16 Clutter Free House Tips for Maintaining a Tidy Home
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We all have felt the burden of a cluttered home at some point in our lives. The growing piles, surfaces hidden beneath stuff, and closets with clothes everywhere. I know I have! Clutter can take over our lives if we don’t keep it in check. That’s where my 16 clutter-free house tips can truly make the difference.
I have been an avid declutter my whole life, but even I find that clutter still creeps into my home from time to time. When I see or feel clutter in the rooms in my home, it affects my mind. It creates a sense of overwhelm, frustration, and maybe even a bit of stress. Clutter isn’t just a visual mess for me, it’s a mental one too.
I am here to tell you that maintaining a clutter-free home is truly possible, even when some days it may feel impossible. Living clutter-free doesn’t have to be difficult. It often just takes implementing a few strategies, building clutter-free habits, and following a few tips to consistently maintain a home free from clutter.
Are you ready to start decluttering? Keep reading because I am going to review my top 16 clutter-free house tips for maintaining a clutter-free home.
What is a Clutter-Free Lifestyle?
Before we go into the clutter-free house tips, I thought it is best to explain what a clutter-free lifestyle is and what it’s not. A clutter-free lifestyle means keeping only the items you enjoy and use, giving them a proper place, and letting go of things that no longer serve you.
Living a clutter-free lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to get rid of everything you own or adopt a minimalist approach. Instead, it’s about removing unnecessary items from each room of your home. By keeping what you need and love, you create an environment that is more enjoyable and less stressful. Now that we have defined what a clutter-free lifestyle is, we can dive right into my 15 clutter-free house tips.
My 16 Clutter Free House Tips to Maintaining a Clutter Free Home
1. Be Mindful of What You Purchase
One of my top clutter-free house tips, is to watch what you’re purchasing. After all, the accumulation of purchased items over time without decluttering is what leads to clutter in our homes. Marketers are masters at enticing us to buy. Let’s be real, we’ve all been swayed by a sale or advertisement at some point. Whether it’s an ad, a commercial, or a social media influencer promoting the latest must-have item, it feels like someone is always trying to sell us something. But, if your goal is to have a clutter-free home, mindless buying will not support your goal.
Once upon a time, I had a clothes and shoe addiction. My closet was constantly overflowing with items still tagged and shoes that had never seen the light of day. It was one of those spaces that always seemed to accumulate clutter, no matter how hard I tried. Nowadays, I try to be intentional with every purchase I make.
When you see an ad, a commercial, a social media influencer promoting a product, or even a product in a store, ask yourself, “Will I really use this product? Do I own something similar? Will this add value to my life? How many hours did I work at my job to be able to buy this product?” Being mindful about what you spend your money on will help you limit the flow of items coming into your home.
2. Create Rules Around What You Purchase
Setting rules and boundaries around your purchases can help keep unnecessary items from entering your home in the first place. I used to think that having rules meant I couldn’t buy anything at all. However, what rules and restrictions actually do is help you purchase only what you genuinely need, will use, or what truly brings you joy. For example, as I mentioned before, I used to be a big spender on clothes and shoes. Now, I’ve set a rule to buy items only in specific colors, fits, and only if I truly require them.
Rules around buying items can be as simple as these:
- Avoid impulse buying by waiting two days before making a purchase. If you want or need that item after that time, go ahead and buy it.
- Only buy items you will actually use and wear
- Return any items you don’t love
- Prioritize quality over quantity.
- Avoid shopping when emotional or bored
Establishing rules will help prevent clutter from accumulating in your home.
4. Don’t Procrastinate on a Decluttering Project
Procrastinating on decluttering will not make the problem go away. While ignoring the clutter may offer temporary relief, the issue will remain and can continue to affect you even after the distraction fades. While you are ignoring the issue, items are still building up in your home. Taking action is the key to truly resolving the issue. Start will a small decluttering projects and then build up to larger projects. If you’re feeling overwhelmed about starting a decluttering project, check out this article, where I write about how to break through the decluttering overwhelm.
