8 months ago
17 No one wants to live in a messy house, but life often gets in the way of cleaning. Marie Kondo and Martha Stewart make it look like a piece of cake, but we know it’s not as simple as it seems. Knowing where to start is tough, figuring out how to finish is confusing, and everything in between can just be overwhelming.
We have some tips and tricks to make decluttering less intimidating, no matter how messy your home is.
1. Keep Surfaces Clear
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This is one of our simplest and most effective tips for keeping your home neat. Clutter often collects on the surfaces in your home, like your kitchen counter, dining room table, or coffee table. Clear everything off these surfaces often and wipe them down. It will do wonders to keep your home feeling clean.
2. Identify Underutilized Storage Space
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Sometimes, the perfect storage spots hide in plain sight. Commonly underutilized storage spots include beneath beds, the bottom of closets, the top of bookshelves, the back of doors, empty corners of rooms, and underneath stairs. Take a walk through your house and try to find at least one unused storage spot in every room.
3. Give Everything a Home
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Every object in your house needs a designated and permanent “home.” This ensures things return to their place after each use and prevents items from ending up in piles of clutter. Here’s a tip: most surfaces should not act as “homes” for items. For example, your kitchen table is not an appropriate “home” for your purse.
4. Use Baskets, Bins, Bowls, and More
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Containers are your friend when organizing. We love clear bins for pantry storage, baskets for blankets, and bowls for keys and knick-knacks. Using these containers instead of putting things loosely on shelves and surfaces will keep things tidy and visually appealing.
5. Have a Limbo Space
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You can’t be 100% organized 100% of the time, which is what the limbo space is for. It could be a corner, basket, or surface, but try to keep it out of the way. The limbo space is for belongings that need to be returned to their home or do not have a home yet. Avoid keeping anything in limbo for more than a day or two.
6. Tastefully Hide Clutter
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We’re not giving you permission to shove everything under the bed or in a closet, but you can cleverly conceal your clutter with attractive storage pieces. For example, you can use your coffee table drawers to hide your collection of TV remotes. Or, you can use a storage ottoman to hide your extra blankets. The goal is to keep areas visually clear.
7. Make a Decluttering Schedule
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Clutter can take over your house if you don’t stay on top of it, especially if you live with others. Rather than wait until the clutter overwhelms you and forces you to clean, adhere to a decluttering schedule. Maybe you declutter daily before bed, or you could declutter every Sunday morning. Find a schedule that works for you!
8. Utilize Vertical Storage
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When it feels like you have no room for anything, think vertically. Most homes have loads of unused vertical space. Installing wall shelves or stacking storage containers can do wonders to free up space. To prevent that crowded feeling, look for vertical storage before defaulting to horizontal storage.
9. Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring Cleaning
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These tips are for spring cleaning, but who said you have to wait until spring? We recommend implementing a seasonal schedule to reassess your home’s clutter and organizational system. Donate any thermal clothing you didn't wear on the last day of winter or toss your least favorite bathing suits at the end of summer. This helps you get ahead of the clutter.
10. Practice the One-In-One-Out Mentality
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The one-in-one-out method dictates that for every new item you bring into your house, one old item has to go. Another brilliant way to adhere to this is to use the new item’s bag or box to pack up old stuff you don’t need. Did you order new slippers from Amazon? Make sure you put something old in the Amazon box before you toss it, or maybe a few old items.
11. Declutter in Rounds
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We suggest decluttering in rounds to better identify belongings you don't genuinely want. If you declutter your closet, go through your clothes more than once. You might be surprised by how much you part with after each round. Some items are obvious toss-outs, but others aren’t as obvious, which is why the later rounds are beneficial.
12. Only Keep What You Need
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It’s natural for us humans to want to hoard materials. We think this random item will come in handy in an emergency. Maybe one day you’ll need that bright pink neon sweatshirt you’ve never worn. We understand the urge to hold onto such things, but you’ll feel better if you let go of anything you don’t need.
13. Always Make Your Bed
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You’d be amazed by the difference a tidy bed can make in your home’s appearance and vibe. When your bed is messy, it makes it easier for your floor to get messy, and then your nightstand, and then your bathroom sink, and so on. If you start every day with this healthy habit, it inspires you to keep your house neat throughout the day, too.
14. Choose Storage Containers Wisely
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The Container Store has tons of cute baskets and fun containers. We know they’re tempting. However, you probably don’t need them. Strategically choose your storage solutions to suit your belongings and space. Otherwise, you might end up with unused storage containers that become clutter themselves. Function comes before form.
15. Try Out New Storage Containers
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Even if you love baskets for storage, experiment with different types of containers to see the benefits of all the options. Try clear containers and enjoy seeing all your belongings at once. Play around with drawer organizers. See how you feel about hanging shoe storage. Don’t limit yourself to what you typically use.
