How to Cut the Clutter

Step One

Start by equipping yourself with four boxes:

• one for items to throw away
• one for things you want to keep but that are in the wrong place
• one for stuff to recycle
• a 'maybe' box for those difficult objects whose fate is undecided

Step Two

Go round each room, systematically looking in every drawer and cupboard, clearing every surface and shelf. Take it slowly - an hour at a time is enough. Maybe put on a CD to time yourself (when the music stops, so do you). Give yourself one day off every week, and allow yourself a treat when you've sorted out a particularly daunting area.

Step Three

Find a creative way to deal with items you've been keeping for sentimental reasons. First look at each piece individually and think about why you want to keep it. Don't keep anything that doesn't make you smile. One way to move forward is to mount and frame part of whatever it is you're holding on to - a few scraps from a dress, one or two letters - then throw the rest away. Or take and frame a photo of a special item before you part company with it. This can be useful for anything large, such as a piece of inherited furniture, that has important sentimental meaning but doesn't fit into your life as it is today.

Step Four

Deal with the 'maybe' box. It's almost inevitable that the thought of throwing out some things will be quite difficult. Many of us find it hard to let go of the past. But you don't have to throw everything away immediately: have a trial separation. Put items you're unsure about into the 'maybe' box, seal it up, and label it with a date six months away. On that date, reconsider. If you haven't thought about the items in the box since you put them away, you're ready to get rid of them. Don't even let yourself open the box. If the idea of losing those items still upsets you, put them away for another six months and check out how you feel then.

Step Five

You will need to get into the habit of regularly throwing things away, and for a lifelong clutter freak, this is the really hard part. Ease yourself in gently - start off by chucking out a couple of bags of things you've been meaning to get rid of for ages. Take the process seriously. Don't keep pens that leak, a dodgy watch, a ten-year-old guidebook. If it's ugly, or broken, bin it.

Step Six

Make 'a place for everything, and everything in its place' your mantra. Put items you want to keep straight back where you found them, or in the box for sorting and rehoming. Set up demarcation zones - a place for eating, a place for working, a place for relaxing - and store close at hand the things you use most frequently in each place. Then decide on just one place to keep the most commonly used items - notepads, pens, scissors, sticky tape, writing paper, envelopes, and stamps.