Homeowners who have battled clutter in the past often find that it is most likely to accumulate over the winter, when frigid temperatures outside drive more people indoors. Spending more time indoors means more trash indoors.

Newspapers and magazines might be easy to discard when the weather is warm, but a trip outside to discard such items takes less precedence when it must be made in below freezing temperatures. The likelihood that even the cleanliest of homeowners might accumulate some clutter over the winter only highlights the importance of clearing a house of clutter in the fall.

While clearing clutter can seem like an arduous task, the following tips can make the project much easier.

* Clean one room or area at a time. A disorganized approach to getting organized is likely to waste time and may even prove fruitless. Work your way through your home or apartment one room at a time rather than jumping from room to room.

Have boxes or crates designated for items you find that belong in other rooms, and place items in the appropriate boxes as you clean rather than returning items to the right room as you find them. Once you have finished a room, move on to the next one and try to finish a room on the same day you started.

* Invest in a paper shredder. Old bills, bank statements, receipts, and other once-important papers have a way of accumulating on desks, in drawers and on counters. Such documents often do not need to be held onto, but men and women are hesitant to discard them because they contain personal information.

A paper shredder is a great investment for homeowners and apartment dwellers alike and can be the safest way to discard documents with potentially sensitive information. It’s also a friend to anyone attempting to clear clutter. Many shredders can shred multiple pages at a time, making them a quick and safe way to discard documents that have been littering a home long after they were useful.

* Decide to donate some items. Many unused items lying around your house can likely be donated to a worthy cause, which can help motivate you to clean out your closet of all those extra sweaters and other items you no longer wear.

Encourage fellow members of the household to donate as well, and set aside a few boxes for clothes that will be donated and those that will be discarded. Donated items need not be clothes, as many goodwill organizations accept appliances and other products as well.

* Put seasonal items away. Storing seasonal items like patio furniture and swimsuits can help reduce the likelihood that clutter will build up in the months ahead. Pack items from your summer wardrobe together and store them in a suitcase in the back of your closet. This frees up room for your fall and winter clothing and helps you avoid overstuffed drawers.

In addition to clothing, store seasonal furniture neatly in the back of your garage or storage shed, pulling out items like snow shovels or snow blowers you may need come the winter.

* Tackle the hall closet. Hall closets are convenient dropoff spots for items of all shapes, uses and sizes, as the hall closet is not necessarily opened each day and therefore men and women can simply ignore it as it gradually accumulates more and more random items. But hall closets can be valuable storage spaces when used appropriately.

Designate a significant amount of time to tackle hallway closets in your home so you can thoroughly reduce the clutter within them and get back to using the closets as the valuable, organized storage units they’re intended to be.

Discuss having different purposes for each closet, such as one devoted to cleaning items, another to coats, and so on. Resolve to keep the floors in each closet clear of items, as clutter tends to be on the floor and then work its way upward, eventually encompassing the entire closet. Once the hallway closets have been cleared, work hard to keep them clean as autumn turns into winter.