“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris
I have lived most of my life in a cluttered home. Closets were full, drawers wouldn’t shut, things weren’t put away, and unfinished projects could be found in most rooms. That was, unless somebody was coming over. Then, the entire family would pitch in to make sure the house was presentable. Looking back, the problem with clutter wasn’t that we didn’t notice or care. Instead, the problem was we could never get ahead of the mess or ever seem to develop a system that would keep our home clutter-free.
But that is no longer the case. Today, almost every room in our home rests in a state of order – free from the life-robbing presence of physical clutter. Over the past several years, we have found a system that works very well for our family of four. And I am perfectly confident you can do the same… no matter how far away from clutter-free your home may seem.
Consider implementing the four steps found in this Simple Guide to Keeping Your Home Clutter-Free:
1) Believe it is possible. Most of us know it is entirely possible to live in a clutter-free environment. I imagine that is what attracts you to this guide. You are just looking for some extra help to get there.
But some of you are not so sure. Your house has been cluttered for so long, you have given up all hope of ever living any other way. For you, the first step to decluttering your home is to take heart and believe it is entirely possible. Realize that you will never get there if do not resolve in your mind that you can accomplish it. So find some hope and take one small step. Then, take another… and another… and another…
2) Remove the excess. Our homes are full of things. Clutter begins to appear most prominently when we own too much stuff. Conversely, the fewer items we own, the easier it is to keep clutter at a minimum. The first (and most important) step in keeping your home clutter-free is to remove the excessive possessions that are stealing our lives, time, and energy.
In your process of removing the excess, it can be helpful to find a working definition of clutter to aid you in this step. Early in our journey, we began to define clutter as a) too much stuff in too small a space; b) anything that we no longer used or loved; or c) anything that led to a feeling of disorganization. With that as our guiding filter, we slowly moved from room to room, removing everything that fit the definition above.
In some cases, this step is easy:
- Junk drawers full of unneeded items (rubber bands, old batteries, or old keys).
- Closets full of clothes you no longer wear.
- Decorations that are no longer meaningful and/or outdated.
In other cases, this step will take more time and intentionality:
- Large projects such as the garage, basement, or attic.
- Sentimental items that have collected over the years.
- Books.
- Other family members’ clutter that have begun invading common spaces.
The most important key in completing this step is to start with the small and easy projects first. Begin there. As you do, you’ll build up small victories. Then, after the small victories have been won, you’ll find extra motivation to begin tackling the harder cases of clutter in your minimalist home.
If you still do not feel fully capable on removing the excess possessions from your home, find encouragement in an intermediate step. For example, put the items you can’t quite part with in a cardboard box out of sight with a date on it. Getting rid of unnecessary possessions is essential, but it doesn’t have to be a race.
3) Implement habits to manage your clutter. For most of my life, I thought the key to maintaining clutter was found here. Just organize, clean, and organize again. But I was wrong. Because I had not taken the time to remove the excess in full (or in part), I could never get ahead of the clutter in my home. There were just too many things in too small a space – no matter what system we tried to implement. As a result, healthy clutter-clearing habits never had opportunity to emerge. So do not skip the removal step, it is absolutely important. And the more energy you put in removing the excess, the easier it will be to find and develop habits to better manage the things you keep.
Once you have cleared the excess, you will be able to better discover which habits keep your living space free of clutter. And once you experience the freedom and stress-free life of living clutter-free, you will find these habits easier to embrace.
Some of these habits will recur daily:
- Cleaning the kitchen after each meal.
- Placing daily-use items (clothes, books, toys) back in their designated homes.
- Fully-completing projects around the house.
- Developing an evening routine.
Some of these habits will center on specific locations that serve as clutter collection sites in your home. For us, our kitchen counter typically collects items (mail, schoolwork) during the day, our living room sees a highly-volume of traffic each day, and one of the bedrooms in our home finds itself a bit messier than the others. Each of these specific locations requires extra effort and energy than the others.
Some of these habits will center of seasonal needs:
- The changing of the seasons.
