5 Clutter Hacks From Real People

We have a slew of clutter tips and tricks — and many of them have come from our friend and pro organizer Peter Walsh. 

How to deal with memory clutter? Check!
How to deal with paper clutter? Check!
How to deal with Christmas clutter? Check!

You get the picture.

But this time, the tables were turned, and he learned hacks from real people — our viewers! And let's just say he was quite impressed.

1. How To Clear House Clutter: "20 Things" Game

Annique from Minneapolis plays a fun clean-up game with her three kids, ages 14 and under, and it's pretty genius. 

"It's easy. Each person picks up 20 things," Annique explains. "They either donate it, file it, put it in its proper place [or] throw it away. When we're done, we've had some fun, it doesn't take long — and 80 things are put away."

Did you hear that? EIGHTY things! Enough said.

2. How To Organize Hand-Me-Downs: Marker System

Hand-me-downs are a great way to save money, especially if you have multiple children, but they can get confusing sometimes (particularly when you're organizing laundry).

That's why Natalie, a mom from Australia, came up with a super smart marker system.  

When her first child is using a certain piece of clothing, she uses a marker to mark the tag with one dot. When that garment gets passed along to her second child, she adds another dot — and so on and so forth.

This way, when she's doing laundry, she has an easy way to separate the clean clothes. 

3. How To Store Kids' Clothes: Outfit Folding Hack

We've all heard about Marie Kondo's folding methods — particularly her rolling method — but Rachel from Utah takes it to another level. 

She doesn't only roll individual items of clothing. She rolls complete OUTFITS before placing them in her kids' drawers. That way, mornings are way more efficient. 

(Pro tip: Rachel does the same thing with PJs!)

4. How To Organize Jewelry: Use a Tie Rack

Few things are more frustrating than tangled jewelry, so we are INTO this tip from Carolyn from Ontario. 

She hangs her jewelry on a tie rack instead of throwing everything into a drawer. 

Not only does that prevent tangle frustrations, but it also helps you see everything you have more clearly AND it forces you to adhere to a "one in, one out" rule. In other words, if the rack is full, you might refrain from buying a new accessory until you're ready to get rid of another.

5. How To Organize Books: Create a Book Bin

Like Mary, we still love to read old-fashioned books. Are you with us? 

With that said, though, we all know they can take over the house a bit. Well, that's why Mary came up with a clever book bin system. 

Every time she finishes a book, she places it in a designated plastic bin. When five books are in the bin, she brings them to the library to donate and starts all over again. Isn't that fantastic?