When it comes to clutter, everyone has it. You cannot store it in a box, hoping you never have to deal with it again. You cannot escape clutter in your home. Instead, you have to deal with your clutter so it doesn’t pile up.

When you are ready to finally conquer that clutter, these ultimate clutter hacks are sure to help you create a clutter-free home.

Create A Declutter Caddy

A declutter caddy is a bin or tote that is where you store all your items you need to help you quickly declutter. Just like a cleaning caddy, you will include the items you need to help you declutter without searching for the things you need to get started on a decluttering project. 

The idea is similar to a cleaning caddy because you just want to grab the caddie and get decluttering instead of rounding up everything before you start decluttering. And you will have all the supplies you need so you don’t have to stop in the middle of the project to go find stickie notes or your label maker.

Change Your Mindset On Clutter Hack

Your mindset on any topic effects how you tackle said project. For example, if you are annoyed by the amount of clutter you have in your home, you may have a negative mindset about your abilities on  yourself as an organized person. This then plays into the fact that you aren’t following through on your organizing tasks because you “believe” that you are disorganized. It can be a vicious cycle as the clutter can cause anxiety which then effects your mindset which then stops you from completing the task to declutter.

Start by changing how you focus on the project at hand. Use my free guide to help you get in the organizing mindset below.

Set Rules And Expectations

When it comes to organizing, you have to set rules and expectations for what you want the family (and yourself) to do. Make it clear.

Using the words “clean up” is super vague so get specific, write it down, do pictures, or even just take pictures on your phone so your kids have a visual.

I have more ways to set rules and expectations for kids below:

Daily Schedules and Routines for Kids– ideas for schedules the kids and you can follow

How to Get Your Kids to Clean Up Without Yelling– strategies for getting kids to clean up without yelling at them.

How to Help Your Kids Get Organized When You’re Not Organized– ways to help everyone get organized!

@organizedmamas

Want an organized house? Try this trick #organizedhome #organizingtiktok #tidytok #familyorganization #familyorganizer #declutteryourhouse

♬ original sound – Organizing Tricks +Tips

Ask Questions

I am the type of person who talks to myself while I am doing tasks. Maybe it is because it helps keep me focused. Or maybe because I am weird. I don’t know! But whatever the reason, I also ask myself questions…out loud. These questions may be about things I don’t want to forget. Or something I needed to get from another room. Or questions about a particular item and if I need to keep it.

So use questions to guide you as you declutter and organize your home. Not sure what questions to ask. Try using these 5 questions.

Create A Clutter Spot

A clutter spot is just a designated spot where you store all of your clutter. This spot is the one area you have to focus on instead of collecting clutter from every area of your home.

Our clutter spot is in our mudroom. Because it is near the garage door, making it easy for me to throw donations into the trunk of our car. And it is near my office, which has the shredder and a large garbage for any junk that may collect.

By having one spot, you can easily sort through the clutter more frequently because it is all collected in one area of your home, instead of in many spaces.

Declutter First, Products Second

While organizing products have their place, you have to spend time decluttering your things first. Throwing items into a box or bin and calling it organized, isn’t what I mean.

You have to go through all of your items, ask yourself if you use this item, and find a logical home or space in your home for it to be stored.

Then, if you find you need containment, you can use products. But only after you declutter what you don’t need first.

Create Organizing Habits

I am a huge believer in organizing habits. An organizing habit is ways in which you keep things organized by doing them over and over. Think of it like when you bring in the mail. Where does that mail go? Do you deal with it right away or do you let it pile up? Do you have a plan for tackling it daily? Weekly? Wait until it is all over before you look at it? 

If you find yourself with a habit like dealing with mail daily or weekly, then you have created an organizing habit that works for you. If you find that you leave the mail to pile up and get overwhelmed by the clutter, then your organizing habit isn’t working for yourself. That is where you can tweak your habits. 

Create organizing habits that work with you and your family to keep clutter at bay.

Start With Your Bedroom

There are so many studies that show a huge correlation between sleep and clutter. One study that was conducted by New York’s St. Lawrence University, found that a messy bedroom can lead to increased anxiety and a poor nights’ sleep. Poor sleep is also tied to compromised cognition, which includes decision-making and executive functioning skills. It was also noted that the more clutter you have filling open spaces in your bedroom the longer it takes you to fall asleep.

