Daily Declutter Challenge #7 - The Front Door Pile

There always seems to be a spot, close to the front door, where gravity pulls "stuff" to itself.  Some people have a desk or bench by the door, or maybe it's the nearest counter.  The oddest things can wind up in there!

Ours was a basket, on a table at the top of the stairs.  An it wasn't even a nice basket.  It was something someones else was getting rid of and passed along to us.  Seemed like a great idea to have a handy basket at the top of the stairs to store your keys.

See any keys in there?

Actually, there are some buried deep in the bottom.  The only problem is I don't know what they're for!  Bike lock?  Suitcase?  Old house?  And all the other stuff?  Things that we didn't really need, but just found a comfortable resting spot in that basket, never to be moved again.

Till now.

It's so great to declutter the actual thing that is collecting the clutter!  You get so used to a basket of junk sitting on your table, that it just becomes part of the furniture of your mind.  Almost everything in that basket got tossed.  The few things that were useful actually got put away where they belonged!

No more cozy nest for clutter to accumulate.

Miss Minimalist wrote, "My advice to anyone who feels they need to get organized: declutter first. If you have to, declutter for a year before you start buying fancy boxes and squirreling things away.  Then think long and hard before you put something into a container (especially if it’s not something you use regularly). Because once you give something a warm, cozy abode, it can be hard to get it to leave."  Check out her full post called, "Don't Organize Your Clutter."

Why don't you take on this challenge?  Find a place close to your entrance where "stuff" is accumulating.  And if you have a cozy nest for clutter to gather, maybe you can get rid of the nest too!  If you really need a place for your keys, try a few little hooks, or a small, pretty dish. Let me know if you have some other great ideas!