10 Genius tips to banish junk from your house

I firmly believe in routinely getting rid of stuff I no longer use, and so should you. I guarantee that if you commit to purging your closets and other areas of your home that tend to collect things that go unused for long periods of time, you will automatically feel lighter. I like to do beginning of Summer and beginning of Winter, but you can do it whenever you like. The idea is simply to get rid of anything you haven't used in over a year. Some things you'll donate, some you'll trash, and others you may even be able to sell. Don't limit this to close, household items, toys, electronics, etc. should be evaluated as well.

I have a bit of a love affair going with storage baskets. Might sound a little strange, but it's true. These days it's so easy to find pretty, affordable and even chic storage solutions for just about every room in your house. So, instead of having your clutter out on display, you have a beautiful decor item that serves double duty by keeping your things organized. Plus, if you can't fit in that gorgeous basket you just bought, your more likely to just get rid of it…one less thing taking up space in your home.

When you get home from a long day, it can be really tempting to just drop all your things wherever they land as you make your way to your room to throw on some comfy clothes. Having a place in your entryway to keep your keys, phone, wallet, the day's mail, etc., can help. Rather than having everything scattered about, it's all be neatly in one place until you return to it. A simple tray on the counter or entry table will do the trick.

I bet your kids come home with loads of stuff in hand too, don't they? And they're probably even worse about tossing it everywhere. Create a designated area for each child to store their belongings–hats, jackets, shoes, backpacks–whatever they discard when they walk in the door. You can set this up pretty much anywhere, but it'll probably be most successful close to wherever they typically enter and exit.

And by ditch it, I mean don't even bring it in the house. One of my favorite tips is to simply drop any junk mail into the outdoor trash bin before you even enter the house. If you bring it in, chances are you'll feel compelled to look it, but it's not a priority, so it's just gonna sit on your counter until you get sick of seeing it. Keep it out of the house.

Picking up as you go about your normal business takes no extra time and can make a huge difference in the overall tidiness of your home. If you see a scrap of paper on the floor as you're making your way from the dining room to the kitchen, pick it up and toss it. Is your son's sweater hanging on the back of the couch? Grab it and bring it to the closet the next time you head upstairs. Tidying up this way, will keep you from having to spend hours of your free time doing it later.

Yup, you heard that right. Stop buying toys. I know you love your kids, and I know they love toys, but here's the thing…they don't really need so many. We all know how quickly new toys get discarded or forgotten by our little ones. If they had fewer toys, I'm sure they would appreciate them a lot more and you would have a lot less mess lying around. And you know what, they'll still get toys on holidays and birthday and from visiting relatives, you just won't be adding to the already massive number by giving into request for those random tinkertoys in the checkout lane.

I promise you don't need that aguacate slicer, a regular knife will do just fine. Commit to only owning multi-purpose gadgets and get rid of any single-purpose items that are taking up extra space in your kitchen or garage. If something you already own can do the job, don't buy anything new. You'll save money and space.

This may be obvious, or it might not be, but if you haven't already moved all of your bills online, you should. Not only will it streamline your bill paying process, but it will also help eliminate paper clutter around your home.

Lastly, only buy things that you love. Don't buy anything that you feel neutral about or don't absolutely need. Everything in your home should serve a purpose and/or be cherished. So always keep that in mind when making purchases. And of course, you should also evaluate the things you already have. If you no longer love them–or never did–get rid of them.