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Furniture That Declutters
03-27-2015, 09:30 AM
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#1
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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Furniture That Declutters
Clutter happens because we put something down on the table because it's not convenient to put where it belongs. Yes, in part it's laziness, but also sometimes you are busy with something, and it would be inefficient to take the time to put the thing in its place.
Here (oh, this is embarrassing) are pictures of our two clutter piles (not posed):
One solution is to periodically (every morning) make a point of putting those things away.
The problem is that in the meantime, those things are on display. That is, the storage location is highly visible. It's a display location. So, I've thought that if the temporary dumping ground were out of sight, the house would look less cluttered.
I've implemented that idea with drawers and enclosed side tables
But here's the problem: Once the stuff is out of sight, it never gets put away.
We're going to get something for our front hall (I moved my desk), and I'm wondering if there's something that might help. Maybe a chest of drawers (this for upstairs, this for to the garage), and a rule that every week they must be emptied.
Any ideas?
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Al
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03-27-2015, 09:38 AM
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#2
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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Everyone has current projects that take a while to complete. There is nothing wrong with putting things in a drawer to tidy up between sessions. That's why they invented the sewing box, for example.
One idea that I use is fabric boxes or baskets on wire or wooden shelves. Like this. http://images.property24.com/FetchIm...hx?uid=2723450
If you have many projects on the go, can you allocate a spare bedroom in your empty nester home to them?
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03-27-2015, 09:43 AM
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#3
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 16,600
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A chest of drawers would solve the problem. I've done this in the past, and added dividers to keep things organized. The dividers have really helped me to keep stuff out that doesn't belong in the drawers.
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03-27-2015, 09:45 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
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I tend to leave things on the "coffee" table, because it's visible. As soon as I hide in it a drawer "temporarily", then out-of-sight, out-of-mind...
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03-27-2015, 09:53 AM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Location: SW Ohio
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No great ideas, but I sympathize with the situation. I think we've got a worse problem than you've got--I've got lots of cardboard boxes stashed here and there full of half-completed projects/tools that I "cleaned up" when people were coming over--and there they sit.
I've thought of modifying our kitchen table (the major junk magnet) so that once per week it tips its top and dumps everything on the floor. At least I'd be prompted to deal with it then.
The best furniture I can come up with to deal with our issue would be an old-fashioned portable room heater--the good ones without all those fancy tip-over switches and guards in front. They stand a good chance of setting the whole house ablaze, and sometimes I think that's our best chance to finally declutter.
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03-27-2015, 09:55 AM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Location: New Orleans
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Al, I have a couple of collapsible baskets to handle clutter. That works for me. When they get full, I put the contents away (or toss them) and start over. They are about 13"x13", and 6" high. I got them at World Market but lots of places sell nice baskets of varying dimensions.
One thing to be concerned about, is that as you age some day one of you might trip on those clutter piles on the floor/stairs and hurt yourself! I'd suggest putting them up on a table somewhere.
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03-27-2015, 10:10 AM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
someday one of you might trip on those clutter piles on the floor/stairs and hurt yourself!
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Too late!
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Al
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03-27-2015, 10:15 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Location: New Orleans
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
Too late!
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Better do something pronto! Maybe a small waist high table (like one of those old phone tables), with a basket on it, right by the stairs? If the visibility bothers you, I suppose maybe you could find a basket with a lid.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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03-27-2015, 10:39 AM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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__________________
Al
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03-27-2015, 10:51 AM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Al, that looks nice. I really like the dovetail on the drawers. Only suggestion is "stuff" expands based on the size of area it exists in(imo). So set a limit on what you collect before forcing a hard reorganization.
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03-27-2015, 10:59 AM
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#11
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MRG
Al, that looks nice. I really like the dovetail on the drawers. Only suggestion is "stuff" expands based on the size of area it exists in(imo). So set a limit on what you collect before forcing a hard reorganization.
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+1
Also, Al, it concerns me because of my (perhaps incorrect) pre-conceived notion that you and Lena live in a fairly small place. The more large furniture you stuff into it, the smaller it will seem. It is pretty, though.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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03-27-2015, 11:06 AM
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#12
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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What I do with temporary clutter is utilize the small cardboard boxes that I get from Amazon orders. They don't hold a lot of stuff. I fold the flaps down into the box so the stuff is visible. These small boxes are great for sorting and holding temporary to-do projects instead of leaving the associated stuff where it does not belong (tabletop, couch, counter, etc).
I've also used those plastic milk carton crates, the ones with the solid bottoms. They stack nicely.
My kitchen peninsula is ready to be attacked as part of spring cleaning. It is almost completely full of stuff I never got around to discarding or storing elsewhere. Some of it belongs to Mr B, so he has to help.
Lots of rainy spring days coming here soon, so it will not survive the onslaught of me cooped up in the house by rainstorms. I like to get it all done before summer starts and I'm outdoors all the time.
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03-27-2015, 11:17 AM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2013
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I made the mistake of trying to organize clutter with furniture (shelves, cabinets, etc). The cabinets and shelves filled up and the clutter never stops.
I have no answers for the problem.
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03-27-2015, 12:08 PM
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#14
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RetireAge50
I made the mistake of trying to organize clutter with furniture (shelves, cabinets, etc). The cabinets and shelves filled up and the clutter never stops.
I have no answers for the problem.
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I've found one piece of furniture that controls clutter.
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03-27-2015, 12:13 PM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelover
I've found one piece of furniture that controls clutter.
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That is my favorite piece of furniture. But I am single. If I was married I suspect the frequent use of that piece of furniture would get me in all types of trouble.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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03-27-2015, 01:25 PM
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#16
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulligan
That is my favorite piece of furniture. But I am single. If I was married I suspect the frequent use of that piece of furniture would get me in all types of trouble.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Seems to work for my DW. Where that go? Oh I thought you were done with that, dear.
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03-27-2015, 01:42 PM
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#17
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 969
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Yep. My stuff is all junk, clutter whatever.
Hers is all decoration, keepsakes, etc.
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03-27-2015, 02:13 PM
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#18
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,434
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My space was always meant to accommodate my clutter. When I need more space, I find the clutter I don't care about anymore and get rid of it in one of my archives. Cleaning the house is a matter of moving a large garbage to a large archive and shoveling.
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03-27-2015, 02:43 PM
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#19
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Portland
Posts: 4,946
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I sweep all the clutter on tables and stairs into a laundry basket that gets plopped down in the house entryway. When it's full and untouched by others, I dump it into a box, tape it shut, and write "Destroy after <DATE + 1 year>" on it. The box moves to a stack in the garage with the date turned to face the car, so it gets noticed.
When the date arrives, out goes the box.
Passive/Aggressive of me, but this seems to have influenced the amount of clutter over the years...
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03-27-2015, 04:07 PM
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#20
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,774
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I didn't grow up this way, but we have always uncluttered surfaces every evening before going to bed. It takes only a few minutes at most because we are focused on it.
T-Al, you probably already have a place to put everything you show in the photos. An interim place to put stuff will only make your life more complicated, not less.
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