Becoming Minimalist

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7 Daily Habits for a Clutter-Free Home

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Practiced daily, these habits take only a few minutes to complete. But together, they leave your home in a perpetual state of clutterfree.

Several years ago, we made a life-changing decision. We decided to remove all the possessions from our home that we didn’t need.

Over the course of 9 months, we removed 50% of our stuff. And over the course of a few years, we removed 60-70% of our things and moved into a smaller home.

I discovered almost immediately that the less stuff you own, the more organized and clutterfree your home becomes. Go figure.

We would soon discover 21 benefits of owning less and decide that we’d never go back to our old lives of mindless consumption.

In addition to a significant purge that cleared the space for clutterfree living, we developed simple habits to keep our home clutterfree. They were not obtrusive or burdensome in anyway. Just the opposite, in fact. Practiced daily, they take only a few minutes to complete. But together, they leave our home in a perpetual state of clutterfree (or at least, close to it).

Here are the habits I most recommend: 7 Daily Habits for a Clutter-Free Home.

1. Handle physical mail immediately. Too often, mail is only relocated from the mailbox to our countertop—where it often sits or begins to collect. But the fact is, most mail can be processed in very little time if we make it a habit. Immediately discard junk mail (or use Paper Karma to eliminate it completely) and process the rest. Mail that requires processing but can’t be handled right away can easily be placed in a manilla To-Do Folder out of sight.

2. Clean dishes after meals. I used to hate washing dishes—especially right after preparing and eating a meal. But things changed when I read this story. Now, I view cleaning dishes as just the last step of the family dinner. Washing dishes (or filling the dishwasher) immediately takes less time (they wash easier when food has not dried). And the kitchen is clean all evening.

3. Make your bed each morning. Messes attract messes. One of the easiest places to see this is the bedroom. Your bed is the centerpiece of the room and when it is made, it sets environment and the culture. But when it is left undone, clutter begins to accumulate around it. The first, best step when cleaning a bedroom is to make the bed. And the first, best step for clutterfree living is to do it first thing in the morning (or find a spouse who does).

4. Store things off the kitchen counter. Messes attract messes and clutter attracts clutter. The better we get at storing clutter out of sight, the less likely it is to accumulate. The kitchen counter is a good example. When countertops become an acceptable place to store things, more things begin to collect there. But a clean countertop communicates calm and order, promotes opportunity for its intended use, and is probably easier than you think.

5. Return items nightly. When we minimized our possessions, we found tidying up to be easier. Every item has a purpose and every item has a home. At the end of the day, items are returned. This is a daily habit I have worked hard to incorporate in my life and my kids’ lives. One reason is because it allows every morning to begin fresh, new, and clutterfree.

6. Complete 1-2 minute jobs immediately. Clutter is often a result of procrastination—decisions put off or small jobs left unfinished. Counteract this procrastination in your home with a simple rule: If a job can be completed in less than 2 minutes, do it now. Take the garbage out, scrub the pot, return the remote control, or place your dirty clothes in the hamper. Every time you see a task all the way to completion, a source of clutter is avoided.

7. Minimize overfilled spaces right away. Clutter often reveals itself as too many things in too small a place: too many clothes in a drawer, too many linens in a closet, too many toiletries in a bathroom cabinet, or too many items on a shelf. When this occurs, as it often does, minimize the overfilled space right away by removing everything no longer needed. Don’t put it off. It will take longer than 2 minutes, but usually no more than 15. Staying ahead of clutter is the best way to defeat it altogether.

Each of these daily habits are routine in our home and help to keep it clutterfree all week long. Certainly, owning less helps make them possible.

Want a cleaner home? Own less stuff. It works every time. (tweet that)

Joshua Becker

About Joshua Becker

Writer. Inspiring others to live more by owning less.
WSJ Bestselling author of The More of Less.

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Comments

  1. This was written for me! Must try harder. I don’t have lots of stuff, because I don’t shop often. I do however have lots of paperwork lying around. I’m also notorious for not being tidy.
    Thank you for this post.

    • My mom needs this. My dad too. It’s so frustrating seeing our kitchen cluttered with unnecessary appliances.

