Even if you don’t pay for a storage unit, clutter has a negative impact on your life. Instead of your home becoming the welcoming sanctuary you deserve, it becomes another chore on your list and another stress in your day. 

So how can you declutter your home so you feel in charge and in control? 

These simple tips will put you on the right path. 

Why Are You Holding On?

Some clutter shows up in our lives and just stays there, especially pieces that have sentimental value. 

It’s okay to learn to let these things go and create a clutter-free home. 

First, you need to realize why you’re hanging on to them. As Marie Kondo puts it, does it spark joy? Is it a happy memory that you’re holding on to? Or do you just feel bad about throwing out Christmas cards?

Let’s address that first. When you’re loved ones send you cards, letters, or gifts, they hope to bring a smile to your face. They never want you to feel obligated to hold on to something that doesn’t make you happy anymore. 

If that’s why you’re still holding on, perhaps send your loved one a thank you note that tells them you appreciate their gift. Then let it go. You’ll feel more relief and gratitude for expressing your thanks and by getting rid of something that stresses you out. 

If you really want to hold on to something like a card, you can check out these ideas to upcycle old cards so they’re as useful as they are beautiful.

If you’re holding on to something because it’s associated with a happy memory, honor it. Get a display or shadow box and get creative. How can you stylize your memorabilia in a way that gives it the respect it deserves? 

Make Sure Everything’s Place is Practical

Undoubtedly you know everything in your home needs to have its own place. But if that place isn’t practical, your best organizational efforts won’t last long. 

For example, maybe you neatly stack all of your pots inside each other in the cabinet. It looks so pretty when it’s done! 

But you love to make big batches of pasta and soups, so you’re always digging out the biggest pot on the bottom. When you’re done cooking a big meal, it’s a lot of effort to put it back underneath all of those other pots. 

It’s not practical for your lifestyle. 

Instead, maybe put your favorite pot on an open shelf, or find another place where it can be easily accessed – and more importantly, easily replaced.  

Pro Tip: Containers Make All Clutter Look Organized

Let’s say when you come home; you throw your keys, wallet, and bag on the end table next to the door. That’s clutter. 

But when you add a decorative catch-all bowl for your keys, wallet, and bag, that’s organization. 

The same thing applies to all areas of your home. If you have people take off shoes in the mudroom, you can store shoes in a big wicker laundry basket instead of scattered across the floor. They’re not matched. It takes two seconds to clean up, but it looks neat and organized anyway. 

Throw Something Out Every Day

When you’re working on decluttering your home and your life, you may want to do a massive purge going room by room. This is definitely an effective way to do things, but you may face burn out quickly, especially if there’s a lot to tackle. 

Instead, throw out three things every day. You can clean out the junk drawer, toss out food in the pantry that’s past its use-by date, or toss out magazines that you know deep down you’re not going to get around to reading. 

Get a Toss Box When You’re Not Quite Sure

Often we hold on to things “just in case” we may someday need them. They just turn into clutter that jams up our lives. 

If you’re holding on to something that you’re worried you might need, put it in a Toss Box or bag. Seal it up, and store it somewhere where you know where to find it. If you do end up needing that item again, you know where to find it. If not, toss the box after a month without looking in it. 

Remember This is Your Life

A lot of decluttering or minimalist guides will give you long declutter your home checklists. They’ll recommend you throw out books, unfinished projects, old DVDs, or something similar and switch to digital copies. 

But remember this is your life. When you’re decluttering, keep in mind the kind of space you want to create around you. If you love movies and value keeping physical copies, don’t throw them out! If you’re an avid reader, there’s no reason you need to clear your bookshelf – even if it’s overflowing. 

Your space should be comforting to you. And if that means you have ten pillows on your couch or books on every spare surface, it is not clutter if it makes you happy. 

Choosing to Declutter Your Home Should Help You Live a Better Life

When you declutter your home, keep two things in mind. You’re decluttering to create a space that you enjoy being in, and you’re decluttering to help you create an easier life. 

If your organization isn’t practical, you won’t stick to it. And if decluttering means you have to throw out things you love, it’s not worth it. 

Want to know the best way to relax, unwind, and de-stress? Check out our guide here. 

Home is our sanctuary, a haven, our safe harbor and the place we unwind from a long difficult day. It is where most of us connect with family; share thoughts and dreams and really bond with them.

Most homes nowadays have limited space but our needs and wants are unlimited. Hence clutter occurs. Clutter is collections of things lying about the house making it messy and untidy.

Why we collect things can be explained by analyzing the psyche of a person. People can be divided into two main groups.

