Are you wondering how to declutter your home?
In this guide, I am going to share with you 21 ideas to declutter your house easily.
The best part?
That all these tips work GREAT right now (in 2020).
So without any further ado, let’s dive right into the tips!
Tip #1: Return Items To Their Original Spot
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This tip is probably the easiest and quickest way to start organising.
Everyday items in our home tend to move from room to room, sometimes with no one knowing how they got there.
These items are being used so they don’t need to be given away or thrown out.
Start by assigning everyone a room in the house and have them pick up anything that came from another room and return it. This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes per room.
Tip #2: Avoid Lids
Lids can make getting organised harder than it needs to be and may cause you to give up sooner than you would otherwise.
If you invest in storage containers, laundry baskets, etc. without lids you can easily put things away with one hand or even from across the room.
Even trash can lids can prevent you from clearing a mess easily so find one with a foot pedal to continue decluttering without having to open a container.
Tip #3: Use Drawer Organisers
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Draw Organisers aren’t only for the bathroom although they are great for that as mentioned in our 20 Small Bathroom Storage Ideas for Happier Living.
Utilise drawer organisers in as many rooms as possible.
They can be great for organising small items in the office or kitchen but you can also use them in your bedroom to organise underwear and socks.
They come in many different sizes and material so you can easily fit them into any drawer.
Tip #4: Work Clearing Surfaces Into Your Routine
Most homes have that chair or living room table that everyone drops their things on when they get home.
These are areas that build up clutter quickly and can be easy to overlook or ignore.
Try adding time to your nightly routine to clear these surfaces off.
It may be hard at first but if you treat it just like brushing your teeth or washing your face, soon you won’t even think about it.
Tip #5: Use Clear Containers
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Organise like an expert with this classic tip.
Clear containers are stackable, usually light and of course see through so it’s no surprise that this is one of the oldest organisation ideas.
Clear containers are great for storing out of season items like holiday decorations so they are protected if being stored in an attic or garage.
They are also great for shoes or accessories to easily see inside and create the perfect outfit.
Tip #6: Arrange Things By How Often You Use Them
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It can be hard to organise deep cabinets, whether it’s in the kitchen, bathroom or another room.
Aside from buying an organiser for these cabinets you can also get organised by placing things in the order you use them.
Things that are used less often can be put towards the back of the cabinet and then items you use daily can be placed in front of them. Don’t hold onto those expired items!
Tip #7: Set Boundaries
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It can be easy to collect things you enjoy.
A simple tip to help with this is to set boundaries for your project or activity.
If you love crafting, dedicate one drawer to craft supplies and do not collect more than the drawer can hold.
If you do find your cabinet or drawer starting to fill up, evaluate what you don’t use and think about replacing it with the newer items you want.
This also helps with organising because you know everything is in one spot.
Tip #8: Try New Folding Techniques
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Are you still folding your clothes and stacking them on top of each other in the dresser or closet?
Try a new folding technique and discover how much more room you have, plus you can easily identify your clothes without pulling them out of their storage space.
Maybe you have heard of the KonMari technique that is taking over the world but if you haven’t there are tons or articles and videos from organisation experts to help you get started.
Try it with shirts, towels, sheets and anything else you are folding before storing.
Tip #9: Use Towel Bars & Racks Everywhere
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Towel bars or racks are no longer just for the bathroom.
It is surprising how many ways you can use a towel holder so get creative with it.
Adding hooks to a traditional bar can help you organise tools, gift wrapping supplies and more.
Utilise this tip with some free wall space to organise items that might be cluttering a drawer or cabinet.
You can also use a towel rack by hanging it on the back of a door to hang up scarves, pants, jewelry, etc.
This will make your life easier by freeing up space in your closet and also allowing you easy access to the items by simply opening the door.
No more bending over to dig in drawers or the back of the closet.
Tip #10: Color Code Your Files
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Color coding your files eliminates the need for labels and helps you not have to sort through stacks of paperwork or files that all look the same.
By assigning different colors to certain things you will know if you are looking for bills to look in the blue section or for medical records to look in the red section, etc.
This simple tip will help you organise your home office in no time. Increase your productivity by reducing the time it takes to find something or file it away.
Tip #11: Hang Pots & Pans
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Pots and Pans cause so much clutter in cabinets and sometimes they don’t stack well which takes away even more space.
This tip expands on Tip #9 because you can use a towel bar or hooks to hang up those pots and pans on a free wall. Towel bars are also good for storing lids.
Once the clutter of the pots and pans is gone you have a whole cabinet for food or other kitchen products.
Remember: some of the other tips from this post when you store things in the now empty cabinet. It can be a big space and you don’t want to fill it with junk.
Tip #12: Use Magnetic Strips
Even with Tip #3, a draw organiser can get cluttered in the bathroom with so many small items.
You can solve that by adding magnetic strips inside a medicine cabinet to organise hair clips, makeup brushes and other small metal items discreetly.
This also brings more items eye level, making them easier to access.
We also discuss this tip in 20 Small Bathroom Storage Ideas for Happier Living.