      I’m 21 in in 2016 and I’m still at university. Can’t wait till I move out to have my own clutter-free space.

      They don’t listen to me when I suggest they give things away or sell them. They probably think now that I’m attending university I think I know everything.

      Thanks for this amazing website.

  2. Okay, I can do better. You are spot on. Clutter attracts clutter and mess attracts more mess. I am going to take a few moments to make the bed every morning. I am happier when I do.

    Thanks!

  4. My husband and I just recently retired. Every Wednesday we take a different room and clean it really well, dust, vacuum, clean floors, etc. During the rest of the week we keep things picked up. This way, over the period of 4 weeks or so we have cleaned the whole condo, with just the two of us it doesn’t get real dirty in between.

  5. Love these tips! I already do most of them and I am always amazed at home much more relaxed I feel as soon as the dishes are put away or the bed is made. There is something about being in an organized space that just frees your mind.

  6. I love the idea of the two minute rule. I need to implement that.

    As always, thank you for sharing. You have a wonderful way of putting things.

  7. Any chance, Mr Becker, you would steer me toward minimalist households who are really short (under 5 ft tall) or who are wheelchair users for additional advice, please? I am a second generation counter clutter-er with paper or figurines being my big STUFF issue. I justify all this counter clutter by saying that I can only access the first 4.5 vertical feet by myself so I need everything low and out where I can see and reach. Thanks.

  8. I’m constantly de-cluttering various areas of the house and each pass over I do the more I realize we don’t need.

    I’m not a shopper but my children, especially my eldest are where most of our clutter comes from. Admittedly they are very small still but it seems despite that as soon as I get things to a respectable level, its someones birthday and we get more again! (not from us)

    I love these reminders. We do a lot of them but when we are tired, clutter collects. I struggle to relax in a messy space and because our house is small, a little mess feels like the whole house is messy.

    I would love to see some “real” pictures of minimalist family homes – ordinary pictures, not magazine worthy ones? To see some of the systems they put in place.

    warmly,
    Emma

    • I live in a one bedroom apartment and I use shelves to keep stuff under control (I have a crazy rule, I can have stuff but 80% of it must be on display). I made a video about how to control clutter with shelving and how to make inexpensive shelving. My place is definitely not magazine worthy since I get most of my stuff out of the garbage

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsHkliBvbxU

    • Emma, I too live in a tiny house. One bedroom. We struggle with clutter as there is nowhere to work on something. Counter clutter is another problem. We have inherited valuables and don’t know what to do with them-jewelry etc. Also have 5 outbuildings! So overwhelming! In our little town we can donate to a place where the needy may come to take things. It’s great.

    • I am by no means an expert, we actually have the same problem. This year before Christmas we went through all the toys and gave away anything that was out grown. We also decided to buy a large gift instead of many. It helped. Maybe this is something you could start with? Also any ideas to expand in this are welcomed.

  9. This is how my mother and grandmother and all their sisters cleaned house. Seems we forgot to teach a generation how to clean.

  10. I agree with all if this. And I carry out 95% of it daily. I learned most of this from my Mom and she was born in 1918.
    She was a minimalist all of her adult life.

    • My mom was born in 1918 also, and she was a clutterer and hoarder due to a combination of depression and scarcity mentality. At 66 I am still learning how to create better systems and habits than I learned in childhood. Thank you for your help, Josh!

      • My mother was born in 1919 and she never let go of anything. It was all the stuff hidden and packed into her 900 sq ft house that jump started my minimalism even ahead of what it already was! I am happy to say everything in this blog I already do. I can thank my mother for that I guess!

      • My mom was born in that time, lived in the same house for 33 years. Stuff came in and never left! I tend to be cluttered because I grew up with it and, like you, I need to develop new routines.

    • I’m often up before my husband so I don’t get the bed made as soon as I get up. I’ve tried to instill in my husband that as soon as he gets up & finishes dressing that he needs to make the bed BEFORE he goes to eat breakfast. How far do you suppose I’ve gotten with my request? Sadly, not far!

  12. I do not know how to get rid a house full of 3 house full of furniture, etc.. my beautiful how is nice but when we bought it we notice it had no storage areas. We do have a garage and are renting 2 large storage areas until we clean out the house and minimize what we have. Where do I start???

