How many of you have piles of clutter sitting on your kitchen counters?? Or piling up over your computer in the office?? Feel overwhelmed by the growing piles, and not sure where to start?
This has been a common theme I have found through reader emails. So, in order to offer as much help as possible, I am sharing my tips for creating a clutter free home, and ways to keep it that way!
How To Achieve A Clutter Free Home
Start Small
When the overwhelm hits to getting that clutter free home, it can be tough to figure out where to start. I have found that when you start small, it makes the process seem more manageable.
I recommend starting with clothing. Specifically last season clothing. I say this because you already know what you wore and what you didn’t. So get rid of all the clothes you didn’t wear. Grab a garbage bag and fill it up. Focus on how much you can fill in that garbage bag! Then donate to your local donation center!
Need donation center locations? I created a long list of donation centers and what they collect!
Group Like Items Together
When you are decluttering, start to take note of all the items you have spread out throughout your entire house. All those cleaning supplies? Try to group them all together. This helps you visually see what you have! You will probably be surprised by how much extra you have accumulated.
When I group items, I focus on these larger areas in this specific order:
-Wearables (clothing, shoes, bags, etc.)
-Books (cookbooks, kids’ books, etc.)
-Toiletries (anything in the bathroom)
-Linens
-Kitchen Gadgets and Food (everything in the kitchen and pantry)
-Toys
-Technology (both devices and what is on the actual device itself)
-Papers (magazines, bills, artwork, etc.)
-Miscellaneous (the remaining items you haven’t done anything with, which could be office supplies, art supplies, cleaning supplies, etc.)
-Photos
Edit Down What You Have
Once you have categorized everything, it is time to edit down everything you have. That means you can either combine, donate, sell, or dump whatever you aren’t using or what you have in excess.
For example, if you have 3 of the exact same shirt, you could easily keep one and sell/donate the other two. You have just edited down your wardrobe, which means that it is one less thing you have to worry about putting away next time you do laundry!
Give Everything A Home
Every grouping needs to have a home. This helps create a clutter free home because everything has a place and a purpose. I recommend keeping all the items together from one category. I suggest all cleaning supplies in one location. Or put all extra cleaning supplies together, while the ones you are using can be in a caddie under the sink.
All shoes should be stored together. Or store every day shoes together and dress shoes are stored in a different location. But the categories are all stored together.
Need some ideas? Check out these posts:
Deal With Clutter Before It Piles Up
The biggest culprit of clutter is paper. It just seems to pile up rather quickly, which makes it feel like you can never catch up. So my recommendation for all my clients is to deal with clutter before you set it down.
Don’t let paper clutter pile up on your kitchen counter. Instead, open it near the recycling can. Dump all things that don’t serve a purpose, like those coupon books (grab what you need and recycle the rest).
Since everything has a home, put things away once you finish using them. By following this process, you won’t get the piles of clutter that can pile up.
Remember that clutter is the end result of procrastination.
Need paper clutter inspiration? I am hosting a paper clutter challenge to help you rid yourself of excess clutter! Join me by signing up for the challenge!
Label Everything
Everything has a home, so to maintain your new system you have to label everything! I know it sounds so silly, but it helps so much.
There are many ways you can easily label. There’s fancy labels, which I love. You can use a label maker. Or you can just use Post-It notes to put in places where things go.
No matter how you label, just make sure you label. Another easy thing to do is create a diagram for where everything goes. I have done this for filing cabinets, kitchens, pantries, and clothes. It doesn’t have to be pretty, just functional.
When it comes to achieving a clutter free home, you have to start small. Group like items together and edit down what you have in each category. Then give everything a home with a label! Finally, make sure you deal with clutter before it piles up. Open mail near the recycling can, put things away after you use them, and follow through with where things go.
And don’t forget to join the paper clutter challenge!