- The need to remove excessive possessions after holidays and/or birthdays.
- Significant life changes (birth of a child, new employment) will also require refocusing and adjustment.
Over the years, we have found clutter attracts clutter. Once it begins to collect, it requires intentional action to clear it away. Develop for your family healthy habits today to manage the daily use of the things in your home. Once identified, you’ll find them much easier to implement.
4) Slow the accumulation of possessions. To live is to consume. It cannot be avoided – especially in our society and culture. But if the influx of possessions into our homes can be slowed, clutter can be managed efficiently.
To slow the accumulation of things in our homes, we need to change our mindset and begin evaluating our purchases differently. Realize that your purchases cost far more than the price on the sticker. Each one will also require time, energy, and effort once they enter your home. Before making a purchase, begin asking yourself these questions:
- Is this item really needed?
- Do I have a place to store this when I get it home?
- How much extra work will this possession add to my life?
- Am I buying it for the right reasons?
This thought-process isn’t designed to keep you from making purchases ever again – at least, it’s not supposed to. Again, to live is to consume. But these questions are designed to bring intentionality into your life. They raise in your mind the awareness that some purchases take more from our life than they offer. They help you know the difference. And slow the accumulation of clutter-causing items into your home and life.
Again, it is completely and entirely possible to live in a clutter-free home. With this simple guide, you’ll be well on your way. From somebody who has lived both, I can quickly attest that once you begin to enjoy the physical and mental freedom that accompanies clutter-free living, you’ll make extra effort to ensure your home does not slip back into the home it used to be.
If you’d like to know more about the most important principles we learned during our journey into living with less, you’ll find great value in our book, Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life.
earn money earn money says
Wow, incredible blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is
fantastic, as well as the content!
mandi says
where do you start , i have books ,stuff animals ,postcards ,and alot of dishes and other stuff.how can i get rid of it without feeling bad ? please i was never like this before i got married now hes like this too which makes me look more like a hoarder then him . pleas help me .
Susan says
Why are you feeling bad? I am not feeling bad. I put the money in my pocket.
Tip: I went thru the house and got rid of the heavy stuff like a treadmill, body weights,
whatever you got. If you don’t use it, get the cash. Also donate free if necessary, don’t be shy. It is better for someone to use it, than sitting with dust. I do one
piece of furniture at a time. It works. That is one piece weekly. This is easy stuff.
The easy way to declutter and make money at the same time. Make a list and check it twice. Check your list weekly and decide which you want to get rid of that week. Also the stair climber and triple dresser went this week. Two of them.
zyrtec and cervical muscus says
Your article perfectly shows what I needed to know, thanks!
thesis and dissertation says
I could watch Schindler’s List and still be happy after reading this.
Rob Cooper says
I rent a room and have only that I can carry on my back in my hands. I sold my 2 cars last year. The cool thing, really is, no excess baggage of any kind .
Belinda Jankowski says
Very good advice Joshua,I read Karen Kingston book as well ,As former cabin crew travelling and shopping became way of life , now earthbound and getting rid of loads EBay then charity shops ,it’s a good feeling ! Keep up the good work !
Betsy Barnum says
Hi Joshua–
As someone who used to lead study circles on voluntary simplicity, and has been paring down my material existence (continually!) for a couple of decades, I am really happy find your blog and be introduced to the “new” movement of minimalism.
In my ongoing struggle to maintain a minimal ecological footprint, I am often challenged in my decluttering efforts by wanting to make sure I am not simply “throwing away” things that are either still useable or are made of materials that are reusable or that would cause problems in landfills or trash burners. A lot of stuff can be donated or recycled, but I’m thinking about things that are not recyclable as is–anything from old phone cables and modems for the computer, to pens that no longer work–and things that are reusable but short of knowing someone I can just give the to, continue to be clutter while awaiting enough accumulation of similar items to justify a trip to the secondhand donation place. As someone who is concerned about how to best get things out of my life without contributing to environmental pollution, I wonder if you have any suggestions about this aspect of decluttering.