    • Start with the easy stuff first. Just bring out the trash.
      Identify clutter and remove it. If you dont want to get rid of something, for whatever reason, then keep it. Just remove the things you dont want.
      for some inspiration: http://www.365lessthings.com. Colleen, the owner of the site, removes a thing a day.

  13. I actually do all these things since I was a teenager because I hate clutter (not only for reasons of “minimalism”).

    The problem is: My spouse doesn’t share my point of view :-D

  14. I feel like a noob, but I just cant seem to get the hang of number 2. Thanks for adding it to the list. Makes me feel like it’s not just me! :-)

    • Noob! What a great word! Did you invent that word? Maybe you could be a ‘clean as you go’ kitchen prep. By the time I sit down to the meal almost everything I used for cooking is washed and drying on a rack, or in my dishwasher.

    • I totally agree, Steven! I pretty much do all the other suggestions on a daily base, but the second one is SO hard! Although I love a clean kitchen, I can’t seem to get myself moving after lunch/dinner…

  15. The one that I have a harder time with is the kitchen counter – I have certain items stored on the kitchen counter, like the olive oil dispenser, and onions for cooking. I am having a hard time figuring out where to put those items.
    That is the one thing that I will be working on this weekend – I would love to see the kitchen counter completely empty and free. That would be such a great sight to come home to. Thanks for the post and the reminder.

    • I, too, struggle with having a clutter-free kitchen counter, not only in my home but in the home of a woman I work for. In both places, I have no more than a 2 foot by 1.5 foot area of counter to work on most of the time & I REALLY have to work to retain/maintain that small space! At home, it’s easier but at work my client & others often fill the space with things either because they don’t take time to put them away or don’t know where to put them or in the case of my client, the counter is where she can see them so she doesn’t lose track of them (she’s had a couple of head injuries so I kind of understand that but it still makes it hard)! She doesn’t learn new routines easily either & often doesn’t remember what she’s been told despite frequent reminders.

  17. Great post and habits Joshua! My favorites are making the bed and keeping the kitchen counters clear. I am working on the 1-2 minute tasks, as far as doing them right away, those are a little more difficult for me, but I’m getting there.

  18. It’s definitely a work in progress…

    I have pets and children and grandchildren, so I know my house will never be “magazine perfect” but it’s better than it ever has been.

    So nice to have this family of minimalist friends here for support and tips. It’s great to know we are not alone in this journey.

    Thanks, Joshua. Always happy to be here :)

  19. Sometimes I have helped folks with ‘organizing’ which mostly seemed to always be getting rid of excess/unwanted paper clutter. I would say to them, until the whole house is done, get one spot absolutely clear and clutter free…as your resting spot while the rest is happening. You will feel such peace in your resting spot…and such energy to move on and conquer more!

    Looking around my little apartment right now, I am seeing the vestiges of a summer of knee pain and creating art and a few other things. I fantasize (& have attempted several) of a total art supply system that remains tidy.

    I have a long way to go. However, I believe that if/when I apply your ideas to even my art supplies…that surely some good can come of that.

    I do not own a lot…I never have. I’m not a stuff person or a collector of anything…save for a few beloved children’s books to share with young friends.

    I think I would benefit from what I’ve told others about creating ‘positive stress.’ I imagine someone important…very important…is coming to visit my home (soon). Doing this seems to give me what I’ve called ‘fresh eyes’ … the ability to see clutter and dirt that I’ve previously given myself permission to walk right past.

    Think I’ll do that today!

    Thank you!!

  21. My minimalist daughter and her family are living with us temporarily before moving to new location — she has been a life saver by helping me develop many of your clutter-free principles. We are filling up bags and bags of items, some thrown away and most donated. I am amazed how good it feels to see clear spaces again. I still have a ways to go. It is quite surprising to find boxes of “saved” items I accumulated over past 36 years of marriage for those “just in case” moments! We rarely need them and most items can be easily purchased at little cost. Thank you for promoting these great habits. Less is best!

  23. Nice post! Gotta love how obvious most of these habits sound once you see them in front of you!

    I guess it all just boils down to keeping up a standard of not procrastinating. Because, once you accept procrastination as the norm, it will be that much harder to get out of it!

