Last updated:
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” —Dale Carnegie
The idea of living a simple life with less stuff sounds attractive to many.
But often, they begin to feel overwhelmed,
Learning how to declutter your home and (and as a result, decluttering your life) doesn’t need to be as painful as some make it out to be. And the benefits are numerous.
The Benefits of Decluttering Your Life
There are many benefits to owning fewer possessions. Even then, it’s tough to move into action. That is… until the many benefits of getting rid of clutter reveal themselves:
Less to clean. Cleaning is already enough of a chore, but having to clean around things you have zero emotional attachment to (or worse, actively dislike) makes cleaning the house much more stressful.
Less to organize. Finding things suddenly become easier. Things don’t just “disappear” anymore. You can actually move around your home and enjoy the space, instead of moving around things that are in the way.
Less stress. Looking around at the clutter is a nausea-inducing sight once your home becomes cluttered enough. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to look around and see a home you love?
Less debt. Spending less time shopping for material possessions and adding to the clutter means your wallet and bank accounts remain fuller, your credit cards’ statements are lower, and your home doesn’t get filled with costly things you don’t need.
More financial freedom. Most American households live paycheck to paycheck (59% according to a recent survey done by Charles Schwab back in May 2019.) Nearly half of those surveyed carry credit card debt. Decluttering, paired with minimalism, will help you build up savings to keep you protected in case of unexpected emergencies.
More energy for your greatest passions. With less debt, more financial freedom, and
Ok, so now you know the benefits of decluttering your life, but you may be getting tripped up by the very next question… where in the world do you begin?
10 Creative Decluttering Tips
If you’re struggling and need guidance on how to declutter, you’ll need to get creative with your plans. Here are several interesting decluttering tips to get you started on decluttering your home:
- Start with 5 minutes at a time. If you’re new to decluttering, you can slowly build momentum with just five minutes a day.
- Give one item away each day. This would remove 365 items every single year from your home. If you increased this to 2 per day, you would have given away 730 items you no longer needed. Increase this number once it gets too easy.
- Fill an entire trash bag. Get a trash bag and fill it as fast as you can with things you can donate at Goodwill.
- Donate clothes you never wear. To identify them, simply hang all your clothes with hangers in the reverse direction. After wearing an item, face the hanger in the correct direction. Discard the clothes you never touched after a few months.
- Create a decluttering checklist. It’s a lot easier to declutter when you have a visual representation of where you need to get started. You can use our decluttering checklist.
- Take the 12-12-12 challenge. Locate 12 items to throw away, 12 to donate, and 12 to be returned to their proper home.
- View your home as a first-time visitor. It’s easy to “forget” what your home looks like to a new visitor. Enter your home as if you’re visiting the home of a friend. Write down your first impression on how clean and organized the home is and make changes.
- Take before and after photos of a small area. Choose one part of your home, like your kitchen counter, and take a photo of a small area. Quickly clean off the items in the photo and take an after photo. Once you see how your home could look, it becomes easier to start decluttering more of your home.
- Get help from a friend. Have a friend or family member go through your home and suggest a handful of big items to throw away or give to someone else. If you defend the item and want to keep it, your friend has to agree with your reason. If they don’t agree, it’s time to get rid of it.
- Use the Four-Box Method. Get four boxes and label them: trash, give away, keep, or re-locate. Enter any room in your home and place each item into one of the following boxes. Don’t skip a single item, no matter how insignificant you may think it is. This may take days, weeks, or months, but it will help you see how many items you really own and you’ll know exactly what to do with each item.
No matter which decluttering tip you choose to get started – whether it be one of these ten or one of countless others – the goal is to take your first step in decluttering your life with excitement behind it.
There is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding behind that clutter. Deciding how to declutter your home is up to you.
For more decluttering tips, watch this short video we put together. In it, I provide 10 quick decluttering projects, each completable in just 5 minutes or less:
***
General FAQ About Decluttering Your Home:
How do I create a decluttering checklist?
Creating a checklist is one of the easiest ways to keep track of what can and still needs to be reduced from your home. We’ve put together a Declutter Your Home Checklist you can use to instantly make a noticeable difference.
Just pick any 5-10 items from the list to start and you will be amazed with how quickly momentum builds up.
Do I need a professional organizer to help me get rid of clutter?
Absolutely not. Getting rid of the clutter in your home can be done by yourself. It can even be a fun family activity when using the decluttering tips found in this article.
How can I declutter quickly? Can it be done in a day?
