How To Get Rid of Clutter and Enjoy Your Home More

Want more help on how to get rid of clutter? More posts about creating capsules wardrobes, finding your style and what to do with all that clothing you really don’t wear in the archives.

Do you have a lot of things you can never seem to find a spot for and that you keep wondering, why do I have this again?

CLUTTER HAPPENS

Clutter arrives in the form of a gift.

You pick it up on the fly when you misplaced the original.

Kids seem to bring home clutter almost everyday.

The bank gives you clutter when you sign up for a new account.

Or you bring the clutter home mistakenly. You wander a store because you had twenty minutes to kill. You came away with a lot of cookie cutters but you don’t bake. And you bought loads of those over the door clothes hangars but they don’t fit your doors.

Besides, you’re Kon Mari-ing your closet and capsule wardrob-ing so you don’t need them anymore. Yeah, that kind of stuff. Insoles we bought for a heel problem but never used. Things we lost the receipt to but really wanted to return. Paper. So much paper.

Love, and stuff, are all around us.

If you’re thinking about all the stuff you threw into the TV cabinet before your last dinner party, or that bag of things you tossed in the guest bedroom, you’re on the right track.

How to get rid of clutter for less stress and more home enjoyment.

Why should you get rid of clutter?

Clutter is stressing us out. The weight and work of our possessions steals time, energy and money away from ourselves and the people around us. The overstuff garage and closets nag at us and ruin any relaxing time. We always feel we should be doing something else.

Wouldn’t it be great to feel calm in your home? To not think of all the mismatched plastic container lids and all those boxes of stuff from the last move that you have never unpacked.

A motivation for how to get rid of clutter can also be money. The cluttered home is costly. You misplace things and have to buy them again. You don’t enjoy being home so you eat out more or spend money to be away from all the mess and work. A huge cost of clutter: you have to buy a bigger home to store it.

Here are some easy steps to get rid of clutter:

Stop buying stuff. If you can only do one thing to stop clutter accumulating do this. Stop buying more stuff. Stop accepting bags of other people’s stuff. You have enough. Use what you have. Wear what you have.

Choose one area to get rid of clutter at time. Don’t overwhelm yourself. Make the tasks small and easy in the beginning. Start with something simple like paring down your shoes, toiletries or board games. Make sure you have thrown out or recycled or donated items before you start the next task.

Never start a project that you can’t finish that day. Do not pull everything out of the kitchen cupboards at 9pm. Don’t start on the garage when you have a busy weekend ahead.

If you are struggling emotionally to part with clutter.

Take pictures. Make lists. Nothing like writing out that you have 43 pens, 12 of which do not work, to motivate you to get rid of some. Or that you have five winter coats. When you make lists you’ll find that you have duplicates of things. You’ve paid twice! Use that as motivation.

Remember that the money has already been spent. A huge road block in how to get rid of clutter is that the items cost you money. Or you think they are worth money. The money is already gone. Accept the fact that most of it is now clutter and not worth much. Better to part with it now and not cause yourself more stress, wasted time and money.

Think about all the things you don’t have enough time for. Motivate yourself with the reward that when this clutter is gone you will have less stress in your life. You will have more energy for the people and activities you love. Sleep will come more easily with all the dresser surfaces cleaned and no piles of clutter in the corner of your bedroom.

Make a declutter plan for your home.

Write out all the areas you need to declutter. You could go room by room or by category. Be as detailed as possible. You want to be able to do short tasks in under 30 minutes that you can cross off the list and keep yourself motivated. Here’s an example: Clothing–> Jeans

Set a selling threshold. Decide how much money is worth your time to photograph, post online and manage potential buyers. Many people set the bar at $20 for an item or collection of items to sell. The truth is that our stuff isn’t worth nearly as much as we think it is.

Map out donation centres in your area. Find out which local charity will come to your house and take furniture away or take clothing donations. Find a thrift store nearby that you can donate kitchen items to.

Decide when you will declutter. It could be one evening a week or one afternoon on the weekend. Try to set that time aside and be consistent with it. Make a date with yourself to declutter.

Find people to support you as a you declutter. It could be a friend you check in with or even a co-worker that is on the same decluttering journey. Help each other to stay motivated and share your wins – 2 bags out the door today! – and your struggles.

Decluttering your home and having less stuff is worth it.

I’ve been sharing how to get rid of clutter for almost eight years. I’ve helped tens of thousands of people take back their home and their life from clutter.

Reducing clutter is liberating and motivating.

You’ll find that the momentum of creating a peaceful and clutter-free home spreads into the rest of your life.

You suddenly have the motivation to work out, cook healthy meals and do those things that really feed your soul.

Want more help with how to get rid of clutter? Check out my book, Do Less: A Minimalist Guide to a Simplified, Organized and Happy Life. The book shares room by room strategy and motivation for how to get rid of clutter.