Several years ago, my family and I decided to pursue minimalism. Since then, we have tried to remove all of the possessions from our home that are not essential. In doing so, we have found new opportunity to spend our time, energy, and finances on the things that are most important to us.
Also, we became far more observant about how our things rob us of our precious freedom. We have learned that just like most families, no matter how hard we try to stop it, stuff inevitably continues to enter our home… nearly every single day.
So we work hard to remove any clutter that begins to accumulate in our home. Along the way, we have picked up (and try to practice) some helpful clutter busting routines to help those who are just getting started with minimalist living.
Here are 15 Clutter Busting Routines we have found helpful in our home:
1. Place junk mail immediately into a recycling bin. Take note of the natural flow of mail into your home. Placing a recycling container prior to your “mail drop-off zone” can catch most of that junk mail before it even reaches your counter. And as an added bonus, you’ll begin to look through less of it too (think advertisements).
2. Store kitchen appliances out of sight. Toasters, can openers, coffee makers… they all take up space. And while it may not seem like much space by looking at them, the first time you prepare dinner on a counter without them present, you’ll quickly notice the difference when you have a minimalist kitchen. If you think it’s going to be a hassle putting them away every morning, don’t. It takes less than 6 seconds to put each appliance away… once you’ve found a home for it that is.
3. Remove 10 articles of clothing from your closet today. Go ahead. If you are typical, it’ll take you roughly 5 minutes to grab 10 articles of clothing that you no longer wear and throw them in a box. Your remaining clothes will fit better in your closet. Your closet will be able to breathe again. And if you write “Goodwill” on the box when you are done, you’ll feel better about yourself as soon as you drop it off. Most likely, you’ll find yourself inspired to do it again.
4. Fold clean clothes / Remove dirty clothes immediately. The way I handle clothes these days is one of the biggest clutter changes I have made in my life. Unfortunately, I used to be a “throw-them-on-the-floor” guy. But now I handle each one right when I take it off. Dirty clothes down the clothes chute. Clean clothes back to the hanger or drawer. That’s it. It’s really that simple. How do the dirty ones magically appear clean and folded in my closet you ask… I’m not sure. You’ll need to ask my wife.
5. Kids’ bedroom toys live in the closet. Not on the floor. Not on the dresser. But in the closet. And when the closet gets too full of toys, it’s time to make some room. Hint, it’s usually safe to remove the toys at the bottom of the pile.
6. Kids pick up their toys each evening. This has countless benefits: 1) It teaches responsibility. 2) It helps kids realize that more isn’t always better. 3) The home is clean for mom and dad when the kids are in bed. 4) It’s a clear indication that the day has come to an end. Gosh, you’d think with all these benefits it would be easier for us to get the kids to do it…
7. Fill your containers for the garbage man. Use every trash pick-up day as an excuse to fill your recycling containers and/or garbage cans. Grab a box of old junk from the attic… old toys from the toy room… old food from the pantry… old paperwork from the office. If once a week is too often, do this exercise every other week. You’ll get the hang of it. And may even begin to enjoy trash morning… okay, I won’t go that far.
8. Halve decorations. No seriously, I mean it. Grab a box and walk through your living room. Remove decorations from shelves, tables, and walls that aren’t absolutely beautiful or meaningful. You may like it better than you think. If not, you can always put them back. But I’d bet my wife’s old high school yearbooks that you won’t return all of them.
9. Wash dishes right away. Hand washing some dishes takes less time than putting them in the dishwasher. This applies to cups, breakfast bowls, dinner plates, and silverware. If hand washed right after eating, it takes hardly any time at all. If however, hand washing is just not an option for you, be sure to put used dishes in the dishwasher right away. Nobody likes walking into a kitchen with dishes piled up in the sink or on the counter… and it’s even less fun eating in there. Practice kitchen counter organization to have a clutter-free countertop.
10. Unmix and match cups, bowls, plates, and silverware. Uniformity makes for better stacking, storing, and accessing. If there is a souvenir cup or mug that is so important to you that you can’t live without it, that’s perfectly fine. Just don’t keep 5 of them. Mom, any chance you are reading this?
11. Keep your desk clear, clean, and minimalistic. Drawers can adequately house most of the things needed to keep your desk functional. And a simple filing system should keep it clear of paper clutter. The next person who sits down to use the desk will thank you.
12. Store your media out of sight. Make a home for dvd’s, cd’s, video games, and remote controls. They don’t need to be in eyesight, you use them less than you think. And if you remove them from your eyesight… maybe you’ll use them even less.
13. Always leave room in your coat closet. There are two reasons why coats, shoes, and outerwear keep ending up scattered throughout your home rather than in your closet. The first reason is because your coat closet is so full, it’s a hassle to put things away and retrieve them quickly. Leave room on the floor, on the hangers, and on the shelves for used items to be quickly put away and retrieved. The second reason is because you have kids… but you’re on your own with that one.
14. Keep flat surfaces clear. Kitchen counters, bathroom counters, bedroom dressers, tabletops… After you clear them the first time, keeping them clean takes daily effort. Receipts, coins, and paper clutter just keep coming and coming… it’s just easier the second time around.
15. Finish a magazine or newspaper. Process or recycle immediately. If you’ve finished the paper product, process it and rid yourself of its clutter immediately. Good recipe in there? Put it in your recipe box and recycle the rest. Good article that your husband will enjoy? Clip it and recycle. Article that your friend will enjoy? Clip it, mail it, and recycle (or better yet, search for it online and send it that way). Coupon too good to pass up? Cut it out and recycle. Stacks of magazines and newspapers serve little purpose in life but to clutter a room.
