How to make your house appear clutter free

There is a few things I HATE in this life. I don't use the word hate often, but with these cases I do.

1. When I run out of shampoo and forget to restock and I realize it when I am already in the shower
2. Tripe
3. Clutter
4. Sunglasses at night

Lets take a moment to chat about clutter. I hate it, I despise it, but somehow every house seems to have some of it. When you have a family, way too many toys, and bills for that fact, clutter is inevitable. No matter what, things just seem to pile up don't they? You clear the counter where everyone seems to put their crap and BADABING BADABOOM, more crap is back. Below is what I do to contain the clutter the best I can:

• Make woven baskets your friends. You can place baskets in an area where no storage exist and there you have it, instant storage! The cheapest baskets I have found are at TJ Maxx. I use baskets to hide the following: misc electrical cords that i have no idea what they belong to, books, games, movies, toys and more toys. Baskets just look classier than other storage options. 

• Put all of your bills in one place. This way you know where they are at all times when you decide to go pay em all. This eliminates bills piled on your kitchen table, on your counter, in your room, on your bathroom sink etc. etc. The only downside to this is that your bills will stare at you in the face. I hate when bills stare at me in the face, I get all uncomfortable and feel the need to pay them pronto.  See pic below. I have all my bills in one cute little . .you guessed it, woven basket. I also put all the junk here that I don't know where else to put it. You will see a dog brush, head lamp, KFC coupon, and nail file all in one handy spot. 

• Have a coat/hat rack. I really dislike the look of coats/sweaters stacked high on the backs of chairs or on the part of the couch that no one sits on. I also hate finding hats stacked all over my house. Javy has a hat on the bathroom sink right now. I am seeing how long it takes him to put it where it really belongs. It's been awhile, I don't think he gets my point. I like them all to be in one place. This makes a house look SO much more neat!!!

• Put shoes where they belong. Have a designated spot for shoes. Don't leave your shoes piled in your entry way, this just looks messy. No one needs to see your dirty smelly shoes anyway right? You will not believe how pleasant your entryway will look with NO shoes in the way! PS. Trust me I tried to use a woven basket as my shoe bin. This was not a success. The shoes ended up breaking right through it.

• Have a designated key spot. This is one tip that I do not practice what i preach. I ask my husband where my keys are at least 3 times per week. He never does know where they are but I always feel the need to ask him. 9 out of 10 times they are lost in my diaper bag/purse. However, It's a great idea to have a designated spot for keys. A counter looks like it has so much more clutter when there are keys lying around. Please disregard Venom and Spiderman hanging from my key rack. Welcome to the home of a 4 year old.

• Organize your bathroom drawers. Come on, we all know that when you go to someones house you look in their bathroom drawers/cabinets and see what kind of good stuff they have . .right? Please tell me it's not just me who does that. I'm not the only creeper right? Right?! I use plastic dollar store bins and of course woven baskets to organize mine. This way no one can snoop through my drawers and say to themselves "OMG Tracy's house is neat but her drawers are a hot mess" PS. don't judge me by the massive amounts of toothpaste I have. Don't ask. I don't have an answer.

• Make your kids put away toys when they are done using them. Have a toy box big enough to store all of their toys. If you don't, it's probably time to get rid of some. Have a spot for every toy. No one wants to be tripping over Thomas the train or My little Pony right?

• Just throw things away! If you don't need it, or if you haven't used it in at least 30 days, get rid of it. You will forget you threw it away in about 30 seconds.  I am the opposite of a hoarder. I LOVE throwing things away. This also gives me an excuse to buy something new. Ohhh bummer, my oven mitt got spaghetti sauce on it? Darn, I guess it's time to go to Homegoods and find a new one. 

These are just a few of my clutter free tips. Do you have any that work for you? What are they, I'd love to hear! Do they involve woven baskets?  . . . .Yeeaahhh I thought so!!