5. Make Decluttering a Habit
Making decluttering a habit is one of my favorite clutter-free house tips. When you make decluttering a habit, it will help you maintain a clutter-free home over time. By consistently decluttering, you prevent drawers, cabinets, closets, from being overloaded with unnecessary items. For example, if I go into a drawer in my kitchen, and I see and item or items in the drawer I don’t use anymore. I make it a point to throw out that item. Once decluttering becomes a habit, you will find yourself doing it naturally, even when you haven’t scheduled a decluttering project.
6. Plan Major Decluttering Projects Two-Three Times A Year
I like to plan my large scale decluttering projects at the beginning of Fall and Spring. Over the course of a week or two weeks, I declutter every room in my home, from top to bottom. And honestly, I can’t believe how much you accumulate within that time frame. Conducting large scale decluttering of your entire home prevents the build up of stuff in your home.
7. Clean Up After A Mess or Clutter is Created
Another way to prevent the clutter from building up is to clean up right after a mess is created or at the end of the day before the next day. That means cleaning those piles of dishes in the sink, those toys in the toy room, and your clothes on the floor in your closet. If you are in the present moment, not thinking about the next thing, you can clean after the mess is created or at the end of the day before bed. Take the moment or moments out of your day to keep up with the clutter and the mess.
8. Decluttering Rules and Methods
In the field of decluttering and organizing, individuals have come up with various rules to follow when decluttering to help with the process. Here are several of the rules:
One in and One Out Rule:
For every new item you bring into your home, you must get rid of an item you already have.
The 90/90 Rule:
If you haven’t used an item in the last 90 days and don’t anticipate using it in the next 90 days, consider getting rid of it. This was developed by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus of the Minimalists.
12-12-12 Method:
Locate 12 items to discard, 12 to donate, and 12 to put back in a designated place that makes sense. This was created by Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist.
Konmari Method:
Involves five steps to help you declutter and commit to the lifestyle of decluttering. The steps are as follows:
- Step 1: Commit to tidying up
- Step 2. Imagine your ideal lifestyle
- Step 3: Finish discarding first before organizing
- Step 4: Tidy by category, not location
- Step 5: Follow in the right order
- Step 6: Ask yourself if it sparks joy
If you are eager to learn more about the Kon Mari Method, check out this post.
Use the Four-Box Method
The four box method of decluttering involves getting four boxes and labeling them trash, keep, donate, or relocate. As you declutter a space, you put each item in one of these boxes without skipping an item. Once you are done, you review the items you put in the boxes. Then you work putting on back all the items you are keeping. Relocating the items to the correct places.
Methods and rules can help you maintain a decluttered home. If you are eager to learn some more decluttering methods, take a look at this post.
9. Come Up with Your Own Rules and Guidelines
You can also come up with your own rules and guidelines for decluttering. This method actually works the best for me because I created my own rules to abide by when decluttering.
My guidelines for decluttering are as follows:
- If the item is broken, expired, has holes, or stained its garbage.
- If I haven’t used the item in 6 months to a year or do not see myself using the item in the future, it’s removed.
- If the item does not logistically fit in my home, it’s removed.
- When I look at decor items, and I don’t like the way it looks, it’s removed.
- I take pictures of sentimental items I want to remember but don’t keep
- I only keep sentimental items that mean a lot to me, like pictures and photo albums.
10. Let Go of Sentimental Clutter
In the past, I have always kept sentimental items and just threw them in boxes. About a year ago, my father came over to drop off bins that were sitting in his basement, with all the sentimental items I had saved. I hadn’t looked in those bins for almost 10 years. Inside the bins there were soccer trophies, awards I had won, and newspaper articles with my name in it, stuffed animals, and so much more. What did I do with these items? I threw them right into the garbage. They weren’t worth keeping anymore and would have just gathered dust in our home. That being said, keeping sentimental items may seem like a great idea at the moment, but usually, they either end up in a box or surfaces contributing to clutter. They are never really looked at ever again.