16. Keep Your Space Functional
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Your home needs to be functional. If anything gets in the way of you doing something in your house, whether walking down the hall or being comfy on the couch, it should probably go. If it doesn’t have a purpose, move it out. Design aesthetics count as a purpose, however, so there's no need to recycle your beloved artwork.
17. Start With the Easy Stuff
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Attempting to tackle your entire home at once is usually too much for most people. The best way to declutter your home is to do one room at a time. We recommend starting with the easiest room and working toward the hardest one. By the time you get to a tricky room, you’ll be a pro at decluttering.
18. Hang Items on Hooks
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Hooks are marvelous for many objects that can create clutter. You can hang coats, hoodies, scarves, hats, bags, towels, pans, and so much more on hooks, keeping them out of the way and organized. Best of all, hooks keep things conveniently accessible, and you can see everything at once.
19. Organize Logically for Life
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When organizing, try to set yourself up for success. Put things where you are most likely to use them. Keep your coffee grounds near your coffee maker; keep your shoes by the door; keep bath towels near the bathroom. Don’t make your life harder by storing things across the house from where you use them.
20. Prioritize Your Entryway
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Keeping your entire home clutter-free is important if you want a calm and clean space, but we want to emphasize your entryway. This area is the first thing you and your guests see, so it should always be tidy. Walking into your home and immediately being assaulted by a messy table or cluttered closet creates stress and makes coming home less pleasant and relaxing.
21. Have a Few Extra Hangers
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If you’re not practicing the one-in-one-out method, we recommend having a few extra clothing hangers in your closet, preferably no more than ten. This way, when you get new clothes, you don’t have to struggle to fit them into your closet. There will be free hangers waiting for them!
22. Experiment With Storage Spots
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Eventually, you should settle into a defined organizational system, but that can take time. If you store an item in one spot, it’s okay to move it when it doesn’t feel right. Move items that seem to have no “perfect” spot around your house a few times to see which storage solution works best. Remember, decluttering is an ongoing and fluid task.
23. Go Digital
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Anything that can be digitized should be digitized. Stacks of family photos and piles of paperwork can be turned into digital files, saving you lots of space. Additionally, switch all your bank statements, credit card bills, insurance documents, and other recurring paper mail to email or digital notifications.
24. Pledge to Donate
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You can make donation pledges to certain charities before you even start decluttering. This will hold you accountable and force you to choose things to get rid of. You’ll be removing these things from your house for a good cause and for someone else to enjoy, so it will be less of a chore.
25. Have a Selling Goal
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If you plan to sell items rather than donate, set a dollar amount or item number as a goal. It could be a $100 profit or 10 items you want to sell. Setting this goal will encourage you to choose more things to get rid of. You can use the money from the sales to treat yourself to a nice dinner or see a new movie!
26. Sort Clutter Before Putting it Away
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It’s best to take time to sort and organize all your clutter before finding a home for it. When emptying a drawer, closet, or room, sort everything into piles and assess what can stay and what should go. Then, regroup into new categories and decide where everything’s home will be.
27. Label Everything
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If you don’t already have one, get a label maker. Labels might not help you declutter your home, but they will help keep it clean moving forward. You can label drawers, cabinets, and closets with what belongs there. Or, you can go a step further and put a label on every spot, creating a foolproof system to squash clutter.
28. Clean for Designated Times
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Decluttering an entire house can take hours, days, or even weeks. No one expects you to make decluttering your full-time job unless you’re Marie Kondo. To give yourself clear stopping points, set a timer whenever you declutter. It might be a 10-minute timer or a 2-hour timer. Pick a time that works for you and try to get as much done before the timer goes off.
29. Clean Daily
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Don’t underestimate the power of the daily clean! Whether your house is a disaster zone or Martha-Stewart-level-clean, declutter and organize daily. You can make impressive and consistent progress on your messy home or ensure your tidy space stays pristine.
30. Take Before and After Photos
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Some people feel like they declutter and organize but it never makes a difference. Prove to yourself that your efforts are not futile by taking before and after pictures. Seeing your progress can be the boost you need to keep going and stay on top of the clutter. Plus, after photos can help you figure out where items go if you forget.
31. Use Clear Storage
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We love clear storage solutions because the out-of-sight-out-of-mind mentality can lead to hidden clutter. Seeing everything in a bin without rifling through it means you don’t need to make a mess to find things. You may also see a few things you want to toss and can do an impromptu declutter session.
32. Start in Small Spaces
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Organizing a five-bedroom house from top to bottom can be so overwhelming that it feels impossible to start. The good news is you can start small. Pick one room, one closet, or even just one drawer. Even if you declutter your mansion one drawer at a time, you’ll eventually have a beautiful, tidy house. It’s okay to go slow and steady.
