“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.
Michele says
I love this post so much! We are working on getting rid of most things in our home and it feels so freeing. I’ve read in many posts that the rooms in your home rest in a state of order and always get excited because it makes me feel like it is possible. I’d love to see pictures since I’m always inspired by them. Thanks for the daily motivation!
gail says
Thank you so much for sharing! Do you have any insights for children – I have overcome the clutter in our home, but having a hard time convincing the kids to let go of possessions that are no longer useful. Thank you!
Gail
Ruby says
Maybe a good time to teach generosity & limits, meaning create a family ritual to
donate a box of unused toys/items monthly & visit underprivileged kids groups to see how their releasing stuff offers something meaningful to others. As far as limits, perhaps creating a family rule about using what you have & doing ‘experiences’ like zoo, park, museum, outing vs. buying a thing.
Gaylene says
I agree. I have a box in the laundry room that sits and accepts all the “stuff” that I don’t want until it is full and then out it goes to Goodwill. I also have a black garbage bag that sits on the floor in my closet and as I look at an article of clothing and think I’m never going to wear that, in the bag is goes, until the bag is full and then out it goes to Goodwill. Makes things so much simplier that they (the box and bag) are sitting there waiting for me to fill them up!
Getting Rid Of Clutter says
I really agree with slowing down the “intake” of clutter – it makes no difference how many things you can get rid of or toss out if you are filling up your home just as quickly with incoming items that add to your clutter. Honestly, I think that just starting to get a grip on the influx of items into your house can be the most important step and at times is all that is needed for people to clean up and declutter their homes. So long as you are able to part with things as their usefulness ends you should be in good shape if you have reduced what you bring into your home.
vasudha says
I simply love to read n learn more n more about the simple minimalist living
Christine says
Hi Joshua,
I began “crawling out from under the clutter” over a year ago and you nailed the most important obstacle:
“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.”
I solved the frustration/confusion/despair by getting rid of 100 things for 100 days. It seems I need a very simple system! Thank-you so much for this. Your advice in invaluable to someone starting out on this very worthwhile journey.
Christine
Cory says
Christine,
that is a great strategy many of us here have used the “eliminate one thing every day” technique.
one of my favorite quotes from “Tao Te Ching”
“In the pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao, every day something is dropped.”
Ruby says
I may be overcomplicating, but could you explain your process of doing this? I’m thinking you set aside in a box or garage space 1 thing a day for a 100 days & then drop it off for charity?
Victoria@Snailpacetransformations says
I was laughing at the opening paragraph that is so our family. Whenever we ask the kids to pitch in and help us do a big clean up they always ask “who is coming over” its pathetic. I try to keep up but it never seems to become a priority or whatever system I do set doesn’t seem to stick. I know its too much stuff in too little space, but finding the time do decrease it all seems overwhelming, so I am working on and succeeding for the most part in insisting that we part with 5 items each week, and whenever I buy new clothes I am forcing myself to take just a minute or two to take out as many garments as I am bringing in. I have been doing this since April and it is helping!
Cory says
Hey Victoria,
I got stuck on a few items….so I took one “category” like clothes… I decided I was only going to wear; Black (or Grey) Blue (Navy) Brown (Coyote, its a military thing) and Green (Olive)… AND I was only going to wear solid colors AND eventually only ones with no logos or “subdued logos” ( i had to keep some khaki pants for work) OK that got rid of PLENTY…
Then I got stuck on shorts…. ok I’m on Maui but still I (since I have lived here for 30 years) don’t wear shorts all that often, but I decided to keep 2 pair…
I had tons some that were OK bla bla bla…some that were ratty… some that were too tight to looses…etc.. Here is what I did I kept one pair of just OK cargo hiking shorts (olive green) that fit perfect and were good for everything from hiking to swimming to vehicle maintenance. then I bagged up ALL of my shorts and donated them and went out shopping for ONE PERFECT PAIR, an ESSENTIAL..I found some awesome Black very stylish surf shorts that were both dressy and ok to wear to the beach (even though I would probably wear the green ones there) an now I’m happy!
Pick a small category.. like “colors I will wear” or “Shorts” and just do it, reward your self with a new purchase if you can let go of entire (black contractor size!) trash bag full.
Jeremy says
I’m ready to get rid of it all. Thank you for this post. Now that I have kids is puts things into perspective. What do I really want them to focus on?
The stuff doesn’t make life!
Ruby says
Me too, since having our 1st baby and seeing all the stuff she & her lil toddler friends have accumulated in just under 2 years—it kind of makes me sick!
Sherri Dunham | The Budding Lotus says
I love this post. Definitely a book-marker for me. I’m essentially living this now but I don’t want to forget it! And I’ve already shared it with some friends and family. I’m thinking of use this outline when working with my clients who want help with organization and de-cluttering. Thanks for such a valuable post!
Cory says
Funny… Me too on the “Clear your clutter with Feng Shui” That was the first book I read on this topic too! Now I’m a full blown Taoist, teaching Taiji, qigong and meditation. The Taoist philosophy saved my life and we are all spreading the word as minimalists.
Christina says
What I’ve found to be the hardest for me is slowing consumption. It has gotten so bad that I can’t seem to go an entire day without making some sort of purchase. We have started to work through our home, purging unused or unwanted items. This has made me feel so much better. However, my spending has not changed. It has gotten to the point in which I don’t want to leave the house but that is not an option. I hope that I can get a handle on this as I know it would make me a great deal happier.
Thanks for an awesome list of easy to understand steps.
joshua becker says
I think it’s okay to leave your house… just don’t walk into stores. :)
Maybe you’d find benefit in short challenges. For example, try going 7 days without buying anything but food/drink. You could totally accomplish that.
Mary S says
I understand this consumption part. It’s difficult to stop. I found that I was constantly trying to satisfy an inner need though a purchase – to make me feel better, to deal with stress, to deal with loss/anxiety/unhappiness/etc. I’ve tapered down quite a bit. It helps to tell myself that if I really want it I can come back for it tomorrow (or another day). Put it on hold if you need to. I often forget about it or decide I don’t need it once I’m away from it. Often, I have something like it already! The strength of the emotion is the driving force “in the moment”. Plus, we are bombarded by ads, TV and other messages to BUY NOW! I’m also working to get rid of items I bought in previous moments of emotional need. It’s an ongoing process. Mood Luck!!!
Ruby says
I find myself doing the same, like making process in clearing clutter & then finding a reason/excuse to buy something—especially for my toddler. Perhaps it’s the process of learning to let go & just be—and I am noticing I am buying useful things that have immediate purpose so that’s a step in the right direction!! I like Joshua’s tip, too—just to prove to myself I can survive without making a purchase—the world will continue & my wallet will be fatter:)
Michelle says
I would buy out of depression… out of joy…. sadness… anger…. stress…. you name the emotion/problem, I bought something. My mom passed away rather unexpectedly in August of 2013 and I bought things for myself/family out of depression and to make me feel better. That was so not a good thing to do! I’m working my way out of my clutter and dealing with my husband who doesn’t want to get rid of anything because “we paid good money for it” and he doesn’t want throw “the thing” away. Is he wanting to hold on to the “thing” or the “money”? The money was thrown away a long time ago when the thing was purchased. Holding on to the thing for that reason is wrong and just adds to the clutter. We cleaned out half of our basement (the unfinished side) that was cluttered with 22 years of our stuff. The other half is “finished” with an office area, my sewing/craft area and family room. That needs a lot of work too and it’s getting there. Reading this post was very timely and I bought the Kindle book to read too! Thanks!!