Frank|Modern Monkey Mind says
One of the best things I did when I started becoming minimalist was clear my desk of everything but my laptop, wireless mouse and desk lamp. Its amazing the difference that one little change made.
The decorations thing was a sticking point with me for a while, but I find that now that I’ve done it, I love it. The stuff I still have out/up looks better and has more impact, and I don’t miss the other pieces.
Rachel says
We moved our microwave out to a work table in the garage which opened up a lot of counter space in our small kitchen. We realized that we weren’t using it that often but did not want to get rid of it altogether …. just yet. We also have a house rule – the bags that bring home new clothes have to be filled with old clothes and donated within the week. This has worked wonders and the donations are tax deductible. Win – Win
Missie says
Oh, tell me HOW to get my husband to stop cluttering. Stacks of papers, magazines everywhere. He is very into recycling and saving the environment and belongs to several groups that serve this purpose but it never, never comes through our own front door. He constantly sits on committees with plans for communities but I cannot see where it “starts at home”. I would love to find the words to make this hit home with him, but all I can do anymore is point and say “nag, nag, nag”. Then he’ll clean it up some. What can I say to him to minimize his footprint on this earth? Please help.
Kevin piper says
1 Dont store your CDs and videos convert them to digital and sell them.
2. Don’t buy magazines in the first place only use online versions
3. Convert all your old photos to digital and share them with people not the cupboard
4. Never use paper always use your iPad
5. Scan you receipts with something like lemon and throw them away
kamisaki says
Yep. This is the post that got me started. It was all downhill (or, should I say, downsized) from there.
Alina Shahnazari says
Amazing blog and some very nice tips and ideas in the comment section.
I am trying to declutter my house. I started slowly ,removing 10-15 small items out or closets. So far it’s been great and is working nice!
But I have a different suggestion too. I am the co-founder of Clouditems.com
a social marketplace that let’s you connect to the people in your life to sell/buy, rent/lend, or give away physical goods to your friends,coworkers,neighbors,classmates,..
We don’t have to OWN everything we use… we can rent,borrow or we can sell things we don’t need any longer.
Give it a try.It’s a fresh new way to reuse each other’s goods before they are out of commission and end up in the landfills.
yvie says
Thank you for this great list. It’s simple, to-the-point and seems easy enough to start. I had an accidental taste of minimal living when we rearranged some furniture for upcoming guests. Envisioning 8 of us in the living room was impossible so…I removed the area rug, television cabinet/shelves and pretty much everything else. It almost looked ready for painting if only a drop cloth were added here and there. However, the peace that eminates from that room now is indescribable. The hardwood floors are glowing. An antique bureau replaces the television cabinet/shelves. It’s simple style includes drawers that fit all the necessary items in this room… example; sewing kit/drawer, stationary and writing stuff drawer, etc. The best part of this is it’s out-of-sight! I love this room now. Going to try with the kitchen next. Don’t know if hubby will put away the coffee machine every morning though. I have to put away his coffee cream before leaving for work myself or it will sour :(
Emma says
Just a thought… leave the cream out. Perhaps chunky coffee tomorrow morning will encourage him to do it himself? Forgetting once is understandable, but as a normal occurance every morning? Sorry, now you’re just enabling him. He’s not 5 and you’re not his mommy. For this week he either goes to the store himself to get new cream or does without until the next regularly scheduled grocery shopping day. I’ll bet the behaviour stops immediately. If it eases your conscience, warn him today that you’ve put it away for the last time. Assuming others will follow along behind you making up for your carlessness or laziness is disrespecful to those closest to you.
I love doing laundry, yes I know that’s weird to most people. All I ask of my family is that the clothes they put in the hamper are ready to be washed – that means shirt sleeves rolled back down, socks turned right side out, pockets emptied, etc. When my family were carelessly flinging knotted articles of clothing in the hamper I felt they didn’t value the effort I was making. That they expected me to turn their socks right side out because somehow my time was less valuable than theirs. Of course they didn’t litterally think that, but it was starting to feel that way so I addressed the problem. Initially any item not dealt with properly was tossed back onto the bed of its owner to be dealt with properly. A couple of times I washed/dried socks still in a scrunched ball and made sure the owner knew why their laundry had come back in that state. It only took a couple of weeks to break the old habbits, but everyone is cooperating now and I don’t mind doing the work if everyone is doing their part. Sometimes it’s the little courteous gestures that mean the most to the other person.
JeanC says
When I see something pretty that I want to buy, I take a picture with the camera phone, then share it later with my husband. I seems to help not but things, but yet share them with others.
Weeze says
I was able to get rid of a LOT of sentimental crap after I realized that it was the memories I was trying to hold onto–not the stuff. I took pictures of the things I loved–then threw them away. It is much easier saving the pictures than the stuff, and I can have the same memories from looking at the pictures without the clutter of having them sitting around.
Sharon says
This is brilliant! It’s simple and doable, but I can see how following this checklist could make our home a different place in the space of a few weeks. (It’s too bad that we don’t have Goodwill here in Ukraine, where we live. I’ve got several trashbags full of clothes we don’t use anymore, but I haven’t figured out where I can take them yet.) We’ve got three small boys, and I really appreciate your viewpoint on making this lifestyle work with children!
Rhonda Tipton says
You could consider taking some of the clothes to schools around the area. In our city, some of the poorer schools keep extra clothing and supplies on hand for needy students. You might also consider donating them to a church or anywhere else where people can use them.