10 Practical Tips to Declutter Your Home

I realized a few years ago that as our family grew in size, so did the amount of STUFF in our home. It started with one jam packed kitchen junk drawer (you know the kind) after searching for something in frustration I emptied the entire drawer and sorted through everything, tossing the trash and putting things back in their proper place. When my husband came home that evening, I proudly showed him my small accomplishment.

From the junk drawer I went to the hallway closet, then the kitchen cupboard. Each weekend I assigned myself a small area to conquer and the momentum grew as the results became more visible throughout our home.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the clutter around your house? Decluttering is a skill that takes practice and patience. Get started decluttering with this simple guide:

Ditch duplicates.

Search your home for any duplicates and get rid of them if they aren’t necessary. When you buy a new one, make sure to rid your home of the older one. If you must decide between two, pick the one you like best and get rid of the others.

Get rid of anything you haven’t used in one year.

If you haven’t used it in a year, you likely won’t use it in the future. Telling yourself you might use it someday is just delaying the decision to part with the item. Do your home and yourself a big favor and get rid of any items that aren’t being used.

Don’t keep anything you wouldn’t buy again today.

Take a good hard look at the items you have and figure out why you think you need them. When evaluating which items to keep, ask yourself if you would buy this item right now if you were in the store. If not, you probably never needed it!

Organizing vs. de-owning

Organizing may provide a temporary fix to a crammed closet, but bigger storage containers or even a house with more square footage is not going to change your own consumption habits. It's far better to de-own than to always be organizing.

Go digital when possible.

Nostalgic and sentimental items can be hard to downsize. If you still want to hold on to the memory of the item take a photo and get rid of the item itself. Better yet, create a special memory and use that old tea set to host a party and snap photos. After you donate the tea set (that you didn't really need to keep) you’ll still be able to keep the photos and memories.

Say Goodbye to Guilt.

Maybe it was a present from your grandparents, or a family heirloom that was passed down to you, but we all have something around the home we keep out of guilt. It’s time to be a little tougher on what you allow to take residency in your home! Get rid of any items that you don’t like.

Put things back when you’re done with them.

We live in a home, not a museum, and there's no avoiding that during the day things will be taken out and used. Do a quick walk-through during the day and put away any stray clutter BEFORE it accumulates. This is exactly how your clutter problem started in the first place! When you are done using something put it away.

Give every item in your house a home.

Everything you own should have a place to live. Whether it’s a plastic container in your cabinet or in a drawer on your nightstand, everything should have a home. A pile does not count as a home. If you can’t find a good home for your items, ask yourself if it’s because it doesn’t belong. For the item you don't use anymore, find it a new home by donating or selling.

Take before and after photos.

Choose one part of your home, like your hallway closet, and take a photo. Declutter and clean the space and then take an after photo. Once you see how your home could look, it becomes easier to start decluttering more of your home.

Re-evaluate your spending habits.

Where does all of the stuff come from? Be honest with yourself about how you spend your money and your priorities. Instead of mindlessly shopping online in the evening, crack open a book, learn a new hobby, or save your money for a family vacation or weekend getaway with your spouse.

When we begin to see our purchases through the lens of exchanging life, rather than dollar bills, we can better appreciate the weight of our purchases and understand the full cost of all that stuff.