    Thanks for sharing these habits!

    • I HAVE A BAD HABIT OF PUTTING ”STUFF” ON MY FORMAL DINNING ROOM TABLE SO TO STOP THIS I SET THE TABLE WITH ALL OF MY CHINA SILVER WATERFORD ETC. AND GUESS WHAT ? NOT ONLY DOES IT LOOK BEAUTIFUL BUT NOW I HAVE MORE SPACE IN THE BREAKFRONT.

  24. I need to do this. I also need to give myself permission to get rid of that overflowing box of unused sheets that I have been saving for my “someday” sewing spree. *sigh* Why do we do this to ourselves? I need to get rid of all this clutter and just buy myself some material when I am finally ready to sew something.

    • donate them. when u are ready for that sewing spree, go to resale shop and buy exactly what you need for one dollar each. space is money.

  26. You must’ve read my mind – I have been doing all of these things for the last 12 months and they have had a significant effect on my state of mind. If I am the last one out of bed in the morning then I even make the bed before I leave the room!

    I have converted all (or as much as possible) of my mail to email, and pay my bills automatically by direct debit. When you combine this with a “no junk mail” sticker on the mailbox there is almost no possibility of leaving mail sitting around. Some of my tips in this area are below:

    http://insideraccountant.com/2015/01/11/why-isnt-the-world-paperless-already/

  27. This post is going to help me so much with my imminent move to university. I’m hoping with determination and your tips that I will be able to keep my flat tidy and clutter free. Thanks for the advice, I definitely need to start following number 6!

    Bethany (curlyandwordy.blogspot.co.uk)

  28. I wrote a similar post back in March entitled 12 Habits of People Who Always Have A Clean Home. While I wasn’t writing it to promote minimalism, it has many of the same suggestions because when you own less stuff, it’s much easier to keep things neat and tidy. I too take care of mail right away, sometimes throwing it away before I even make back into the house. Thanks for your great post.

  29. Uggghhh… Time for me to own up to my procrastination habits. Our game closet is calling me right now to face it in all its ugliness.

    But on the flip side, I’ve gotten really good about making my bed promptly every day… so there’s hope, right?

  30. I still have to discipline myself on doing the dishes after dinner and making the bed every morning. Living with less does help a lot in our daily cleaning routine and keeping things organized. I’m becoming a minimalist and am loving it.

  31. When I learned that the word “clutter” came from the word “clot,” it made sense. Clutter creates a low-level sense of guilt as we avoid taking care of something and that gets in our way of moving forward.

  32. These are great tips! I do a lot of the 1-2 minute tidying tasks twice a day while brushing my teeth. I walk around the house with the Sonicare in one hand and clear the clutter with the other. It might look silly, but you’d be amazed at how much you can tidy while brushing your teeth :)

    • Wow, that is something that I can actually DO, a way to actually START!!!!! Thanks so much ????

      ETA: This will help with brushing my teeth more regularly too ????

      Again, my sincere thanks ????

  33. Fantastic post. I hate coming home to an unmade bed. It just seems to zap the energy out of me at the end of a busy day. It’s funny that we often think it takes a long time to do but it really only takes a couple of minutes, so for me it ties in with #6 too.

  34. Clutter has always seemed to be a part of my life. These tips will be very helpful. I’ve been trying to make some changes to fight it but always seem to fall back. Attaching different clutterfree habits to things I’m already doing might make them easier to keep doing.

  37. So—I’m looking around and I feel like I’ve accumulated clutter over the summer. Time to recommit to getting my household back in order. ;)

  38. Great list! It’s amazing to me how many of these could be combined into one item: “Pick up after yourself!”

    I work from home and gave up having an office and a desk, and use the kitchen table. We also eat at the table, and we’re vid board gamers so we use the same table to play with friends. If I didn’t put things away when I finished with them (and have places for things to live, other than on the table) my laptop would be crowded by centerpieces and other kitchen clutter, my work materials would make sitting down to eat uncomfortable, and even card games like Exploding Kittens would be difficult to play.