1. Minimalists – where a person can have very few material possessions. If someone enjoys a clean, clear environment where there are few distractions then that person can be minimalistic approach to life.
2. Collectors or Hoarders – People who enjoy collecting material possessions. They can be collectors of various items be they art or furniture or just extreme collectors of their personal belongings never throwing things away.

Hence while most of us strive to be minimalistic and organized others tend to collect or hoard things around the house.

When is clutter a problem?

Clutter affects people mentally as well as physically. A messy disorganized family environment is not conducive to a happy and healthy upbringing for kids as well as affecting family relationships negatively.

Clutter takes up space inside the house minimizing space for family. It makes it hard to find things.  Thus makes everything inefficient and time consuming.

In most cases messy homes adds to anxieties and gives a feeling of hopelessness.  When a person is already stressed out at the job and comes home to a messy home it can further add to the stress and increase tiredness. Seeing untidy, disorganized countertops tend to stifle creative processes.

Why do we need to unclutter?

Whenever we clean and organize the house and work spaces it provides a sense of accomplishment and control. An uncluttered house provides a clean and clear environment providing more space for friends and family.

A clutter free house is conducive to added cleanliness and provides a safe healthy environment for the kids. Destresses minds and eases anxiety.

A well-organized home or work space stimulates creativity as well as efficiency.

Most houses have the following categories of cluttered rooms

Most Cluttered – Attic, Basement, Garage, Closets

Average – Kitchen, Office Room, Laundry Room

Least Cluttered – Living Room, Dining Room, Bathrooms

How to Declutter Room by Room

It is best to set a goal before starting to organize a specific room.  What you would want the room to look like and plan the room to be more organized and efficient.

Creating a sorting system helps with the decluttering. The best way is to use three boxes, and name them as follows: things to keep; trash; and, store.

Things to keep should be easily accessible. You can use shelves, drawers in closets. For example, use over the door hanging pantry and gift bag organizers.

Things that are not used often can be stored in boxes and bins.

How to get rid of clutter

• Recycle,
• Donate
• Garage Sales, Sell on the internet (Amazon, EBay, Craigslist)
• Rent a Dumpster

Bedrooms

The Bedroom should be a restful place to induce relaxation and sleep and should not be used as storage rooms for dumping extra stuff.

Empty all drawers. Go through all items and throw away all expired or unused item.  Ask yourself two questions:

1. Does this belong in the bedroom?
2. Have I used this in the last year?

If you answer, “no,” to either or both of these questions, then they need to go the “trash box or the recycle box” or take it to the room where it belongs. When you are ready to place items back into the drawers try adding dividers or small containers so you can store similar things together. Keep storage bins for kids’ toys, seasonal things and things that are used infrequently.

Closets

First empty out the closets and organize the clothing according to their usage and frequency of use. Then it’s best to get rid of clothes that no longer fit, or are stained or damaged. Ask yourself whether you really wear those clothes. If you haven’t worn them in the last year or so then chances are you are not going to wear them again.  So they need to go into that “trash box” if they are damaged, or to the “donate” box if they are in good shape and can be re-used.

Jewelry should be organized on the Jewelry organizers.

Office  Rooms

Plan the most efficient and convenient placement of desk, chair, filing cabinets, etc. Try to minimize paper usage by using more digital storage. Desk top and other table tops need to be clean and uncluttered. Drawers need to be organized by using dividers or containers. Use twist ties for cords under the table and label them.

Kitchens

Before starting always empty out and clean the pantry cupboards. Always organize the pantry cupboards to maximize efficiency and lessen the foot traffic when cooking.  Spices, saucepans, utensils should be stored near the range to be easily accessible when cooking.

Counter tops should be mostly empty to facilitate work areas.  Pantry organizers and drawer containers and dividers make decluttering easier and provide more space.

Family Rooms

Remove item that do not belong in the living room.  More storage can be added by sofas with storage and storage seats. Cabinets, libraries too add more storage options.

By having a clear theme when decorating removes clutter as well less decorative items frees up space. Less is more when decorating.

Bathrooms

Free up counter tops by adding cupboards with shelves. Medicine-cabinets need to organized and trash the expired medicines. Organize drawers too.

Basements and Attics

First empty out the basement or attic and divide the space into zones to organize. Keep like things together in the same zones. If you are using storage boxes and bins always label. Get rid of broken, unused things.

Garages

As in the basement attic divide into zones when organizing. Keep like things together. Add shelves and storage space. Get rid of useless, broken things.

Summary

You can determine the extent to which you will commit to decluttering. You can minimize adding clutter by not buying things that you know you would use very rarely. You can always borrow or rent these items. Declutter a little every day and live clutter free life.