Photograph courtesy: http://pre00.deviantart.net

There are two kinds of clutter: Active clutter and passive clutter.

You probably have quite a lot of passive clutter in your home and you would like to do away with it. In the beginning, it was just a collection of different things that you were using. This is active clutter. They became passive clutter the very moment that you no longer needed them and forgot to put them away. That is how a pile of items actually turns into clutter.

It is active clutter when the youngest in the family turns his LEGO-box upside down. However, the creative process does not last. His focus shifts and after a few hours or days other things will occupy him. At that moment the active clutter turns into passive clutter and the cleanup can start.

When you cook you will make active clutter. But, if you do not cleanup 100 % when the meal is finished, you will have created passive clutter.

When you no longer need to have your things out, you need to return them to their places. Whether or not they want to, they cannot move themselves. If the mess does not get any help, it becomes clutter.

Caring for our things is as simple as remembering to put them away when we no longer need them. When we react to our surroundings with care, we also care for ourselves. We are a reflection of our surroundings and if we do not care for them, it has a negative effect on us.

Tip: In order to decrease passive clutter, everything in your home must have a permanent place!

Some text taken from my book, ‘Goodbye Clutter, Hello Freedom: How to create space for Danish Hygge and Lifestyle by cleaning up, organizing, and decorating with care’