Seven Tips to Clear Clutter from Your Home

Inside: Use these tips to clear clutter from your home and enjoy a more simplified space.

Clutter.

It’s something that almost everyone deals with. Clutter has a way of creeping into our lives and taking up residence in our homes.

While some people are perfectly content living among their clutter, many of us feel otherwise. Clutter is distracting, anxiety-inducing, and not really something we want in our space.

But getting rid of it? That’s much easier said than done.

It can be difficult to clear clutter from your home, but it’s not impossible. There are steps you can take and strategies you can put into practice to cut back on the amount of clutter taking up valuable space in your home.

By committing to the process and staying determined, you can clear clutter away and get your space into a clean and serene state. 

Not sure how to make it happen?

I’ll show you!

Seven Tips to Clear Clutter from Your Home 

Since everyone’s clutter is a little different, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to decluttering.

But there are lots of tips and strategies you can implement to clear clutter from your home – and keep it clutter-free once you’ve got everything to a more manageable state.

Here are a few ways you can get rid of clutter and keep it to a minimum moving forward: 

1. Start small and aim for quick wins.

When you’re faced with a house full of clutter, the process of getting everything organized can be incredibly overwhelming. It can be so overwhelming that it leaves you paralyzed, unable to make any decisions or progress to clear clutter away. 

The best thing you can do is make progress – any progress. Giving yourself something to celebrate and building some momentum will make a massive difference.

And to do that, you’ve got to start small. While that one room might be driving you insane, leave it for later – and focus on a drawer, a corner, or a cabinet first. 

By breaking big, overwhelming tasks up into smaller, more manageable ones, you’ll find it much easier to get started, make progress, and find the motivation you need to keep going. 

Not sure where to begin? Check out this post with 12 easy areas you can declutter quickly.

2. Prepare and get organized. 

Before systematically clearing the clutter, it’s helpful to get yourself organized. Make sure you’ve created clear goals for your home.

Next, get into the right mindset to declutter. You’ll be much more efficient with decluttering when you are mentally prepared to tackle it.

Consider what space you have available for storing the ‘keep’ items. Allow your home to help guide you in not keeping excess stuff that overflows into areas it doesn’t belong.

If you have storage containers you plan to use they also can be helpful in limiting how much to keep of a certain type of item. If what you want to keep doesn’t fit, then consider decluttering it down further.

By assessing the stuff you need to store and implementing storage solutions to stow it all away, you’ll figure out what you truly have room for and need to keep around – and what simply doesn’t have a place in your space anymore. 

Keep your favorites and the essentials and declutter the rest.

3. Say goodbye to duplicate items.

Many of us will hold onto old items, even after they’ve been replaced, just in case we need them later on.

It’s a common justification, and while it makes sense in some situations, it is certainly not a blanket policy to apply to every aspect of your life.

That old television you replaced three years ago?

The running shoes you replaced because they were falling apart?

The extra pots in the kitchen that never get used, only shuffled around?

That tangle of USB cords in your junk drawer?

Be honest with yourself about the likelihood that you would ever need or use these things again. Don’t come up with far-fetched hypothetical scenarios.

Instead, be realistic and let go of all that extra stuff. It’s only collecting dust, weighing you down, and contributing to the clutter in your home. 

4. Be ruthless.

I get it. Getting rid of your stuff can be hard. In many cases, you’re parting with stuff you spent your hard-earned money on – money you aren’t going to get back.

And in others, you’re trying to get rid of something gifted to you by a friend or family member, or something you’ve been holding onto for years, which can lead to feelings of guilt. Those are just a few of the common reasons for holding on to clutter.

But don’t give in to those feelings. Stay committed to your simplifying goals.

Instead, be ruthless as you minimize your things and clear clutter from your home. Push your emotions to the side as much as you can and focus on facts.

Is it something that you need and use? Does it serve a purpose (that nothing else you have could)? Do you love it?

If the answer is “no,” it can go. 

5. Control the flow of stuff. 

The stuff in our homes that can be considered clutter likely got there one of two ways – it was gifted to you, or you bought it.

Have open conversations with friends and family members about what types of gifts you prefer. People tend to want to give people things they will enjoy and appreciate, so let them know what that would be.

Ultimately you can’t control what they decide to do, but you can do your part by having an honest conversation about your simplifying goals.

Next, take action to control what you buy and bring into your home.

By thinking twice before buying anything that isn’t a necessity and asking yourself if you really need it, you’ll find that the answer is “no” more often than not.

And by bringing less stuff into your home to begin with, you’ll find yourself with less clutter to deal with. As an added bonus, being more intentional with shopping will also help you to save more money.

6. Keep a donation box, bag, or bin.

Now, ideally, you’d clear clutter from your home the moment you find it – but making constant trips to your local donation center isn’t feasible for most of us.

Instead, keep a small bag, bin, or box for donations in your home. If you find something you no longer need that can be donated, don’t leave it where it is and deal with it later – set it aside now, in your designated place.

And once a month, or whenever it’s full, haul it all to your favorite local charity, drop it in a donation bin, or pass it along to a local organization or your Buy Nothing group so that others can benefit from it. 

7. Declutter your space on a regular basis.

One of the best things you can do to clear clutter out of your home – and keep it clutter-free? Declutter on a regular basis.

If you’re dealing with a lot of clutter, you’ll probably want to make a big initial push to get everything organized and say goodbye to the stuff you no longer need.

But once you get your space into a more ideal state, it’s much easier to manage clutter by staying on top of it than letting it go. 

By dedicating one day a month to decluttering – or even one day each season – you’ll have a much easier time clearing away whatever clutter has accumulated.

And for those who really want to keep their space clutter-free, incorporate decluttering into your regular routine.

Do a quick sweep of your home every evening to clear off your countertops and other spaces that accumulate clutter, put things worth keeping where they belong, and evaluate whether the rest should stay or go. 

Building decluttering habits will help you to maintain your space.

What tips have helped you clear clutter from your home? Comment and let me know!

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