shelf are all you need to conquer the hidden clutter in your home. 

Assigning these items to a home keeps them from ending up in random places throughout your home and makes it easy for you to grab everything when you are able to make the trip to dispose of them properly.

Now that you know how to deal with hidden clutter, let’s identify the 10 most common culprits.

Hidden Clutter Culprit #1: Broken Electronics

Items like computers, printers, radios, stereos, cameras, VCRs, video games, monitors, remote controls, remote control toys, cordless phones, cell phones, etc. should not just be thrown into the garbage. A box or shelf in the basement, garage or even the back of a closet are great options for this type of clutter.

Hidden Clutter Culprit #2: Dead Batteries

You won’t be able to make a trip to your favourite battery recycle/disposal location each time a battery dies, so a small bin or basket to toss them in until you can recycle them prevents them from becoming clutter (and you from having to guess what batteries in the draw are good and what ones are dead)!

Hidden Clutter Culprit #3: Burnt Out Lightbulbs 

As with dead batteries and broken electronics, it’s not realistic to make a run to properly dispose of light bulbs each time one burns out. So, burnt-out lightbulbs also need a designated bin or basket to prevent them from becoming clutter until you do make the trip.

Hidden Clutter Culprit #4: Hazardous Waste 

Prevent items like bleach, cleansers, nail polish, carbon monoxide detectors, anti-freeze, paint thinners, paint, fertilizers, pool chemicals, and propane tanks from decluttering your space by storing them in a specific bin or area until you can properly dispose of them.

Hidden Clutter Culprit #5: Expired Medications 

Creating an expired meds bin, basket, or bag will keep the expired medications separated from the still-good medications and contain them all in one spot so they’re fast and easy for you to grab next time you’re headed to the pharmacy.  Just remember to remove all identifying information.

Hidden Clutter Culprit #6: Items Being Returned 

Items falling under this category include things like store returns, library books, and items to be returned or given to friends or family. Having a basket near the door for these items keeps them from looking like clutter until they leave your house and serves as a visual reminder to grab them when you leave.

Hidden Clutter Culprit #7: Items Being Donated

Unlike items being returned to a specific store or person, these are items in good condition that you no longer need, use, or love. Having a dedicated donation box or basket in your home where you put these items right when you decide to let them go stops them from cluttering your house and your mind (“Didn’t I already decide to donate that?”).

When the box is full, it’s time for a run to your favourite charity!

Hidden Clutter Culprit #8: Boxes

There’s nothing wrong with keeping some boxes for specific purposes, such as reusing them as gift boxes, for school or craft projects, future selling or shipping needs, DIY storage solutions, or donation boxes. The key is to designate a place to store the boxes and only keep what will fit in that space.  We use half of the top shelf in our guest closet in my home. 

Hidden Clutter Culprit #9: Kids’ Art

This one is for the parents of younger children.  If this is you, you know a constant stream of creative works is coming into the house.  And you also know you simply can’t keep it all.  

So, have a bin, basket or magazine holder as the short-term storage solution where all the works can land when they come into the house. Once it’s full, it’s time to sort through it and identify the favourite and best items you and your child want to hold on to long-term.

It’s much easier for kids to let go of items a few weeks or months after they’ve brought them home rather than right away. The bin provides a central home for everything, keeping your counters and tabletops clutter-free while your kids’ attachment to their work decreases.

Hidden Clutter Culprit #10: Mysterious Small Parts

What are mysterious small parts? The random things you find around the house; you’re not entirely sure where they came from or what they’re for, but they seem like they could be a part of something you may need in the future, like a screw or bolt, what appears to be a piece of a toy or puzzle, a random lid etc.

Keeping all these items together in one location makes retrieving them fast and easy when you discover their use. Just remember to go through it a few times a year to declutter any parts that have remained unidentified.

 Conclusion

And there you have it, the ten most overlooked household clutter culprits. Give these items designated homes until you can properly dispose of them, and they’ll never clutter up your space again! If you need help finding where to dispose of them, check out my free Donation, Resale & Disposal Guide.

Were any of these items causing clutter in your home?  Let me know in the comments below. And if you like this post, please share it!

Happy organizing!