  39. These are great real tips. I just moved and have a very different view of all my “stuff.” In only 4 years I went from moving across country with the smallest U-haul trailer to needing half a semi-truck to cart my stuff. It’s embarrassing how much I have that I don’t even know what it’s for, where it is, or why I have it! I’m moving again in 6 months and hope to seriously declutter and purge what I have so the next move is easier.

  40. I don’t know about this. One person’s ‘clutter’ is another person’s memories, tokens of the important things in one’s life. ‘Uncluttered’ homes look sterile and dull; the owners often lack creativity and imagination. My place is full of books, artworks, old cameras, glass pieces, vinyl records, more books. I do get rid of some things, but the spaces left by their removal are soon filled with new (or seconhand, or found) things. You guys should lighten up. Learn to love and accept that we each have a history that is made visible by what we collect over a lifetime.

    • I WOULD SAY TO STORE MOST OF YOUR MEMORIES IN A PLASTIC BIN AND STORE IN THE BASEMENT. YOU STILL HAVE THEM BUT THEY ARE OUT OF SITE. THE PROBLEM IS…. THE ONE I HAVE WITH MY HUBBY, HE NOW HAS 978 BINS IN THE BASEMENT. WELL WHEN HE GOES ALL I WILL HAVE TO DO IS BRING UP BINS AND TOSS THEM !!

      • I disagree whole-heartedly! I am of the school that, if something is so important for you that you must keep it, then display it! If it’s sitting in a dark basement, why keep it at all?

    • Sorry but I disagree. I’m an artist who has an uncluttered home. I have one painting, and original Dali, and it’s all the decoration i need. Why would I clutter my environment with any insignificant things to distract from it? If you have a functioning memory, you don’t need tchotchkes, figurines, momentos, tokens, collections, etc. to give you comfort – your inner self and people give you that, not things. You should lighten up. If you feel the need to cocoon yourself in material things, and apparently you do, please have at it.

  41. One of our favorite habits for a clutter-free home that also save us time each day, is our “daily-stuff-shelf”. We both have a shelf in our bookshelf where we keep the stuff we use each day like keys, wallet, Kindle, iPhone, watch, eyeglasses etc.

    The first thing we do when we come home from errands or work is to put these things back on the shelf. Then we know exactly where they are when we’re packing the bag next day. It save us a lot of time as we never need to run around the house looking for lost keys our going through every bag and jacket pocket before finding the wallet.

    If you’re curious how our “daily-stuff-shelf” looks we’ve a picture in this blogpost:
    http://minimalisterna.se/atersamlingsplats-for-dagliga-prylar/

  43. I decluttered my clothes closets and drawers and folded what was left using the KonMari method. I’m shocked at how few pieces of clothing I now own. I need a smaller dresser! My current dresser seems huge and ridiculous now.

  44. I’m pretty good with dishes. Except sometimes I leave them there on purpose so my boyfriend can contribute more haha, (he gets home later) I do the cooking too so don’t be too quick to judge :)

  45. I find that when I need to get motivated to get clutter under control and or just minimize a space I take a picture of that space, load onto my computer and look really look at that space. It gives you a different perspective of that area and what it actually looks like. We get use to how a space looks and really don’t see all of that is in that space. Try taking a picture then enlarge it on your computer. It works for me!

  46. Dear Joshua,

    Thank you for the useful tips, fortunately it is something I have been doing for a couple of years now and every visitor asks if I stay at my home at all :-)

    Could you or anyone else explain to me the meaning of the “Wash your bowl” story you mention above? Thank you a lot!

  47. I disagree with making the bed in the morning. The bed should be tidied up, or perhaps made, then opened again in a tidy way to let it air. People sweat during the night and making it too soon only gives bed mites a cosy place to breed.

  48. I automatically realized this was me. This was just so easy. I love your tips. I actually do this in our house but it takes hours to finish because we have a huge mess in our basement to clean up and organize.

  49. Do NOT make your bed right away in the morning! It needs to dry out so dust mites do not survive. You sweat a lot while sleeping, and the mites require this moisture to survive. Go back and make it after breakfast. This is especially important if you have allergies.

  50. I would really like to have an emailed copy of the clutter letter. I want to send it in but don’t know how to get it from Facebook to email

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