Get Organized by Turning Clutter into Useful Items

Most people tend to struggle with household clutter, which can be a real detriment when trying to get your house and lifestyle better organized. In many cases, this clutter consists of items that you've saved for one reason or another. Because you've purposely saved the items, it can be difficult to convince yourself to discard them. If you struggle with not wanting to discard items that you view as useful, why not try putting them to good use instead of tossing them in the trash? Not only will you clear your house of clutter, but you'll also have some craft-making fun.

Assessing Your Clutter

Before you can decide what you'd like to make, it's first necessary to assess the kinds of materials you have. Then, depending on what you find, you can find a creative way to put these materials to good use around your home. If you make a particularly creative craft, you might even be able to make some extra cash selling items at a neighborhood craft show or an online auction site.

Newspaper

If you get the daily newspaper, you might have several weeks - or even several months - of newspapers stacked somewhere in your home. Of course, you could always just take them to your neighborhood recycling center. But, if you want to put them to good use around your home, try using them as a weed barrier in the garden. It's a lot less expensive than buying landscaping cloth, plus the paper will simply biodegrade over time. Simply divide the newspaper into sections, dip each section into a bucket of water to help it adhere to the ground, and cover your garden aisles in an overlapping fashion. Scatter some straw or mulch over your newspaper paths, and you'll no longer have to worry about weeds.

Yarn and Fabric Scraps

If you like to sew, knit or crochet, you probably have plenty of leftover yarn and fabric scraps cluttering your craft room. You might only have a small quantity of each color or variety. Yet, it can still be difficult to just throw them away, because they are still essentially useful. Why not use these small scraps and leftovers to knit a multi-colored afghan or sew a patchwork quilt? If you have lots of scraps, you could even make extras to give as gifts, or donate them to your local nursing home, hospital, or homeless shelter. Your craft room drawers will be clean and organized, plus you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your scraps were put to good use.

Paper Clutter

Paper clutter can be a big challenge in many households. Between "junk mail," discarded computer print-outs, hobbies such as scrapbooking, and last year's school papers, most people find themselves buried in too much paper. If you have a paper shredder, you can turn some of your excess paper into handy packaging material. After all, shredded paper is less expensive and more eco-friendly than purchasing bubble wrap. If you have some pretty scraps, such as leftover scrapbook paper, you could shred them up and use them as gift basket filler. Unneeded office papers, school papers and junk mail could even be ground up in the blender with water, poured over a fine mesh screen and allowed to dry, transforming trash into beautiful handcrafted paper mache crafts.