So when it comes, to sentimental items, make sure you keep items that truly mean a lot to you rather than everything that seems sentimental. Some questions to ask yourself around sentimental items are:
- Do I really like this item?
- Do I like to look at this item?
- Why does this item have so much meaning to me?
- Will I really look back at these items in a small time frame, or will these items just sit in a box for decades?
- Are sentimental items cluttering my home? Am I labeling too many things as sentimental?
I asked these questions to myself recently when deciding on a wooden turtle my husband bought in Tulum. It was sitting on a shelf in our home office. I honestly could not bear to look at it, didn’t really like the item, and the item really didn’t have the much meaning to me. I didn’t even think about storing it in a box and just threw it out.
11. Give Every Item a Place
Every item in your home should have a place, and not just any place, but one that makes sense. This place is one that’s easy to access when you need it, and fits naturally within the space. For example, your car cleaning supplies wouldn’t be in your office because that’s not where you wash your car. Car keys shouldn’t be stored in a kitchen cabinet, as that’s far from the door. Likewise, your kitchen shouldn’t house kids’ toys, tools, or excessive rolls of tape. Think about what makes sense in each room, and store your items logically.
12. Keep a Wardrobe Decluttering box in Your Closet
Over the years, clothing and shoes are what I have always had the hardest to part with. I am guilty of putting clothes in a donation bag, and taking them back out, saying to myself I will wear this again. I recently have tried putting a box in the bottom of my closet and when I put something on and I don’t like it, it goes right in the box. At the end of the week, I throw out those pieces of clothing. This has helped me with my clothing and shoe addiction.
13. Tackle Mail and Paperwork Right Away
Mail and Paperwork create a lot of clutter, especially when you don’t have a system in place for your paperwork. I’ve visited many homes, and one thing I noticed is a lot of people don’t tackle their mail right away. Piles of mail often build up on kitchen countertops, contributing to clutter. In fact, about 90% of what we receive in the mail is garbage anyway, so it’s more efficient to handle it daily when it arrives. This way, you prevent important paperwork from getting lost or misplaced. Personally, I have made it a habit to sort my mail right away, and anything that needs to be filed goes straight into my office filing system.
14. Create Systems that Facilitate Organization
Creating systems that facilitate organization and reduce clutter is key to maintaining a decluttered home. I am a huge fan of organizational systems! My more complicated organizational systems include, my office paperwork filing system, my son’s nursery clothes system for rotating out clothes that no longer fit, my calendar system, and my content planner in notion. I also have less complicated systems, like our bath toy organizer, the behind-the-door clothing organizer in my husband’s closet, and my approach to tackling mail right when it arrives. Each of these systems keeps clutter at bay. If something no longer fits within a system, it’s a good sign it’s time to declutter that area.
15. Set Boundaries Around What Others Give You
Setting boundaries around what others give you is important for reducing clutter. Recently, My husband and I, received several items from people who were downsizing. While we’re truly thankful for the gesture, we quickly realized that some of these items were outdated or didn’t align with our taste. Instead, we added clutter to our home. Eventually, we ended up throwing out many items. Now we have established a boundary when it comes to second hand donations. We make sure to see the items before we accept them from others and we don’t feel guilty when we have to say no. Establishing donation boundaries is essential in maintaining a clutter-free home.
16. Maintain a Decluttering Mindset Overtime
Adopting a decluttering mindset is essential in maintaining an organized and clutter-free home. When decluttering becomes a priority, you naturally prevent unnecessary items from entering your home, stopping the clutter before it begins. This mindset not only helps you establish boundaries, but it gives you self-control. Once decluttering becomes a habit, the process will become second nature. At random times of the day, you will find yourself effortlessly discarding items that don’t serve you anymore. The benefits of a decluttering mindset will not only be a house filled with less stuff, but also a mind filled with less clutter.
Maintaining a clutter-free home is an ongoing process that requires intention, discipline, and consistency. These clutter-free house tips will help you maintain a home that is free from so much stuff. However, don’t try to implement all of these strategies at once. Pick one to two to start, master those tips, and then come back to this post and choose two other ones.
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