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It is all good and well to decide you are going to declutter your home, but you can only get rid of clutter if you can recognize it! Some clutter is obvious; it’s that heap of junk in the corner that drives you crazy, or that mess in your closet you just can’t stand. But other clutter is stealthy; since you see it every day, it is just “part of the scenery” to you. Other people may notice it, but you have become totally inured to it. Learning how to spot this hidden clutter is a key step to organizing your home. Here are some surprising techniques you can use to see clutter!

• Invite someone over. Just having a friend or relative come over and visit you is a great way to see your house from their perspective! You don’t even need to ask them what clutter they see. Try and make it someone who makes you nervous and whom you are eager to impress; perhaps a nagging parent or in-law. When you imagine their disdain for every cluttered inch of your home, odds are you will spot that clutter too!

• Imagine you are putting the house up for sale, and a real estate agent is about to walk a prospective buyer through. Which rooms would they balk at? What could you do to make them look neater and more appealing to the eye?

• Take pictures of a room or even shoot some video. It might sound counterintuitive, but this method works for a lot of people trying to figure out how to get rid of clutter. When you watch a video or look at a photo, you may spot items out of place that you would never notice just looking through your eyes. Clutter after all makes your home look unphotogenic. Pretend you are going to put the photos online for the world to see, and you will probably immediately recognize everything that could possibly be considered embarrassing evidence of disorder!

• Have a friend come over with a toddler or a dog, if possible. Children and animals notice all kinds of clutter that adults miss! Every single bit of clutter in your home is like a beacon to a toddler or a dog.

• Try temporarily pulling everything off your shelves, tables, and so on, and putting it somewhere else, like in a large plastic bin (you could even try the four box method). Just seeing a room without all the usual clutter for a moment can help you visualize it in a whole new way. You may be a bit picker when it comes to figuring out what you are going to put back in place and what you will put away or donate or recycle.

Any one of these exercises can teach you how to see the clutter that you miss everyday with your conscious mind. But remember, your unconscious mind does see clutter, and that clutter impacts the way you think and feel. When you finally are able to recognize that clutter and get it cleared away, you will probably feel an immediate sense of relief!