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“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:
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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.
Switching to a minimalist way of living is the best decision i’ve ever made in my life!
Could someone help, I don’t know what to do, really need to declutter BADLY. I’m down in my back and can’t be up very long at a time. I’ve had back surgery several years back. I don’t know where or how to get started, I want to do this so bad but when I think I’m ready to get started I change my mind…HELP..
Pick one drawer – one cabinet – then go from there?
Like this morning I started on my journey – I went through the cabinet under my bathroom sink, threw away stuff no longer used and found some things that belonged somewhere else and stored them away ! Took all of about 5 minutes before work.
Hope this helps!
Do you live in Dallas. There are some charities and groups that may help.
The idea of decluttering has been hyped and promoted for the last five years. However, just like with other things, how and when to start has always been the hardest. It’s great stumbling upon articles like this that makes decluttering sound so interesting given the other benefits it comes with besides decluttering per se.
Yes. Totally agree. Recently stumble on this site and feel so fortunate. Started a bit of declutter every day. :)
I began by decluttering my diet and body, to the tune of 112 pounds lost. In the past four weeks I’ve sent out seven car loads of trash, donated clothing and STUFF! I feel lighter mentally, physically and emotionally. I do have to come to terms with items that belonged to my son, who passed five years ago. That is another process entirely and one that will require much introspection. Thank you for your wonderfully insightful articles.
Ramona, lm sorry to hear of your son’s death. It’s understandable how difficult it must be to let some of his possessions go. My husband passed eleven years ago, and l still haven’t cleaned out his closet. Its just too hard. If you think time will make it any easier, I beg to differ. Memories are reignited and the pain of the loss starts all over again. I understand your sentiments exactly. Also, congratulations on the weight loss! How liberating! Wishing you much love, Stephanie ❤️
That is amazing.
And I’m so sorry for the loss of your son. I can’t begin to imagine.
I need to lose that amount of weight on my body and in junk. Any tips?
Great info! I’m moving from a 7 room house to a 3 room house. Struggling with letting stuff go!
best post, good work
Trying to stick with decluttering because I’m sick of stuff. I’m 68, Getting rid of some is easy, but also struggle with parting some of it, my kids’ books, my deceased mom’s stuff, etc. Main issue is husband’s stuff. He grew up in a very organized uncluttered home, but didn’t inherit that wonderful trait. His clutter is driving me crazy. Unfinished projects, hobby stuff, hunting stuff, etc. I’ve succeeded in having him donate a few things recently, but how do you deal with someone else’s stuff? It’s making me depressed. I want more out of my life.
Hi Chris! Hope the New Year bodes well for you and family. When I read your message, one thing came to mind – that is to suggest that you purely focus on what you CAN do, and leave what you can’t, for now (e.g. dealing with other people’s stuff). Hopefully, when he sees you moving along with your own progress in your de-cluttering projects and becoming a much happier person in the process, he may decide to join you on your journey. God bless!
When you have too much stuff around your home, it can make it difficult to find things. You can make your home more organized by making sure you have fewer things. It may be time to declutter your home.
This post provides a creative decluttering tip for people who want to declutter their homes. The tip is to use a digital camera to take pictures of each item in the room that you want to declutter. Once you have taken pictures of all the items, put the items into bags or boxes and label them with the number of the picture. This will help you to keep track of what you have and where it is.
I am moving in to help my 80+ pack rat stuborn as you know dad. He has years of three peoples crap & I have acumulated a house worth of crap myself. The issue is that I & dad have glass backs no friends or family. Where can we get help? There are two out of town siblings I’ll probably have to take a picture of most if they want any of it, should be another box in the process each time.
Is your father a Veteran? If so, reach out to the local VA, and connect with a social worker who can coordinate resources for you regarding this.
two major challenges for me with decluttering are: 1) our. Tupperware drawer 2) finding matching socks. In both areas the challenge is similar – I can’t find a match! I end up having too many tupperware that I can’t use and too many socks that I can’t wear. It’s ridiculous!