Tip #13: Contain Playtime With A Blanket
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It can be hard to keep an organised house with kids, especially at playtime but this tip might help.
Lay down a blanket and place the toys in the center then tell your little one to play inside of the blanket.
Hopefully during playtime all of the toys stay inside the blanket so at the end you can grab the corners to pick up and easily dump the toys into a box or bin.
Tip #14: Store Shoes Heel To Toe
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This tip works better for heels but you can try it with boots or other styles and see if it saves you some room.
By lining up your shoes heel to toe, you can fit more shoes on a shelf or rack.
It also helps you see the full shoe so you can easily pick the perfect pair for any outfit.
Also use Tip #6 and organize your shoes by how often you use them, placing the ones you wear more higher up or closer to you when you access them.
Tip #15: Reclaim Your Storage Space
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The garage and attic are the easiest rooms to become cluttered but you can take control back.
Instead of piling up boxes on the floor in your garage, reverse it and stack them overhead.
Make sure your shelves are sturdy enough to support the weight or invest in some strong ones.
Moving the storage boxes overhead clears up a lot of floor space.
When putting containers up top, make sure to follow tip #5 and use clear bins.
This will make staying organised so much easier. Instead of having to pull boxes up and down, searching for your item, you can clearly see into the box to identify which one you need before moving any of them.
Tip #16: Embrace the “Drop Zone”
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Some of our tips have talked about clearing a landing area or “drop zone” but what about embracing it?
Most families tend to have an area where they drop things as soon as they enter the house.
If you don’t designate one, then things can be left anywhere and that becomes unorganised very quickly.
By setting up a designated “drop zone” you are decluttering the rest of your house and keeping everything you need to leave organised.
Shoes, jackets, wallets, keys and more can all be found in one location.
Tip #17: Contain Plastic Bags
It’s nice to have a plastic bag when you need it but sometimes collecting them becomes a burden.
There are many different ways to organise your plastic bags so you can get creative with this tip also.
One way to organise them is in a traditional bag sleeve that hangs on a door knob or in a pantry.
You could also fold them to make them take up less space or another option is pictured above.
You could put them in empty tissue boxes to add a decorative touch to your bag storage.
Tip #18: Practice One In, One Out
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If you like to constantly get new clothing or household items, then this tip will help balance the clutter that can accumulate.
Every time you buy a new article of clothing or new item, you either get rid of or donate one thing, matching what you purchased.
For example, if you buy a shirt then choose to donate or throw out a shirt
This tip can also be applied to your common household items you’ll find in your bathroom or kitchen.
If you buy a new pan and spatula for cooking, get rid of your old worn-out one.
Make a conscious effort to keep the number of items you own following a new purchase.
Tip #19: Identify What You Wear
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This tip is one you can start immediately and then slowly start seeing the shocking results over time.
First, hang all of your clothes facing the same direction on the hanger.
The top of the hanger will either be facing you or facing a wall.
After each laundry cycle when you hang your clothes, reverse the hanger to have the top facing the other way.
Check-in after 1 month, 3 months, 6 months to see which hangers are still facing the original way.
This will help identify what you wear most often and which ones you pass up.
If you haven’t worn it in 6 months, that’s probably a good indication that you can get rid of it.
You’ll be surprised to find out that you don’t actually wear one of your favorite tops even though you’ve had it for years.
Use this tip as a strategy to donate the clothing that is not apart of your typical routine.
For more tips like this check out How to Downsize your Wardrobe: The Complete Checklist.
Tip #20: Take The 12-12-12 challenge
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A little competition can help motivate you to declutter your home.
The 12-12-12 challenge is simple but effective.
A simple task of choosing 12 things to throw away, 12 things to donate, and 12 things to return to their proper home.
We mentioned the last one in tip #1 but this takes it a step further.
We all have those items we haven’t used in months that could benefit someone else by donating them to your local thrift store.
If you are having trouble letting go of things, we have some tips for that in our Minimalist Living: Follow These 9 Steps for a Better Life guide.
Most people also have a closet or drawer in their home that’s a collection of random items that could probably be thrown away if it’s just taking up space.
And we all misplace common items like clothes on the couch or a hairbrush on a table that would take seconds to return to their proper place and help declutter your common space.
To spice it up, make it a competition with your roommate or partner to see who can go around and collect each of their 12 items the fastest.
Tip #21: Find a Professional Storage Service
If you have gone through this whole guide to declutter your home, even some of the later tips that involved getting rid of a few things, but you still have too much stuff to store at home, find a professional storage service.
There are many options when it comes to storage units so you need to find the best one.
First identify the size of the unit you will need and then see what services the company offers.
Many just provide the storage unit with no assistance moving your items.
At STORED, we are doing things a bit differently.
We will come and collect your items, transport them back to the secure storage facility and return you items to you at the time and location of your choice.
Sounds good, right?
Our professional storage experts will help you with your storage needs, with a service that is far superior than self-storage.
So if you need a reliable and affordable moving and storage solution, you can contact us at 020 3637 1234, and talk to one of our storage experts.
We are here to help you with your needs.
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