Prevent clutter before you get the point of a massive decluttering session (The Student Series)

As if there’s not enough on your plate as a student already, why not start tackling that clutter as September rolls around?

Just kidding. You don’t have time for that.

The best way to make sure your life stays clutter-free while you’re buried in the books and socializing with your new friends is to organize yourself before the clutter gets out of hand. Then you won’t have to do as much decluttering at the end of the year.

Like we said, as school’s starting, you have enough on your mind and too much in your agenda, so we’re going to keep these tips simple. We’re all about simplicity and saving time, as you know.

Set yourself up for success

Think about all the things that pile up in your room on a daily basis. Laundry often finds its way to the bed instead of the closet when it comes out of the dryer. Coffee cups, keys, binders and handouts can create quite a layer on a desk pretty quickly. Organization doesn’t just happen by chance. Setting yourself up to be organized is the key to achieving it.

Give yourself designated places for the things that always end up causing clutter. If you don’t always have time to hang up and fold your laundry when it’s done, get an efficient laundry basket that can fit under your bed or in your closet until you get to it. That’s much better than tossing it on the bed. If you lose your keys constantly, take the time to put a hook by the door. Set up a small bin for your coffee cups and empty snack containers (this doesn’t have to be a full sized garbage can, just what you can fit in your room or dorm). Have a folder to shove handouts in that you review at the end of each week.

Setting up these tiny places in advance and utilizing them will keep you from having a desk full of junk.

Just because it’s free, doesn’t mean you need it

Being a student involves tons of freebies. Most students have the mentality that they’ll take anything they can get, which is fair considered the cost of tuition. Free items can be really great, but make sure to consider if they’re all necessary. Do you need five different frisbees in your small dorm room? Probably not. One mug with the school’s logo is great, but do you need more than that? Be sure to only keep what you’re actually going to use. This will keep your room from getting totally cluttered.

Organize stuff by how useful it is in tiers

If you have something you use every single day, it’s a tier one item. Make sure those items are easily accessible in your room or apartment. Is it something you only need about once a week? Put that in tier two items. Find a place to store it that isn’t too hard to get to (like under your bed). Is it something you barely use, but know you’re going to need at some point during the year? That’s a tier three item, and may belong on the top shelf of your closet or in a storage locker. You’ll still be able to get at it, but it won’t be in your way. If you question if you’ll need something at some point during the year, that makes it a tier four item, and tier four items are items you can stand to get rid of. Try selling it online and making some extra cash (we’ll tell you more about how to do that later).

Plan your wardrobe around trips home

If you’re a student from out-of-province or state, consider how many times you go home a year. Do you go home for Thanksgiving? Leave your winter jacket at home until you visit for thanksgiving, and bring it back then. You can trade it for your shorts and sandals at that point, and leave those behind for second semester. You may even notice there’s some stuff laying around back home that you never feel the need to take back to school, which brings us to our next point…

Send the stuff you never pack, packing!

When you’re packing for school, do you always leave a certain bag or pair of pants out of your school stuff, because you find you don’t use it often? If that’s the case, get rid of it! You don’t need it! Don’t keep anything that’s not serving its purpose. If it’s sitting back home while you’re at school, it’s just clutter waiting for you when school’s out.

Take the excess clutter and make some extra cash to help you throughout the school year by selling it online on apps like Curbza. You can easily post photos of the stuff that’s been lying around your old room, and turn it into cash. Someone else may be missing exactly what you have, and be willing to pay for it. Never underestimate how easy it is to sell your clutter online.

You can download Curbza for free and start selling your excess clutter today.

As you can see, it’s simple to prevent clutter from forming in the first place with the right tools. What are your tips from keep your dorm and apartment tidy during the school year? Share them here.