Does anyone else experience this challenge? Are there any good solutions?
I had this problem so I got rid of all my socks and bought all plain socks so I never have to struggle to find a matching pair again.
As socks are inexpensive I didn’t mind doing this.
Tupperware – most people have too much (myself included) so I followed a tip I saw once. Kept only what I truly needed, found a “home” for them and store them away with the lids on. Honestly so easy to take out and put away.
Love ❤️ this idea Thanks
Yes , I ditched all my socks, and I bought 10 pairs of matching black socks all the same, and that solved the problem. Threw out all the tupperware as the plastic leeches into food and use old glass jars instead
I got rid of all unmatched socks and started buying all one kind. Easy to match up and if one gets a hole or wears out, I can easily discard and keep the remaining one to match up with the next set where one wears out. As for tupperware, it takes up more space but always store them with their lids ON.
Agree w what others here have said re socks. Buy multiple pairs of all the same. I have blue, my husband has black for work. Then socks last longer – one gets a hole, toss it, it’s mate will find another soon! Laundry sorting is also simplified this way.
Tupperware – try buying multiple of the same size that use the same lid. Same logic as socks! Lose a lid, there’s spares! They stack well. We tend to use glass storage for big vats of leftovers, it Tupperware. Those glass (or ceramic – think pyrex or Corning) doubles to marinate meat.
I am running out of laundry baskets because they are full of odd socks that I know the other is hiding somewhere else in the other baskets. It drives me crazy but drives my family even more crazy. Every day I start off with the best of intentions and have a plan…Yeah, in my head but then you take into account the realisation that you have chores for that day as well and once completed even more washing, the pile has grown! My son reckons he wears some things once to never ever be seen again ??♀️?♀️
I started by separating colors of socks in different baskets- then began mating each basket. But now I’ve gone to just 4 different kinds and colors. Much easier
Yes , I ditched all my socks, and I bought 10 pairs of matching black socks all the same, and that solved the problem. Threw out all the tupperware as the plastic leeches into food and use old glass jars instead
I’d love to share this article in a class I’m going to be teaching about finances. How would I go about getting permission to do that (print it and pass it out)? There will probably be around 15 or 20 people in the class. It starts later this month.
That’s fine.
Joshua, I’m actively decluttering and moving towards becoming minimalist. I’m struggling in an area and can’t seem to find official recommendations on what to hang on to and for how long – – financial and health documents (tax returns, retirement statements, health explanation of benefits). I’m sure many of us have boxes and boxes of these type of documents we carry from house to house, telling ourselves “I’m just gonna throw this stuff out”. How do you destroy years of this stuff and feel safe enough that you aren’t going to need it later?
Have you written anything on this, or do you know of anyone who has?
Thank you!
I have followed BabySteps from FlyLady.net before discovering Becoming Minimalist. FlyLady outlines how to manage paper clutter. I found her “Office in a Box” approach most helpful as it lays out what to keep and where to file away those important papers.
Thank you for sharing these tips! I work as a home organizer and have found that working with someone else is always better. It makes the process so much easier and fun!
I love the info on decluttering. I will try out these tips in my home this weekend!
Wonderful content. Thank you for sharing.
Great information. Keep up the good work.
I love receiving your wonderful messages. I want to share some food for thought. I need to de clutter badly. I want to declutter. I fear I have waited too long. I have a very bad Bach now. I can work only brief periods. My four children do not live close or work out of town. I have lost my support system due to losing friends and family.
Don’t wait to declutter. It will make you feel more anxious and helpless when it becomes physically impossible.
So what are you going to do, because I’m in the same shape..???
Thank you in advance..
Denise..
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Exactly what I needed to get started on decluttering. Your step-by-step approach is less anxiety producing than others. Thank you.
Excellent blog thank you so much
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