33. Fix It or Toss It
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When it comes to broken items, we’re not kidding around. Be strict with yourself here, especially if the broken item has been collecting dust for ages. Commit to fixing the broken item by the end of the week or parting ways with it. It probably wasn't super important if you survived several months without it anyway.
34. Ditch Duplicates
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While having four pairs of tongs may seem acceptable, it’s unnecessary. If a pair breaks, going to the store and getting new ones is not a huge deal. Get rid of anything you’re holding onto as an “extra” or “just in case” because the odds are low that you need it in your home.
35. Pretend You're a Guest
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Knowing what constitutes clutter can be challenging to determine in your own home. We can become blind to the clutter that we see every day. A quick way to identify clutter is to enter your home and pretend you’re a guest. Walk through your space from a guest’s perspective and identify what visitors would notice and see as messy.
36. Buy Dual-Function Furniture
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Always opt for dual-function items that enhance your home’s functionality without taking up extra space. Benches with hidden storage, pullout sofas, and TV stands that double as shoe racks are a few examples. These items can help you stay organized and free up space.
37. Minimize Cleaning Supplies
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You need cleaning supplies to keep your home spiffy, but many of us have too much. We recommend going through your cleaning supplies and tossing any duplicate products or super old items. You can consolidate as long as you do so safely — don’t mix different chemicals ever, especially bleach and ammonia.
38. Find Attractive Storage Containers
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Organizing will be substantially easier with attractive storage containers. We know clunky plastic bins aren’t always appealing and may ruin your home’s aesthetic. You can simultaneously decorate and organize when you find containers that you love. Make sure they're just as functional as they are cute.
39. Get Messy, Then Get Organized
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If you try to organize things in a closet without taking anything out, you’re likely just putting a Band-Aid over the problem. To truly organize and declutter, you need to get messy first. That might mean piles of clothes on your bed or kitchen utensils scattered on the counter. Trust the process.
40. Organize Items by Likeness
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Keep similar items in the same place. This will help you identify duplicate items and keep everything organized. If you need a fresh dish towel, you shouldn’t have to check three different places for one. When someone asks where they can find XYZ, you should have one definitive answer.
41. Contemplate the Cost of Keeping Clutter
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We like to practice frugality, so we know that letting go of perfectly good items may seem unnecessary, wasteful, or silly. Instead of focusing on the cost of possibly rebuying something, consider the cost of keeping something you never use. It takes up space in your house, creates stressful clutter, and makes it harder to bring new, exciting items home.
42. Circle Back to Tough Items
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Not every item that needs to go will be an easy decision. Maybe you wanted to try surfing, so you got a surfboard, but it simply collects dust now. Perhaps your favorite jeans from high school don’t fit anymore, but you can’t bear to say goodbye. With difficult items like this, walk away and come back to them later to make a decision.
43. Have a Donation Box in Your Closet
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For folks with full closets, this hack is a must. Keep a donation box or bag in or beside your closet. If you see or grab something that doesn’t vibe with you anymore, toss it in the donation pile. You can easily donate or sell the items when the box is full.
44. Let Go of Guilt
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Don't keep gifts or pricey items you don't want. Just because someone you love gave you a thoughtful present doesn’t mean you have to keep it. The beauty of gifts is the giving and the receiving, not the keeping. Send the giver thoughts of gratitude and then part with the item without guilt.
45. Put Time Limits on Questionable Items
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Many people like to get rid of things they haven’t touched in a year, but you can use any time limit. Stick tape to questionable belongings and remove it once you use the item. You don't need that item if the tape is still there after six months or a year. Do this with clothes, kitchen items, blankets, cosmetics, etc.
46. Determine Your Decluttering Stamina
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Some people can spend the whole weekend decluttering. Other people run out of steam within an hour. You may be overwhelmed by doing a whole room, or you may be energized after doing one. Determine your decluttering stamina and build your schedule around that.
47. Do the Buy-It-Now or Ex-Partner Test
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We love this test! If you’re holding something you’re unsure about, ask yourself one of two questions: “Would I buy this now if I saw it at the store?” and “Would I be willing to contact an ex-partner to get this item?” You don't need it if the answer to either question is no.
48. Pretend You're Moving Across the Country
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Moving is always a fabulous time to declutter. Even if you’re not moving, you can pretend you are. When assessing your belongings, consider what is worth packing up, moving across the country, and unpacking. You can even pretend everything has to fit into a small U-Haul.
49. Respect Your Storage Spaces
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Nothing is more satisfying than opening a closet and seeing everything neatly organized. To achieve this, you must respect your storage spaces. If something doesn’t fit, don’t force it. Don’t overfill your storage spaces because they’ll just become another form of clutter.
50. Aim for a “Quiet” House
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We appreciate the idea of a “quiet” house. Clutter and messiness are loud. They can make it hard to think and be productive, distracting your brain and dividing your attention. When decluttering, your goal should be a “quiet” house that feels serene and soothing, not hectic.
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