Cleaning the house is probably your routine task and you don’t need any advice here. But house decluttering is a different concept that could really make your home a better-organized place. Decluttering means improving the number of unneeded items and dealing with the feeling of a cluttered room or all of your house.
Let’s start with general principles of how to declutter your home and make it look neat and well-organized.
Basic Decluttering Tips
Rule #1
The first decluttering advice is not about decluttering itself but about preventing the need to unclutter your house: don’t buy things you don’t need, you already have, and just don’t use a purchase as a way to reward yourself. Don’t buy house decor or clothing just because it’s trendy but you are not sure it would fit you or your house. Also, don’t buy things you already have (like similar pair of jeans of similar color and fit to what you already have). Buying and consuming less means you need to donate, sell, and trash less.
Rule #2
Another basic decluttering rule that can be applied to a lot of things is this: If you haven’t used something in a year or even two, you probably don’t need it at all. If you haven’t used this purse in a year or haven’t even considered this option, the chances that it will change in the next year are really low. It’s better to donate this item or sell it.
Rule #3
Another decluttering principle that can be beneficial for a lot of home things is the “one in, one out” rule. For example, if you already have ten mugs in your kitchen, you probably don’t need the eleventh one. So, before buying a new one, you should get rid of one that you already own. The same with jeans, yoga pants, sneakers, beauty products, etc.
Now, let’s move on to more specific decluttering tips with the list of things you should consider getting rid of.
Decluttering Tips for Closet
Clothes. Get rid of clothes that you are not comfortable in, that are out of trend, that are too big or too small, and generally those that you are not going to wear. Also, reduce the number of fancy dresses that you put on just once and are not sure you would get out of your closet again.
Also, get rid of clothes that do not match your lifestyle. Let’s say you previously had an office job and needed to wear jackets. Now, you’ve moved to remote work or even have your own business. You probably do not need a number of jackets right now–leave just one for special occasions. Btw, the same is about equipment for hobbies you don’t do anymore.
- Chuck underwear with holes, stretched-out shirts, and other worn-out things which make you feel poor.
Purses and bags. Cut down your collection of purses to 3-5 items that you actually use. It’s not really convenient to move all the things from one purse to another often as you’d usually forget something essential like cards each time. Have a big casual item like a shopper and a small one for nighttime. Choose such purses in colors that match everything. In any case, you’ll usually have up to three purses that actually fit your look and others you probably don’t need. Meanwhile, you probably don’t need more than one backpack and a huge luggage piece.
Shoes. Reduce the number of shoes of the same color and purpose, get rid of uncomfortable ones, and leave only a couple of high-heels (if you wear them rarely like most of us do). Also, try to buy shoes in neutral colors that will match most of your outfits. This will make you need fewer pairs.
Accessories and jewelry. Get rid of the jewelry and accessories that you don’t like, that are completely out of trend, or just that don’t match your outfit at all. Jewelry that you don’t wear but that is memorable to you, pack into a box and lock them. Also, get rid of low-quality accessories that make your outfit look cheap.
Decluttering Tips for Kitchen
Don’t collect too many mugs–leave only 2-3 that you actually like and use. The same is for extra glasses, bowls, and other dishes.
Get rid of free testers, little bottles from hotels, etc
Kitchen appliances that you do not use in a year or so should go. It can be a machine for boiling eggs, some kind of coffee maker, or a food processor, etc.
Freezer food that has stayed there for years and you probably have no real plans to eat it.
Decluttering Tips for Bathroom
Check out the expiration date of each product in your bathroom and throw away old items, especially when these are medication, vitamins, or beauty products. Do this at least once in three months.
Check out your toothbrushes, hairbrushes, nail files, and other similar products that need to be changed on a regular basis–for instance, a toothbrush should be changed once in three months.
Get rid of items that you have in two samples but probably won’t be able to finish the second tube or bottle before its expiration date. The same for travel-sized product samples. Leave just one or two sets of such products.
Check your cleaning supplies and make sure you have only essential ones. Usually, it doesn’t make sense to have separate cleaning pieces for wood, steel, leather, etc.
- An additional tip to make your bathroom look less cluttered: get refillable bottles for your soap, shower gel, lotion, and similar products. They all need to be in the same style and match your bathroom colors.
- Also, retire worn towels and find items in the same color scheme as your bathroom. But make sure you don’t have more towels that you really need (for your family and possible guests)–the rest should be chucked.
Other Decluttering Tips
Get rid of old pieces that are too old and cannot be normally cleaned or they just do not match your home style right now.
Move out old linen and blankets, especially if you have enough of them.
Get rid of kids toys that are missing necessary pieces. This probably means that such toys do not work properly, your kids won’t use them, and you don’t need to keep them in your house.
Get rid of your manuals for electronics after you check them at least once. Most manuals are available only when you google them.
Check out your papers: old coupons, used-up tickets, gift cards, old notebooks.
Get rid of chargers and old wires for electronics that you don’t have any more or that just don’t work.
You should also say goodbye to gifts that you don’t like and don’t use but feel guilty about. They just reduce your home space and gives nothing instead.
Check knick-knacks as these small objects usually give the feeling of a cluttered house. They often have some personal sentimental value but you need to improve their presence in your room. Try to change their placement and combination. Some of them that do not look good anyway, you can gift someone or just put in a box and hide them in an attic.
Check that your furniture looks well arranged and neat. For instance, wall-to-wall furniture often seems like stealing your space. If it seems like making your room look cluttered, rotate these items.