My daughter, a fashion design student in New York City, called to remind me about her annual runway show this spring. Every year, two schools showcase their work and compete against one another to see who will win the title of “Best Designer.”

As you can well imagine, there is lots of energy and excitement leading up to this event and when the day arrives, every proud family member is there trying to capture the moments with their cell-phone cameras, digital cameras and video equipment.

But with all the fame and glory, comes, yup, you guessed it…clutter! Between the layers of outfits and accessories, piles of sketches and designs, and the ever-glowing memories from program announcements and pictures, you end up with lots of “stuff”.

Now in the life of a design student, their clutter actually becomes a stepping stone for their portfolio. Once they choose their overall design to display as their creation and work of art, they can begin to let go and reduce the excess trimmings, so to speak.

But what about us loved ones who share in their delight? What do we do about the paper trails of stuff that follow us home?

On my drive back that evening, I kept glancing at the program thinking to myself, “where am I going to put this?” How do I keep it safe until I decide what I want to do with it? Should I place it in a drawer or a file? Maybe, I should just put it in with my daughter’s other memories that are in her childhood treasure chest?

But then it occurred to me, that if I take a photograph of the brochure, inside and out, that this image will be just as valuable to me and her as the actual program, and I won’t have to worry about finding a place in my home for it to live.

Therefore, I started thinking about other ways clutter could be reduced. Consider this: How many times have you gone shopping and tried on outfits that you were not sure of, but still purchased them, only to return them.

Well, what if you took out your camera and took a picture of yourself instead. This way you have time to think about it, ask your friends and family their opinion and the best part is, you don’t have to spend any money while you are trying to figure it out. When you finally make your decision, just delete the image. It’s that simple.

So now, I carry a small digital camera in my purse where I go. If I forget it, I use my camera on my cell phone. It is my new resource for clutter control and I’m loving it!