10 Simple Minimalist Tips For a Clean & Clutter-Free Home

1. Talk to the people you live with 

Talk to your family, your roommate, your dog, or whoever you live with, and explain why you want to start these different habits. What's in it for everybody?

Having a less stressful home, having less junk around, saving money, and having to clean less. If you don't live with anybody, you can have this conversation with yourself and try to get yourself on board. 

2. Find your reason

So, first of all, find out why you want a clutter-free home. For me, the reason has always been decreased stress so that when I wake up in the morning, I can start with a baseline of not having a dirty house.

For you, it might be different. Then try to get your family on board by talking to them and getting on the same page. It will make a huge difference. 

3. Clean as you go

It is super important to incorporate a clean-as-you-go rule. Let's say you're sitting on the couch and finishing your glass of water. A lot of times, we'll get up and walk out of the room. Grabbing the glass of water and bringing it with you is so much simpler.

This is simple and makes sense, but we often don't do the simple things that make sense. It takes a little bit to get going, but once you get going, you generally have less cleaning to do. It's better to keep up than it is to catch up. 

4. Counters and flat surfaces

If you have counters or flat surfaces, you will know how incredibly good they are at picking up random junk.

Having a clean counter makes the room look incredibly different and makes it look less stressful. It's what makes or breaks the feeling of a clutter-free home. If you look at our kitchen island, it has a centerpiece, and our table has nothing on it. 

Sometimes things get built up, but it's important that, especially at the end of the day, we focus on not leaving anything there but finding a home for it.

Otherwise, if you leave it for a day, more stuff builds up, and then more stuff, and then you can't have dinner at your kitchen table. Try to create a system to get rid of that stuff. 

5. Build a runway

One of the smallest things you can do that will make a big impact is to create a home for everything, kind of as you come in the door, just for that first little bit. That'll kick-start your entire house. So when you walk in, have a place for your keys. If you don't, you'll lose your keys all the time.

If you don't have a place for your coats, make a place for your coats. Everything should have a home so that when you come in the door, it doesn't all land on the kitchen table. It's something small again, but it makes a big difference. 

6. Use the five-second rule

It's a very simple idea and a cue for any habit. That is to count back from five, which is 54321, and on one, you get up and take action. If you create a habit out of that, you can start cleaning at night when you're trying to get up.

The motivation to declutter a room or when you need to do the dishes is easy to overthink and then end up watching TV. 

7. Use a box or a basket 

There are two ways to do this. The first way is to have a box sitting around your house that stuff goes into. So when you're looking to declutter, you can throw it in the box, and then you donate that whenever it gets full or throw it away. 

The second way is to have a box or basket upstairs and downstairs to put things away so that when there's stuff that needs to go upstairs, you take care of it instead of just leaving it on the staircase.

This avoids your stairs always having crap on them or you having stuff upstairs that never makes it downstairs, and it's in the hall. 

8. Pick a number of hangers you want to live with

This one's a little extreme, but if you have a problem buying more clothes and having too many clothes, maybe you should use this. Pick a number of items you would want to have, and then make sure you don't buy any more hangers unless stuff wears out, and that will force you to stay with the number of clothes you have.

If you bring something in, you must get rid of something to make a place for it. It's simple, it's small, but it works. 

9. Organize your workspace

Having a clutter-free space will make you way more productive and less prone to distraction. Now can be a great time to go through and find a way to organize your papers.

Get rid of any extra junk that you don't use. Set yourself up for success when you're working by having less stuff around you so you can focus on the really important things. 

10. Create an evening routine 

Create the ultimate clutter-free evening routine for a clutter-free home. Have a rule that when you're done cooking, when you're done having dinner, you take a few minutes and reset a little bit.

Put the blankets back, clean up the living room, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and wash the pots and pans so that when you wake up in the morning, things are calm and clean. You can reset. 

Clutter-free home

You can banish clutter with a little effort and a few minor changes. What tips do you have for keeping a clutter-free home? Share in the comments below.