Utilise Broken Window Theory To Avoid Household Clutter

Just as a broken window can lead to a rise in vandalism, small things like running out of laundry detergent, throwing a shirt on your bedroom floor, and not immediately throwing away an empty beer bottle soon become big piles of clutter. Knowing this can prevent disorder.

Photo by Lars Christopher Nøttaasen

Erin Doland of the organisation blog Unclutterer calls this Keystone Demise. A keystone is the centre stone of an arch that supports the entire structure; if you remove it the arch will fall apart. Here are a few tips to avoid breaking a window in your household:

• Create a “closing list” of daily household tasks; restaurants and shops often have a list of chores to accomplish before closing for the day. It might seem superfluous to have a printed list of tasks to check-off, but at the end of the day it is easy to forget one or two small things and start down the road to Keystone Demise. Better to take care of it now and wake up to an organized home.
• Have an easily accessible shopping list of basic foods and household products needed for your home to operate efficiently.
• Incorporate systems to deal with new clutter such as hampers and filing cabinets.

The Keystone Demise [Unclutterer]