Book urges putting house on diet

HUDSON, Ohio -- Chances are you know how it feels to put on excess pounds.

You're uncomfortable. Nothing fits right. Everything seems to take more effort.

Sharon Kreighbaum thinks that's how it is with houses, too.

The Hudson, Ohio, resident has written "Is Your House Overweight? Recipes for Low-Fat Rooms," a guide to putting a home on a clutter diet. The book helps readers streamline their homes and set them up in a way that simplifies day-to-day life.

The book's premise is that a bloated house is an uncomfortable one. Clutter gets in our way, increases our stress and wastes our time, energy and resources.

The self-published book grew out of Kreighbaum's work as an interior designer and home stager, as well as her early experience as a kitchen designer.

She also was inspired by a few people in her life, she said.

One is her husband, Mark, whom she described as a minimalist. Another is a cousin in California whose home was devastated by an earthquake, but who decided not to replace many of her possessions because she didn't need them. The third is her brother, a priest who once lived in a monastery in Italy with just one closet and one dresser.

Kreighbaum said she's incorporated those lessons in her work, and she's seen the difference decluttering can make in her clients' lives. One couple lost weight after their house did, probably because decluttering lowered their stress and freed space in their kitchen so they could more easily cook and eat healthful meals at home, she said.

A clutter-free home, however, doesn't have to be a spare one, Kreighbaum insisted. After all, the artist in her loves beautiful things, and she loves surrounding herself with them just as much as her clients do.

Clutter, she said, comes from indecision. Things accumulate because we haven't decided how to handle them or where to put them. And when we don't make those decisions, she said, we set ourselves up for the frustration and wasted time of continually searching for things or having to deal with the consequences of our laxity.

So one of the keys to Kreighbaum's approach is assigning everything a home, which should be where you use the item or where you need it -- your purse and cellphone near the door, for instance, and your dishes within reach of the dishwasher.

Another is deciding which activities you want to happen regularly in each room and then keeping in it only the things that support those activities.

Even cleaning can be a matter of decluttering. Manufacturers have convinced us we need specific cleaners for specific tasks, Kreighbaum said, but she limits herself to just a few key supplies -- baking soda, vinegar, lemon oil and dishwashing liquid. They're cheap, safe and readily available, and people almost always have them on hand, she said.

Declutter tips

Clutter-dieting tips from Sharon Kreighbaum:

--Declutter a room by taking everything out and then sorting items into four laundry baskets marked "keep," "move" (to another room, that is), "throw away" and "donate." Return to the room only the things that you love and that serve your needs.

--Periodically "weed" each room by putting anything that doesn't belong there into a laundry basket. Either return those things to their proper homes or put them in a recycling or donation bin.

--Think twice about buying kitchen gadgets. Do you really need a chopper when the knife you already own works just as well?

--In a pantry or kitchen cupboard, store like items together. You can see at a glance whether you need more of something\

--Edit collections to a few examples and display them in a grouping. Rotate the display occasionally.

--Gifts and inheritances can be the biggest stumbling blocks to decluttering. Remember that when someone gives you a gift, the intention isn't to burden you with it. If it doesn't enhance your life, it's OK to sell it or give it away. Taking a picture of it first lets you keep the memory but not the object.

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