While there are many articles everywhere on how to deal with clutter, few address a more important issue: How to prevent clutter from happening in the first place. By taking care of your possessions and making sure you don’t buy more than you need, you can deal with excess and prevent chaos from taking over your home.

Here are five ways to get you started:

1. Ask yourself a series of questions before you buy something. Do you really need it? Is there something you already own that can serve the same purpose? Do you have the space for it? Can you get rid of something to make space for the new item? How long are you going to use it? If this is something you will only use once or twice, can you rent it or borrow it instead of buying it?

2. Determine where the item is going to be placed. Not the general room or area of the house, but the specific location, such as “second shelf of the living room bookcase.” If you can’t find a specific location for it, it should be considered clutter.

3. Have a place to store it. If you’re buying Christmas decorations, cleaning supplies and products or a new set of china, make sure you have enough cabinet space or drawers to put these items away when not in use. Moving boxes make great for storing stuff you don’t use often.

4. Have a designated place for things you deal with regularly. Have a tray near the main door where you can dump mail as soon as it comes in. Or place a container near the entrance where you can put umbrellas, or a small wood rack where you can store shoes.

5. Get into the habit of donating things you no longer use or need. Don’t wait until they pile up so high that it will take you days to get through them. Go through your closet, your bookshelf and your garage once a week and make a bag of things you can give away. Drive the bags to the nearest thrift store at least once a month.

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If your house is in complete chaos, the idea of making sense of it all may seem overwhelming. However, there are some basic things you can do to get started in organizing and cleaning up your home.

STEP ONE: Prioritize

Look at what needs to be done and make a list with two columns: big changes and small ones. Big changes will include anything that requires purchasing furniture or driving to the library to donate a pile of books. Small changes will include organizing the kitchen drawers or clearing up the desk.

STEP TWO: Do it one room at the time

Things will get overwhelming fast if you think about everything that needs to be done. Choose one room and get to work on that one. Only move to the next one when you’re done or when the next step requires you to buy something or go out of the house. Start with the rooms that you use the most.

STEP THREE: Separate into piles

Divide everything that is lying around into three piles: everyday or often use, used seasonally, never used. Anything that goes into the third pile should automatically be put aside to donate or throw away.

STEP FOUR: Be ruthless

Discard anything that you don’t truly love, won’t use or is broken, especially if you already have a replacement and are just holding on to the older item “just in case it can be repaired one day.” It won’t, so let it go.

STEP FIVE: Find appropriate storing

Things will never be organized if you don’t have a proper place to store them. Whether it’s shelves, cardboard boxes or full pieces of furniture, having storage space means you’ll be more likely to put things away, rather than letting them pile in the corners.

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