Your top clutter spots and how you deal with them

[OliviaTJoyce]

Pretty self-explanatory - tell me all about your clutter hot spots. For me, the fridge is one of the biggest problem areas. I can't seem to stop putting everything on top of it - towels, pots, keys, etc. As soon as I enter the kitchen and start doing something, I place something onto the fridge. oh bought me a gorgeous hand-made bowl the other day and now I store everything in it. Looks a bit funny but works.

What are your problem spots and how do you deal with them? Let's exchange some experience.

Ours is the top of the fridge too. I am yet to find a solution! I've put little boxes on top for things like keys but clutter still seems to find it's way up there.

Top of the microwave. I bin most of it on Saturday morning just before the piano teacher arrives. (Piano in kitchen).

Counter top to the right of the cooker. Total shitheap. I do blitz it every so often but it ends up a mess again.

Also top of the microwave seems to gather kids school stuff.

@WipsGlitter Yeah, same story! Now that I can't put all the crap on top of the fridge, I relocated some of it to the sides of the cooker - not much, but still not the idyllic picture I imagine each time when reading decluttering books. Honestly, isn't there a way to contain these few clutter hotbeds for good?

Inspired by this this morning I have just cleared all the crap off the top of the fridge! I found a box to put all DD's hairclips and things in which can live in her room and I sorted all the post into recycling and stuff we need to act on or file. All that is now on top of there is the shopping list pad, radio and jar with all the keys in. If we could be arsed to deal with post straight away it would help.

Where to start? We have several - the end of the kitchen table, the hallway bookshelf, and a section of the worktop next to the fruitbowl - they are mainly the three dumping grounds for stuff that needs to be kept temporarily or dealt with in some way, shape or form. On the rare occasions when I blitz the house til every surface is clear, they stay clear for a while, but as soon as one or two things are down, they are like magnets for other clutter! Drives me mad. Doesn't help that I'm not a naturally tidy person and have 3 DC who randomly leave stuff everywhere! I am going to tackle them today, spurred on by this thread...

The hall as the house isn't a normal shape, so the hall is almost as big as a normal room IYSWIM? So stuff gets dumped on the bookcases, on the long console table and on the floor in front of the table.

Mainly paper work, and school kit so I try not to stress too much. Just blitz it once in a while if ever someone looks like they're coming round.

I have a beautiful wide shallow bowl with pretty pattern on it that looks lovely on the chest in hall just inside door. It is great for putting keys in.
However it started to attract all sorts of random crap until it was full.
So I moved it, and replaced it with a small dish that is just big enough for keys (to prevent scratches on chest). Any random crap sitting on chest os now more obvious and likely to get tidied away .

Corner of out of the way worktop in kitchen is my "filing system" .
It is a crap-magnet!

@SugarMiceInTheRain Oh, the end of the kitchen table is my least favorite spot as well. It's where the table meets the wall and where I love to store my cookbooks. But then there's the kids which store their books and oh with his newspapers.. I swear this is a nightmare.

For me that would be on top of the fridge and microwave. I put there all kinds of kitchen stuff, then I forget to put it back where it belongs, and often times need to put another item only to find the place is stacked. Then comes a quick declutter session, but what can I do ... I get carried away while cooking.

Kitchen table here. I put a shallow basket at the end of the table , think just larger than A4 size and any random crap, post, sunglassss etc gets tidied into it until I tackle it once every few weeks.

So it seems that having some clutter solutions like baskets and containers is the way to go. Everything will be contained to those exact spots and the only thing left will be to get them sorted out once in a while.

I guess we just need to embrace clutter as a normal thing and not stress about it too much? That's the most difficult thing for me, "I stress about stress before there's even stress to stress about" as they say

Anyone else with tips and hacks?

Dining room table for us.

I find that if I do a daily 'sweep' of the house it helps. So I get a bag or a box and dump all the things that are in the wrong place in there. When I get to the bedroom I empty it on the bed and sort by room/return.

Things that help....
Shoe cupboard in hall
Paperwork drawer (for sorting/processing later)
Key hooks by front door
Laundry basket on landing

I do a daily sweep as well. Well, most days. It's the only thing to keep clutter at bay. And everything needs to go back into its home. Doesn't take long but it is a faff. I'm much happier when it's done though.

I also store anything from upstairs that has found its way downstairs, on the staircase and then put it away on my way back upstairs.

Hallway for shoes / bags / bike helmets / football boots / shin pads. We do have a shoe rack on the back of the cupboard door but it's largely ignored. I find a big storage basket relatively effective.

Behind kitchen door - paperwork - try and chuck almost everything. Take photos of school letters etc.

Our bedroom - everything. No solution found because what we need is TIME to sort it.