Greetings! Who needs to declutter? {raises hand}. I wish I could say that I decluttered once, years ago, and that was the end of the “excess stuff” in our home. But alas…. it’s an ongoing process for me. We decluttered a lot before we moved here four years ago but we still ended up with far too many things we don’t need or have room for in this house. Our garage became more like a storage room.
Moving is an excellent time to declutter, but it’s also tricky because you are making a transition to a different home. It’s easy to misjudge what you will have room for or need. Plus, moving is exhausting :). If you are not starting over from scratch with all new furniture, it can take some time to figure out what fits and what works best in a new home.
And it’s not just moving that causes chaos. Busyness, delayed decisions, design indecision, procrastination … I wrote all about my decluttering issues and challenges and how I deal with them in Make Room for What You Love and Simple Organizing.
Deadlines are super motivating to me, though, so with Courtney moving in this weekend, we are decluttering, rearranging and making room for her in our lower level :). It feels great to finally have the motivation and a deadline to work on some “out of sight, out of mind” spaces (like the basement and garage!) in our home.
Even if you don’t have time for a big decluttering project right now, there are lots of little ways you can make your home feel less cluttered right now.
Here are six tips I use to make my house feel less cluttered:
1. Clear the floors.
My husband taught me this tip when our kids were small. If there is stuff covering the floors or piled up in the corners of the rooms, your house is automatically going to feel cluttered. Now we spend a few moments every day picking up clutter from the floors. Instantly the whole house feels cleaner and tidier.
2. Empty the surfaces.
Take a look around your room. Are all the tables covered with unnecessary stuff? Even if you just have time to clear one surface, your room will feel less overwhelming. Start with one table and then move onto another! It helps to set a timer for 15 minutes; you’ll be surprised how fast you can clear the surfaces when the clock is ticking!
3. Make some room.
Give your closets, drawers and rooms some breathing room. Donate, toss, or store even a third of the items from a closet or half the accessories from a room and you’ll be amazed by how much tidier it feels!
4. Close the drawers and cabinets.
When cabinet doors and drawers are left ajar, the whole room feels messier. Walk around the house and close every drawer and cupboard to give your rooms a tidier more streamlined appearance.
5. Straighten the dining chairs.
It’s a little annoyance, but when the dining chairs are turned every which way and not pushed in straight to the table, the whole room will feel a bit haphazard. Take a few moments and push the chairs up to the table and straighten them out. This will give your dining area an instantly tidier look!
6. Clean the kitchen sink.
When your sink is piled with dishes, the whole kitchen will feel cluttered and messy. Make it a habit to clean the dishes in the sink—and the sink itself—every day.
I’ve written many organizing posts featuring tips I use and ideas that have inspired me in my own home.
Always start with decluttering, but getting organized feels great, too.
Here’s a round-up of some of my top decluttering and organizing posts!
The Secret to Getting Organized
10 Minute Household Tasks to Organize Your Life
Do you make any of these common disorganization excuses? >> Kick Excuses to the Curb: Confessions on Organizing & Decluttering
A Bag A Day Keeps the Clutter Away
9 Clever Organizers to Tidy Your House
How to Get Organized in a Small House
How to Organize Papers You Don’t Want to Lose
Pretty and Functional Bathroom Storage Ideas
Happy Drawers: Simple Organizing Ideas
10 Habits of People with Organized Houses
How to Set Daily Routines that will Transform Your Life
5 Takeaway Tips from a Small Office
My Kitchen Pantry and Tips for Pantry Organization
MY DIY Organized Free-Standing Command Center
How to Clean Your House When You’re Busy
How to Eliminate Paper Clutter Forever
Habits for an Organized Home
How to Organize a Small Kitchen
9 Ways to Get Organized Now
5 Minute Baking Drawer Organization: Using What You Have
Find inspiration and the strategies that inspire me to declutter and simplify in my book Make Room for What You Love.
More Books by The Inspired Room:
Simple Organizing: Amazon or Barnes and Noble
Love the Home You Have (NY Times Bestseller): Amazon or Barnes and Noble
All books
Room and kitchen sources are found here.