Removing clutter from our homes and our lives doesn’t need to be rushed or done in a single day. It’s something that can be done over time and may even need to be done on a semi-regular basis. As long as you start the process today, you’re further along than you were yesterday.
Will owning less make my home look empty or boring?
Simple doesn’t mean sparse or boring. The opposite is true. With fewer mess and distractions, your home can become more peaceful. You can view your home as a space for rest and comfort, instead of a source of stress.
What’s the difference between declutter and unclutter?
They’re both interchangeable, though I prefer using “declutter.” The “de-” hints at being complete and permanent. I like to think of decluttering as something that solves the problem forever.
When should I declutter?
This is a personal question. When you find yourself overwhelmed by your possessions and tied down, it usually means you’re ready to start making a change. Note that this feeling is just a broad litmus test. The feeling of overwhelm can be different for everyone.
Karen Haag says
I’m moving. The clutter has even moved with us from house to house and I’ve kept curtains etc from one house thinking ill use them again. I came across them once again. They are great well made. And yes I did use them in two houses. As I a stood contemplating whether to keep them or not I had a flash back to this summer when I was cleaning out a closet at my mom’s. That was enough to make me let stuff go! I think I’m single handedly stocking the shelves at goodwill. Might as well let someone else use them before they dryrot!
Ally says
You forgot to mention: buy less! The best way how to declutter!
Carolyn says
I spent the day cleaning, organizing ,throwing out stuff, as a means of procrastinating on my research work for a homework assignment… Naughty, yes? But it worked. I organized a tremendous amount of my house.We have a small house, but I want to eliminate as much as possible. One trick I have for the ladies(or men for that matter), is to take a shower, shave, put on makeup and do your hair ,as if you were going out for a night on the town.Then…throw out every single cosmetic that you didn’t use;barring of course makeup remover,moisturizer and facial cleansers if you use them.I used to have a ridiculous amount of makeup in a large case. I am now down to one tiny bag, which includes foundation, Boom stick products(which has one product that can be used on cheeks, lips ,eyes) and it takes me all of three minutes to get ready to go out. I also keep vitamins and medications in the drawer next to the kitchen sink(near water, and more likely to remember to take them!). I am helping a neighbor with a Hoarding problem in the coming year, and will et her in on my little secrets.I hope I helped someone in sharing these ideas, Happy New Year all, Carolyn in New Hampshire
Cathyhaden says
I like these ten different ways to remove unwanted material from our home. I will also utilize them to remove unwanted material from my home.
Cathyhaden says
I like these ten different ways to remove unwanted material from our home. I will also utilize them to remove unwanted material.
Cathyhaden says
Wow! What a content you have given to us. I like the 12-12-12 challenge concept very much. Thanks for inspiring me. Keep it up.
Rony Mikal says
What I best liked from all these points is making a list of the areas in your home that require de-cluttering. Giving away one item each day is also a good idea. This way you won’t feel that your stuff at home is being reduced drastically.
Kim @ Extra Organised says
Hi Joshua, thanks for another great post. I agree that decluttering can be a lot of fun. And I think it gets even more fun the further you go along the path toward simplicity.
I hope you don’t mind me linking to a post I wrote about my favourite strategy for decluttering – the benchmark principle – http://www.extraorganised.com/2012/05/the-benchmark-principle.html
I use the benchmark principle as a way of comparing things to my favourite, most-loved item in its grouping. I find it gives me fresh perspective and makes decluttering decisions much easier. For example, when I’m holding all my jeans up to my favourite pair, it’s clear which ones fall way short of the mark!
Amy Miller says
In the comments Evelyn mentioned moods affecting her success at decluttering. I have found this to be true also and I now purposely tackle a decluttering project when I am mad. Not only am I more relentless in my decluttering, I also find the activity to be therapeutic! By the time I have cleaned out that drawer/closet/cabinet, I feel calmer and can look at a tangible accomplishment (which is better than looking at an empty ice cream container, as other comfort eaters can identify with!). Thanks for your continual encouragement to simplify…because it’s not a one-time event, but an evolving mindset!
LaVerne says
I am exploring minimalism and your postings are my favorite source of information. I have downloaded quite a few of your books and am reading them for the second time. I have just cleaned my closets for the third time, I had to do this in stages and I am now following your suggestion of the turned around “hanger”. I am feeling ashamed right now at the amount of clothes we hung onto that we did not wear. St Vincent De Paul will be receiving a blizzard of clothing this week. I will continue to de-own (not just de-clutter) and keep you advised.