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 calm (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 manila 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.
Steve Degener says
I hate going to the mail box more than anything in my day. Junk mail and rarely anything of value, other than bills. For the last year, I have been using a virtual mail box. My mail (important stuff) goes to a remote mail box with a real address. When something arrives, they scan the outside, email me a pic and I tell them what to do…..shred it, open it and scan the documents. If they scan the documents, you then decide…download it, shred it or…..LOVE IT !!!! I never touch it and it is simple and secure. They will even deposit checks you receive. Great for the nomad lifestyle.
Joan Hart says
I tried the ‘baskets on the counter-top/bedside/living room to minimize clutter’ thing recommended to me by my cousin and guess what? They became clutter themselves. Baskets are a good idea if you can keep them organized and pretty much cleaned out. Otherwise they are just clutter themselves and another handy place for JUNK. Out they go! jh
Adriana says
The trick is containing this is to make time to review the contents and sort through. You are right about this quickly becoming just some more clutter
JuJu says
I must say I have never heard of such a service. They would have your personal banking information to deposit checks for you. Not sure I would trust them to do this honestly. How do you know they are actually shreding as well?
Charice says
I love these tips.
Anita K M says
That is still “making” the bed. Leaving it neat and less messy.
The Adventur'ours says
Indeed!!
Maree says
I can see the attraction of having a made bed, but it really isn’t healthy. The average person sweats a pint of water a night, and by making your bed immediately after getting up, you’re creating a moist, damp environment in the bed, ideal for dust mites, mould and bacteria, which can cause skin and breathing problems, including eczema and asthma. See lovely BBC video here.
An unmade bed doesn’t have to look a mess – plump up the pillows and fold the duvet back neatly over the end of the bed, and it’ll air well without looking untidy.
J odi says
YES! I keep trying to tell my BF this, but he refuses to listen. I will send this web site to him. Thanks!
Cee says
Since th same goes for what ones wears to bed, any suggestions on how to let bedclothes air and dry without making the bedroom look cluttered?
Christine says
I wear bed clothing one night only for that reason.
Hannelore says
I grew up in Germany where “airing out” of all kind of things is commonplace. So I feel the same about not making the bed right away and fold the covers back to be made the next time I enter the room. I do the same thing with my clothes when I change.
Diane says
Me too, but I will implement the tidy it up method. I swear too much, and my Mother was a fanatic about germs, the bed has to be aired to kill them off, and I’m 72yr
Liz Pagden says
I grew up in England just after the war ( WW2) and an old family friend had been housekeeper to a doctors family during WW2 … she always stressed the importance of “airing the bed” and would roll the bedclothes to the bottom of the bed til later in the day when she would re make it
Tityke says
Thank you!!!!!
Cheryl Roeben says
One of the clutter issues I’ve been struggling with over the past 9 months is clutter created by my grandson. He came to live with us 9 months ago & because he never learned to pick up after himself at home, he often just leaves things wherever they land. Picking up after himself is such an unfamiliar concept to him!
Lynne Rowe says
Tell him if he leaves his things on the floor, it means that he doesn’t want them anymore, so they go in the bin. And do it! He will soon learn to put things away.
Jean says
It Def works, ???
Carol says
I recently asked my husband why messiness follows me wherever I go. He said, starting new things are more fun to you than finishing what you already started. Since then I tell myself, I don’t have to start this but if I do I am going to finish it. That philosophy has really helped. I don’t create new messes and the old ones are slowly cleaning up. Best of all I haven’t felt behind and overwhelmed like I always did before.
Judy Rempel says
I’ve made it a habit to make my bed immediately when I get up. I make it before I walk away from it. Because we wanted to move we’ve been decluttering for a few months. It can be hard to give up things you”ve enjoyed, but I heard somewhere to be thankful for what that item has meant in your life and then let it go to make room for something new. Because I’m moving into retirement it’s been emotional to let go of things I used in my work, but the above thought has helped me. Now I ask my children to give me things that are consumable. As we’ve been living in our home staged for showings, I’ve realized how little I really need to have to live comfortably, and how easy it is to maintain a clean house because you’re not using much. Thanks for the pointers to get even better at living simply with order.
Nancy Sager says
I have found that often taking a photo of a prized possession makes it easier to let go. Sometimes, printing & framing makes such a statement of liberation it is appreciated by others who would have never seen it! It works.
James Bergman says
I’m really impressed that you were able to get rid of 60-70% of your possessions and downsize your house. It sounds like a great idea to me, but I think it would take me a month of cleaning and a couple of skip bins to get rid of that much of my stuff. A daunting task. I will try to start by keeping my house clean like you suggest. Maybe if there is less clutter it will be easier to start downsizing.
The Adventur'ours says
Don’t use skip bins. Donate! Most of the stuff we let go off, was still in very good condition and went to thrift stores. Or to my sisters who could put it to good use. We only threw away what was no longer functioning or broken.
Dee says
James Bergman,
That is exactly what we did when we sold our 3400sqft house last summer…we filled a roll-out dumpster 30ft × 10ft. We still had far too much stuff, so even after moving twice, I am still purging.
Janice Barrett says
I worry though, about so much stuff going to landfill. If its plastic or plastic-related, it won’t degrade for hundreds of years, if ever. I try to donate or sell things I no longer need – this is more effort, but will leave the planet a better place for our descendants. The problem is though, I always think I may use it/repair it/give to someone in the future, and until then, its hanging around.
Debbie says
I’ve taken to counting how long it takes to do some of the smaller jobs rather than leave it till later – clearing worktop after lunch – 20 seconds, rinsing plates, washing cutlery and rinsing empty food tins – 30 seconds. Am definitely moving in the right direction and realising just how little time these chores can take is mind blowing :-)
Alex says
Thank you for posting this article.
To quote Aristotle “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
One of the things I have been struggling with is not tracking daily goals but being committed to them. Based on this we developed our own spin on daily goal tracking at Non Zero Day (https://www.nonzeroday.com) where we not only track daily goals but set daily monetary commitments to stay accountable and turn your daily goals into habits.
I would to talk if you have any questions about it!