Thanks so much for your columns and links. There is so much to be learned about life, ourselves, meaning, purpose and happiness from minimizing.
Anna says
THis is comething that really concerns me when I watch “Hoarders”. I hope that the stuff that’s loaded onto trucks gets sorted later and is safely recycled (especially electronics).
Michelle says
What advice can you give for a family of four who’s extended family travels and brings back a “special little souvenir” from their travels EVERY YEAR?? My kids each have a shelf in their rooms filled with this dust collecting junk. They know now that I am trying to declutter and have been better about buying that stuff now but as for the stuff we already have…I just want to throw it away but feel bad doing that since it was purchased as a “special gift” with my kids in mind. We do not hold any memories or attachment to these items but I feel bad just tossing them. Any advice??
Anna says
I have a special strategy when it comes to souvenirs. I only buy local food to bring back home as a souvenir. It will last you a few days/weeks, you’ll share it it with friends, it will bring back memories and be gone without leaving any clutter or regret. I am European, so when I went to USA I bought a jar of peanut butter (sure, we have it here, but you have more versions of it overseas) and beef jerky. From Greece I brought olives, olive oil, herbs, honey and local sweets. From Germany I brought sweets which are not available in my country (so many types of Milka chocolate!). I really recommend this to everyone. Instead of buying things that will collect dust, try food for once.
Ruby says
I would also recommend picking a postcard from your travels & writing the date & meaningful memory on the back. You could have the kiddos collect them & pass on to their families—small, easy to store, memorable, & tie ’em up with a string:)
Gaylene says
I would think you can box them up and put them away for a few months and then if no one notices – pitch them or give them away to a charity. I’ve gotten very picky about what people give me and my family. I’ve gotten bolder and told family that I’m going to simplify my life and I don’t want any more stuff! They look at me like I’m crazy but that’s ok. I’m not spending my time taking care of “things.”
JT says
Hello fellow minimalists in progress! I’ve joined this journey toward minimalization with you, and I have a question: what do I do with nearly 100 leftover CD’s from a group with whom I used to sing? I don’t believe that a music store/record shop will want 100 barbershop quartet CD’s, and I don’t want to just throw them away. Thoughts?
Bobbi says
I haven’t read further down yet, and I realize that this is not a recent post, but how about donating them to hospitals, nursing homes and schools (music schools)…barbershops :)
Carolyn says
Thanks for this great post ,Joshua. I bought the book “Simplify” and will bring it on my Kindle as a guide, when I go to help my neighbor to de-clutter her home. She told me a long time ago that she is a hoarder, so I am not sure what I am in for, but she asked for my help, and I really want to help her.I have known her for eight years, yet have never been to her home, because she says it is too “messy.”Her children never have their friends over for the same reason. I believe that in letting go of her extremely unhealthy marriage recently(married to a verbally abusive alcoholic), that she will finally be able to purge herself of her extraneous possessions.It is of my opinion, that many people shop as a way to escape their reality.She also told me that everyone gives her their stuff that they throw out. I told her that this is her first step, to just say “no.” With you as my guide(and William M orris’s fine words< I hope that we can dig her out of this mess so that she and her children may truly enjoy their life.
Carolyn in New Hampshire
Teri Kojetin says
I just started this week. I actually took four hours and did a quick run through of our home and later in the evening my husband and I took at least 30 bags to the Salvation Army. Tonight we’re taking 10 tote bags of books to Half Price Books to sell. It feels so good and I’m eager to tackle the rest of the house in depth. My husband & I decided to do the rest one room at a time each week. Thanks for all the good advice and explaining the underlying attitude that we must adopt in order to be successful at de-cluttering our home.
Kim P. says
I love to de-clutter, It brings me so much peace to look around and not see stuff everywhere. Alas such is not the case for my husband, he has lots of stuff, everywhere and he is very attached to it. I am trying to get him to go through his things slowly and alittle at a time. It has worked to a small degree. I guess all I can do is keep chipping away. :)