Which is why it is so important to start with your bedroom first. Declutter the space. Make sure you only keep items you frequently use in your bedroom. Everything else should be moved elsewhere.

Go Drawer By Drawer

Sometimes it isn’t easy doing a giant declutter. So you can try going drawer-by-drawer. I share this technique in this post about reorganizing your home.

Start with one drawer or cabinet. Remove everything. Only put the items back that you want to keep. Make a list of all the items inside that cabinet or drawer as a reference. Then move to the next drawer or cabinet.

When you are finished, you will have everything organized in your drawers or cabinets. And the remaining items can be donated or sold.

Make Piles To Stop Clutter Hack

One easy way to declutter is to create piles of things. I like creating 5 different piles while I declutter. And with each pile, I use a different bag or container so I know what goes where. I also use my tags that are in my declutter caddy.

The first pile is sell. These items are the things I know I want to take time to actually sell online, or bring to a consignment shop. The donate pile is typically a paper or reusable bag. Trash is a garbage bag. The keep pile is usually me putting the items back where they belong or near where they are going to go.

And the maybe pile includes the items are am not totally sure if I need to keep or not. I like going through this pile after I have gone through all the items. Because when you see everything you have, a lot of the maybe items can easily be decided.

Decide On A Donation Center

Decide where you are going to donate. Then make a plan for what items they accept, if they have any dates they can or cannot take items, and their hours.

When you know all the donation center criteria, it makes dropping things off much easier.

I have a list of donation centers that I have been compiling for my virtual clients.

Line Drawers Using Drawer Liner

Drawer liners are one of my favorite tools to use. Not only do they keep pots and pans from sliding around in drawers, they also help protect your drawers. But selecting drawer liner to use to line drawers can be tricky. With so many options, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones to use for which areas.

Below are posts you will love that walk you through lining your drawers with drawer liner:

The Easiest Way To Install Drawer Liner

Why You Should Use Shelf Liners Under Your Bathroom Sink

Best Ways To Line Kitchen Drawers

Keeping Drawers Tidy

When keeping your kitchen organized, there are some products I always recommend. I mean, you will always need some way to organize your silverware, right? And you will need something to keep your kitchen utensils tidy. So I have complied a list of my 12 favorite kitchen drawer organizers that will keep any kitchen organized!

My Top 12 Favorite Kitchen Drawer Organizers

File-Fold Clothing

File-folding clothing is when you fold the clothing so they stand up in the drawer. This helps you wear everything inside your drawer because you can see everything!

Keep Clothes Standing Up In Drawer

Now when you file-fold, some things don’t always stand up nicely. Which is why I love using drawer dividers in my drawers to keep the clothing standing up. This works especially well for the workout tops that can easily slide around inside the drawer.

The Hanger Trick

Have you heard of the hanger trick to organize your closet? It is a secret tool that professional organizers, and organizing experts use to help clients visually see what they are wearing. It is like a magical little tool that everyone needs in their life.

Start by flipping all your hanger tops the wrong direction. When you wear an item, you can swap it to the correct way on the rod. Now you can visually see what you wear hanging in your closet.

Store Sheets In A Basket

Use a bin or basket to store your sheets. It helps you from having to fold them, and makes it easy to grab when you need to remake the bed!

@organizedmamas

Folding sheets trick #foldingsheets #foldingsheetsismyjam #foldingsheetsismyjam #howtofoldafittedsheet #howtofold

♬ original sound – Organizing Tricks +Tips

Extra Blankets

Store extra blankets on top of a guest bed! This way you can keep them easily accessible, but you don’t have to worry about them taking up space in your living space.

Use Your Trays And Serving Platters

It is no secret that I love trays for organizing. You can use them for creating organization in any space in your home.

I use the trays and serving platters we already have. I use one on my coffee table to collect the clickers, remotes, and books. Another tray is used to keep our coffee from spilling all over the counter from our coffee maker. And I have other trays to store dog treat containers, collect papers, and more.

@organizedmamas

Don’t buy another tray until you watch this #tiktokorganize #tiktokorganise #traystylingideas #trayset #howtoorganize #howtoorganise #tidytiktok

♬ original sound – Organizing Tricks +Tips

Kids’ Artwork

It’s pretty common to get a ton of kids’ artwork piling up in your home. The drawings the kids do at home, at school, and in the car. But what are you supposed to do with it all? It doesn’t feel right to throw it away, but you definitely can’t keep it all!

