The 8 Best Ways to Declutter Your Home For 2023
Let’s discuss some useful ways to declutter. You can implement practical habits in your day-to-day life to help you get rid of excess and mess.
As a professional organizer, I teach my clients how to achieve and maintain an organized home. I teach them the same strategies that I'm going to be sharing with you here.
The first thing you need to do is recognize why your clutter is a problem. There are so many studies that tie clutter to stress and mental health issues. These studies show that if your home is cluttered you tend to have higher cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone.
Chronically high cortisol levels can lead to mental health issues as well as physical ailments. Recognizing the cause of your stress is the first step to doing something to improve the situation.
1. Start small
I recommend you start small. People dedicate too much of their time, effort, and energy at the very beginning of their decluttering journey. They try to start in spaces that are too big and they take on too much too quickly. This will burn you out and lead you to dread the next time you have to declutter.
If your kitchen needs to be fully decluttered, that is going to be a big project. Pick a category within the kitchen and just work on that. You could start with utensils or plastic bags. Don’t try to tackle everything at once.
There is power behind breaking projects down into small steps. I call them mini wind cycles. As you get more mini-decluttering projects under your belt, you develop a better skill set for decluttering. You build up your decluttering muscle and become more confident in your decisions to make effective changes in your home.
2. Declutter habitually
Get in the habit of decluttering often. People tend to do spring cleaning once a year. I recommend getting in the habit of decluttering consistently.
Take note of spaces in your home that are harder to manage and make sure to check on those spaces every day. Get in the practice of constantly decluttering things, especially in spaces that attract clutter.
3. Be intentional about what you’re bringing home
Acquiring or accumulating things is far too easy in this day and age. We can shop just by tapping a button on our phones. People like to go shopping on weekends or bring things back from their trips or vacations. Try to be more cognizant of the things that you welcome into your space.
You are the gatekeeper of your home. You get to decide what comes in, what stays, and what leaves. look around your space and see which things are intentional. If you see things you never use and don’t even know why you have them, those things are not intentional.
4. Be proactive
Dedicate space for the things that tend to cause clutter in your home. My favorite example is grocery bags. A lot of people shove grocery bags in the cupboard under the sink or on the floor in the pantry and it creates havoc. Create a dedicated space for the bags. I hung a basket inside a kitchen cupboard for grocery bags and it’s a great system.
5. Get comfortable with letting go
People tend to struggle with letting go of their belongings. Sometimes there’s a misconception that decluttering means you have to get rid of all your stuff. That's not the proper way to think about decluttering. I want you to reframe your thinking.
Decluttering is really about creating space for the things you love, use, and need. That's what I tell myself when I'm going through my decluttering process. I am creating space for the things that I actually want in my home.
When you reframe the way you think about decluttering, it makes the process easier and more productive. Getting in the practice of letting go of things that truly do not serve you, are not intentional, and you don't truly love, use, or need, will make you feel better at home.
6. Honor the limitations of your home
No, your home is not too small. No, you don't need to move and start over. You simply need to honor the limitations of the space that they have. You want your space to feel breathable. Your home is your sanctuary, so it’s important to respect it and find ways to feel good inside it.
If you have a smaller home, you need to own less stuff, but just because you have a bigger space doesn't mean that you need to fill it. There's nothing wrong with blank space. White space can make your home feel larger and airier. I actually encourage having blank white space in your home if possible.
7. Dedicate time each day to declutter
I recommend 30 minutes a day of organizing, but even 15 minutes will make a huge impact. Just set a timer and get to work. You are not going to be motivated to do this every day so you have to apply some discipline and just get it done.
8. Manage your hotspots
Hotspots are areas that typically get overwhelmed, and clutter really quickly. Maybe for you, the area by the front door gets cluttered with shoes and coats. Maybe it’s flat surfaces on your dining room table or coffee table.
Create a system that makes sense for that hot spot. For example, if I don't have anything on my tables it will turn into a hot spot. To resolve this, I always put a decorative element on the table. Adding decorative elements to the hotspots in your home will deter you and your family from cluttering up that space.
The best ways to declutter
Meet me in the comments and let me know if these tips are helpful. I want to engage with you guys. Decluttering is not as hard as people think. Once you develop a process that works for you, you will feel free.
Comments
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I have found myself of the same mindset as you have mapped out for decluttering. It was great to read your article! Very straight to the point and do-able!
I find the tips very helpful and something I would like to try.
This is the thing: All my life, I have been, I guess you would say, messy and cluttered with too much stuff. Why? That is something I have never been able to figure out.
I have dealt with depression over the last 10 years. I took care of Mama, for about 5 years until she passed. I lost my dog, who I had for 14 years, the same year as Mama.
I then took care of my older sister, for 3 years, until she passed. My cluttering got worse after my sister died.
Last December, I lost another dog suddenly, after almost 9 years. It hit me very hard.
I, say all this, to give a little background on myself. As I said, I have been this way, as far back as I can remember.
I have been in counseling. Not as much as I would like, but that is another story.
Anyway, I was wondering, if you have had someone go through similar circumstances and how they were able to motivate themselves? Or if you can give me advice that you feel may help?
Thank you,
Rinda
😊