35 Ways To DECLUTTER Your Home That Actually Work

1. Write a list of areas that need decluttering. Cross them off once they are done.

2. At least every 3 to 6 months, throw out anything out of date from you pantry, medicine chest, cosmetics etc.

3. Get the whole family involved. More hands make for a quicker job & reward everyone with a plan of something fun once you’re all finished.

4. Set chores for the whole family. Even toddlers can start to learn the benefits of simple tasks such as picking up toys each day.

5. Have a home control station where you keep unpaid bills, keys & urgent items. This minimises losing important things in your mess.

6. Meal planning saves on food waste.

7. Seek out creative storage options. Pinterest is full of ideas.

8. Clean out your closest at least every 12 months and throw out/give away anything you haven’t worn that past year.

9. Throw away broken things. Chances are you won’t get around to fixing it so it’s easier to just get rid of it (unless you’re really handy)

10. Sort your Christmas decorations and anything you haven’t used for a couple of years or have replaced with something better can go.

11. Don’t use your garage as a dumping ground for items with no home. Get rid of the excess.

12. Downsize or eliminate your junk drawer.

13. Cull kids toys and clothes. Charities will appreciate them.

14. For every new towel, bedding item or kitchen appliance your purchase, get rid of the old one it replaces.

15. Make use of boxes before your throw them out and fill them with unwanted items. See post.

16. Places like Ikea have so many organisation solutions. Figure out what you need and find a box, container, hanger etc to suit.

17. Do you really need 5 pairs of red heels? Green hats? Grey scarves? Downsize.

18. Resist buying things on impulse that you don’t need. Sales are great, but save your cash.

19. Each night before bed put 5 things away where they are meant to go. It minimises cleaning time later.

20. Create routines and helpful habits, such as putting away laundry the same day it is done or throwing out the recycling once per day.

21. Instead of buying new DVDs, CDs etc, consider electronic versions such as iTunes or hire them if you’re unlikely to rewatch frequently.

22. Birthday or Christmas coming up. If you are replacing certain items such as toys, clothes etc for loved ones, consider getting rid of existing ones to make room.

23. Under bed storage is under-utilised. Vacuum seal bags, under bed containers. Use these spaces to store things such as winter clothes, photographs (providing it is dry and sealed), shoes, seasonal decorations.

25. Photo albums are great but take up a lot of space. Think before you print and consider digital photo books as a space saving alternative.

26. Don’t entertain often? You probably don’t need a 20 piece dinner set. Downsize and buy disposable as you need it.

27. Soft toys are massive space wasters and most kids outgrow them quickly. Keep a few favourites and give away the rest.

28. Keep things of the same type all in one place. Avoid not being able to find a pen because there are 100 in the house but scattered everywhere for example. Saves you time when everything has it’s place.

29. Set small goals to achieve by a certain deadline. Small = less daunting.

30. Avoid keeping things just because. Items such as fabric and paper scraps that you will never use… that camera case that doesn’t fit your current camera but might fit one in the future. Nah… it’s taking up space.

31. Create a file system of your important documents and go through them regularly to get rid of anything you’ve kept for the minimum required time.

32. Have bills and statements sent electronically if possible. It reduces paper waste and you can still access them when you want to.

33. Store small suitcases inside larger ones if you can. Or smaller bags inside suitcases. These things take up so much room.

34. Have a garage sale, join eBay, or some online selling groups. Your unwanted stuff could earn you a nice little nest egg.

35. Don’t forget to clean out your emails on a regular basis and other electronic files. Even these can get cluttered and waste your valuable time.