So create a plan for the papers. Then decide if you want to keep them, photograph them, or trash them.

More posts you will love on kids artwork:

What To Do With Kids’ Artwork

How To Organize and Store Kids’ Artwork

The One Question You Should Ask Before Decluttering Kids’ Artwork

Paper Clutter Hacks

The first step towards dealing with old papers is to stop new papers from coming into your house. Now why would that matter? Because when new papers come in, your “new” papers become old. 

In order to stop more paper from coming into your home, you need a game plan. 

Switch bills to electronic. This will stop the paper bills from piling up, and you missing a payment because you can’t find that bill!

Also, deal with mail daily. Don’t let things pile up. Instead come up with a system for stopping the clutter.

What To Do With Old Papers

Go Digital

This is the easiest way to organize computer files… by creating files to store documents! Think of it like you would a paper filing system. You typically have a file for health, house, bills, work, etc. Do the same with your digital files. Create a digital filing system!

How To Organize Computer Files By Eliminating Digital Clutter

Label Everything

Labeling is the easiest way to keep everything organized. Start with using Post-it notes. Then you can decide which labeling option is right for your space. I break down all my tips on how to label!

The 30-Day Rule

When you are unsure if you actually need an item, so you don’t feel comfortable to get rid of the item, try the 30-day rule. This rule is where you set the item in a storage area. Then you set a reminder on your phone for 30 days from that day. If you need the item before the 30 days are up, you know where to find it. But if you don’t need it, then you can get rid of that item with confidence.

Nightly Tidy

A nightly tidy is when you clean up your entire home every single night.

Now it is not as scary as it sounds. Start at the lowest level of your home. And put things back where they belong. If you aren’t sure, throw it into a bin. Once that level is cleaned up, not perfectly organized, just cleaned up, move to the next area.

Repeat this process by putting things into the bin and the other things back where they belong. If you notice something from the bin that belongs in that room, put it away.

Kids’ Laundry

Teach your kids how to put away their own laundry. This means that you are creating organizing systems for them to actually put away their laundry. Like an entire drawer for just their shirts.

Then you may want to teach them how to fold. Or maybe not. It really doesn’t matter, as long as the kids are in charge of their own clothing.

Toy Clutter Hacks

Toy clutter are the piles of toys lying around your house. It just comes with the territory of having kids.

One easy way to stop the piles of toys from piling up is to create containment for the kids’ stuff. This could be in the form of bins, baskets, or shelves.

In addition to the containment, you need to add labels to each basket, bin, or shelf. Toy bin labels are the number one way to teach kids how to pick up after themselves. Which is called a “life skill”. Because the bin is labeled with the items that should go inside, it takes the guesswork out of cleaning up for kids. That overwhelming feeling doesn’t take over. The label made life easy for the kiddos.

Fridge Clutter Hacks

To keep your fridge organized, you have to give every shelf a specific purpose. That means that each shelf should hold a specific type of item.

All your drinks should go on the same shelf. Group fruits together. You get the idea!

The reason behind this, is that you are grouping items together like you would find at a grocery store. Did you know that their is a psychology behind the set-up of a grocery store?

That psychology is that paired products go together. Why do you think chips and bread are always by each other?

So group your foods like you would find at a supermarket so you use them together!

Add Shelves To Closets

Have you noticed that your kitchen cabinets don’t come with enough shelves? So add more!

I do this all the time in kitchens and closets. Go to your local hardware store and have them cut pieces of shelving to fit your space. Just bring in one of your shelves.

Now you have plenty of space to store things! This is an easy hack to stop clutter from piling up because you are adding extra shelves to store your things.

How To Transform Your Built-In Closets To Custom Closets On A Budget

Kitchen Gadgets + Parts

Some kitchen gadgets come with so many parts. So group those specific parts together. Then store them inside a bin or basket in a drawer or cabinet. This will help you keep your kitchen items together with their parts!

More Clutter Hacks You Will Love

12 Genius Organizing Hacks– a collection of random organizing hacks for many purposes.

5 Kitchen Organizing Hacks– these hacks are perfect for your kitchen.

10 Paper Organizing Hacks You Need To Know– those piles of paper can be cleared with these paper organizing hacks.