Best Hacks for Successfully Decluttering Your Home

We had a no-spend month, giving us time to do a massive decluttering purge, which we called “operation declutter.”

The house has never looked so organized and we only wish we had done it sooner. Here are the tips we learned while going through a decluttering purge and hopefully, it’ll help you through yours.

There’s no denying that our homes are cluttered and our minds are overwhelmed. The process of decluttering goes beyond simply tidying up.

We spent time decluttering our home of the excess of dust-gathering ornaments, books, and DVDs that we will never open again.

3. We digitized

I realized paper clutter quickly accumulates and takes up so much space. I digitized as much as possible and that helped. I took photographs of items and stored them on my computer, such as photos and memorabilia.

I kept very important documents, sentimental documents such as favorite pictures my children had drawn, special photographs, celebration cards, and sentimental letters.

4. Three box method

To keep the momentum of purging from being interrupted, I used the three-box method. In each area, I had one box for items to keep, one box for items to donate or sell, and one box for discarding or recycling.

This method helps streamline the decision-making progress and keeps us organized and moving.

5. Options

You can go from room to room or you can declutter by category, such as clothing or knick-knacks.

If you go by category, it’s easier to make decisions about what to keep and let go of.

For example, you could maybe get all those shoes together and decide what to keep or discard.

6. Marie Kondo’s method

There’s a famous method by Marie Kondo called the KonMari Method.

The method inspires you to keep only items that spark joy. Hold each item in your hand and ask yourself if it brings you joy.

If not, thank it for its service and let it go. It’s a great way to declutter since sometimes we hesitate to let something go even when it doesn’t serve us practically or bring us joy.

7. Embracing minimalism

A minimalistic mindset helps you declutter effectively and lets you prioritize quality over quantity. There are all types of minimalism, including extreme minimalism.

8. Setting limits

This helps you establish what to and what not to declutter.

For me, that’s books and journals and for my husband, it would be sports equipment, and for my daughter, it would be lip glosses.

We are setting limits on how much we are allowing ourselves to accumulate.

So if I want a new book, one from my collection must go–one in, one out.

9. Scheduling decluttering

Once a month we will assess and purge our belongings so we don’t end up in the same situation with too much clutter.

10. Releasing emotional baggage and anxiety

The decluttering process was quite relaxing and afterward, we felt it created a calmer environment and gave us mental clarity. Cluttered spaces contributed to feelings of stress and anxiety.

Studies show that tidy spaces positively impact mood. Decluttering helps us let go of emotional weight, too. Clutter also represents emotional baggage and unresolved issues. Decluttering represents a fresh start.