One of the biggest culprits when it comes to generating clutter has a lot to do with the volume of items we have in our lives. How many of these everyday items do we really need?
1) Sets of bed sheets. My rule of thumb for most families is two for each bed. One set is on the bed, and the other set goes on the bed when the first is being laundered.
2) Towels. It depends whether you reuse towels or not, and how often you wash them. Remember, the towel you use to dry yourself after your shower is clean and can be reused at least a few times. My suggestion is to have four sets of bath towels/face towels/hand towels per person in your
house. This way, there will always be a dry towel when you need one and when towels are being washed, you'll still have one or two on hand per person.
3) Food storage containers. In the typical house, these can get out of hand very quickly. I suggest eight to ten if you typically have leftovers. If you need more than that, you're likely storing too many leftovers and there is good chance those leftovers are going bad before you use them up.
Any leftovers should be eaten within a day or two if they're being stored in the fridge.
4) Shoes. This is going to depend on two factors: a) your lifestyle and b) your storage space. Let's talk lifestyle first. Just as an example of this, I own four pairs of athletic shoes. I teach fitness classes, and I do a lot of walking. And yes, I use all six pairs...at least once a week
each. My collection of pumps is much smaller. I don't wear them often, but I like having them available for dinner out.
You may be the type of person who loves shoes, and that's OK...IF you have the space to store them in an organized manner and you're actually wearing those you have fairly often.
But if you have shoes that you hardly ever wear, or that pinch when you wear them, or you have way too many pairs for your available shoe storage space, it's probably time to weed out your inventory.
The average woman owns about 25 pairs of shoes. The average man owns about 12.
I personally own (counting all of my footwear...sandals, flip flops, boots, sneakers, pumps, flats) 15 pairs. Except for my athletic shoes, my other footwear is mostly black, tan, gray, or burgundy, so they match most outfits, I wear each pair, and all of them fit well and are comfortable...the most important
factors!
5) Vases. Yes, these are needed for displaying fresh flowers. I personally own three vases...one that's tall for long-stem roses, one that's short and chubby for blooms I might pick in my garden, and a third that's an all-purpose vase for the typical bunch of supermarket
flowers.
If you have a surplus, why not donate them so someone else can display their favorite blooms?
6) Mugs and water bottles. These are huge clutter categories for many families. If you're looking to reduce your collection, keep one or two of each per family member and donate your surplus. It's OK to keep a set of mugs for guests, IF you actually have guests over now and
then.
7) Makeup. Most people who wear makeup can get away with one full basic set of makeup...CC Cream, foundation, concealer, setting powder, bronzer, eye liner, eye shadow, mascara, blush, and lipstick for everyday use.
If you like experimenting with makeup, maybe have a few extra items in your collection.
But if you have tons of makeup, chances are it's probably going to go bad before you have a chance to use it up. And yes, if you're wondering, makeup does go bad...especially eye makeup. Mascara will last only 3 to 6 months before it should be trashed.
