How To Reduce Clutter In Your Home, According To Organization Experts
by Camryn Rabideau · ForbesIf your junk drawer is overflowing or your closet door won’t close due to an excess of clothes, it might be time for some decluttering. While it can feel like a daunting task, reducing clutter in your home can help lower stress and improve your overall well-being. Plus, once you know how to declutter efficiently, the process becomes much more manageable.
The goal of decluttering isn’t to make your home look like a Pinterest board—it’s to make your home more livable. “Things do not need to look magazine perfect,” says Jane Stoller of Organized Jane, productivity and organizing expert, and author of Decluttering for Dummies. “Your organizational systems should work for your lifestyle.” She also says that decluttering won’t happen overnight, and if you want to do it right, you should be prepared to dedicate a few weeks to the task.
To help you get your home back on track, we consulted three organization experts for their top tips on reducing clutter and downsizing your belongings.
How To Reduce Clutter In Your Home
Create A Plan—And Be Specific
If you have a lot of decluttering to do, start by creating a list of all the areas you need to tackle. “Create a plan that breaks the project into manageable chunks,” recommends Sarah Giller Nelson, founder of Less is More Organizing Services. “Spend 30 minutes walking through your house listing the small decluttering tasks that you want to accomplish.”
To Do List Notepad
Instead of simply writing down entire rooms, break your list into more precise problem areas. “Be very specific,” Nelson recommends. “Listing ‘shoes’ rather than ‘closet’ will help you organize your time well.”
Once you’ve written everything down, go through your list again to figure out where you should start: “Prioritize your list,” Nelson says. “Tackle what is bothering you the most first. Do anything sentimental last.”
Start Strong With One Small Task
Instead of jumping in and trying to tackle a big task like your garage, experts recommend picking one small, easy task. “I always suggest starting small,” says Ashley Murphy, NEAT Method co-founder and author of The NEAT Method Organizing Recipe Book. “A quick win will inspire and motivate you to take on bigger projects, and with a little experience under your belt, you'll be less likely to get overwhelmed.”
Not sure the best place to start? Consider what areas cause the most stress in your everyday life. “Common areas that trigger stress include pantries, closets, garages and attics,” says Stoller. “However, it could also be something less visible, like an overflowing inbox or digital clutter, which is becoming a significant source of stress for many today. Assess what type of clutter is triggering your stress and start there.”
Try Out A Decluttering Strategy
As you start making your way down your to-do list, you may want to try out a decluttering strategy to help make the process go more smoothly. One common method is to sort everything into four key categories. “Sort items into four piles: keep, donate, toss and maybe,” recommends Nelson. “Be selective—and honest. Chances are if you have not worn a pair of shorts all summer, you are not going to want to wear it next summer, either.”
“Donate anything that no longer fits the season of your life, even if it had a purpose in the past or you spent a lot of money on it,” she says. “Toss or recycle anything stained, stretched out or broken, including orphan socks and used coloring books.”
Be prepared to remove items as you declutter: “My most favorite organizing product that is a must-have for all projects: a garbage bag,” says Nelson. You can also use boxes to transport items to a local donation center.
Hefty Ultra Strong Tall Kitchen Trash Bags
If you’ve tried the four-pile strategy to no avail, don’t fret. There are plenty of other decluttering methods that you can try out, such as the 12-12-12 method, where you choose 12 items to keep, 12 to throw away and 12 to donate. “Motivational books can help,” says Stoller, as they offer decluttering tactics that will work for different people.
Matt Paxton Keep the Memories, Lose The Stuff
Limit How Much You Can Keep
If you’re tempted to keep too many items while decluttering your home, it can be helpful to give yourself a hard limit. This could be a specific number of items—such as the rule of 12 outlined above—or only as many as will fit in a specific space.
“Working with available space such as the constraints of a single bin or basket can sometimes be all the encouragement you need to downsize and ensure your processions will fit inside,” says Murphy.
The Container Store Palm Leaf Bins
For storage spaces like your garage or attic, it might be worth upgrading to plastic storage containers: “Clear bins are another useful tool—when you can see what's inside, you're less likely to pack clutter away and forget about it,” says Stoller.
Iris USA Stackable Plastic Storage Bins
Stay Focused On One Space
It’s easy to get side-tracked while decluttering and organizing, but this will often hinder your progress. “You find something in the room you’re decluttering that belongs in another room, so you go into that room to put it away,” says Nelson. “In order to find a spot, you start moving things around. The next thing you know you have created messes in multiple rooms, nothing is decluttered, and it's time to make dinner.”
“The way to avoid this is to use a ‘move elsewhere’ basket when decluttering,” she says. “Put anything in it that does not belong in that space. Once you are done decluttering, go to the other rooms to put these items away.” An empty laundry basket or shipping box will work well for this task.
Ask For Help If You’re Struggling
Decluttering is often a challenging and time-consuming task, but you don’t have to do it alone. “Enlist the help of a friend whose opinion you trust,” recommends Murphy. “When editing decisions get difficult, ask them to weigh in.” This can be especially helpful if you’re trying to downsize your wardrobe.
If you’re decluttering communal spaces within your home, you can also enlist the help of your family to make the task go faster and ensure everyone has input in the process.
Tackle Sentimental Items Last
Anything that has sentimental value will pose a challenge while decluttering, and the right mindset is key to tackling this final task. “It's important to keep sentimental items, but not everything can be sentimental—if you hold onto too much, it becomes difficult to truly appreciate the meaningful items,” says Stoller. “I always tell my clients to ensure they display sentimental items in some capacity. If they feel it is not worth displaying and looking at daily, it might be time to consider donating it.”
“We recommend setting a limit for yourself when it comes to storing keepsakes and sentimental items,” says Murphy. “Designate one or more lidded storage bins for this purpose, depending on available space. When those bins are full, adopt the one-in, one-out rule by prioritizing your most cherished pieces.”
Cambridge Storage Boxes
Do One Final Edit
Before you put trash bags on the curb and drop off donations, it’s a good idea to go through the items one last time to make sure you’re confident in your choices. “There’s nothing worse than regretting the decision you made when you were rage-organizing,” says Murphy.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
We know how challenging it can be to keep your home organized, so the Forbes Vetted team has researched and written dozens of articles to help you tackle all types of organizing tasks. We have guides on everything from how to organize your refrigerator to how to style a bookshelf, as well as plenty of product guides on the best home organization products.
- This article was written by contributor Camryn Rabideau, who has eight years of experience writing about home and lifestyle topics. As a product reviewer, her house is often quite cluttered, so she knows how stressful it can be to downsize your belongings.
- The story was overseen by home and kitchen editor Sholeen Damarwala, who has overseen, edited and produced everything from the best washable rugs to tips on organizing your desk.
- We spoke with three organizing experts while putting together this article: Jane Stoller of Organized Jane, productivity and organizing expert, and author of Decluttering for Dummies; Sarah Giller Nelson, founder and organizer at Less is More Organizing Services; and Ashley Murphy, NEAT Method co-founder and author of The NEAT Method Organizing Recipe Book. They all offered tips on how to efficiently reduce clutter throughout your home.