Greetings! Who needs to declutter? I certainly do. I wish I could say I decluttered once years ago and that was the end of the excess in our home, but for me it’s an ongoing process. We decluttered a lot before we moved here four years ago, yet we still accumulated many items we neither need nor have room for. Our garage turned into more of a storage room than a functional space.
Moving is a great opportunity to pare down, but it’s also a challenge because you’re transitioning into a different space. It’s easy to misjudge how much room you’ll have or which pieces you’ll actually use. Moving itself is tiring, and if you’re not replacing all your furniture you may need time to figure out what fits and what works best in the new home.
Clutter doesn’t only come from moving. Busy schedules, delayed decisions, design indecision, and procrastination all contribute. I’ve written about these struggles and how I tackle them in my books Simply Home and Make Room for What You Love.
Deadlines motivate me, so with a family member moving in this weekend, we’re decluttering, rearranging, and creating space for her in our lower level. Having a deadline has pushed us to focus on some of those out-of-sight areas—like the basement and garage—and it feels great to make progress.
Even if you don’t have time for a major decluttering project right now, there are small actions you can take that will immediately make your home feel calmer and more organized.
Here are six practical tips I use to make my house feel less cluttered:
1. Clear the floors.
My husband taught me this tip when our kids were small: if the floors are covered or clutter accumulates in corners, the whole house feels messy. Spend a few minutes each day picking up items from the floor and you’ll notice an immediate improvement in how tidy the rooms look.
2. Empty the surfaces.
Look around the room—are tables and counters piled with things you don’t need? Even clearing a single surface makes the space feel calmer. Try setting a 15-minute timer and focus on clearing surfaces; you’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish when you work with a deadline.
3. Make some room.
Give closets, drawers, and rooms some breathing space. Donate, discard, or store a portion of what’s filling a closet or half of the accessories in a room, and the change will be dramatic. A little editing goes a long way toward making spaces feel orderly.
4. Close the drawers and cabinets.
Open drawers and cabinet doors visually shout “mess.” Walk through your home closing drawers and cupboards to create a neater, more streamlined appearance throughout your rooms.
5. Straighten the dining chairs.
It’s a small detail, but chairs pushed in at the table create an instantly tidy look. Taking a moment to straighten and align chairs makes the dining area—and the whole room—feel more put together.
6. Clean the kitchen sink.
A sink full of dishes makes the entire kitchen feel cluttered. Make it a habit to wash the dishes and wipe the sink each day so the kitchen looks clean and welcoming.
I’ve shared many organizing tips and ideas that have inspired me in my own home.
Always start with decluttering; getting organized feels even better afterward.
Here’s a round-up of helpful posts and resources I’ve written that offer practical organizing strategies and inspiration:
The Secret to Getting Organized
10 Minute Household Tasks to Organize Your Life
Kick Excuses to the Curb: Confessions on Organizing & Decluttering
A Bag A Day Keeps the Clutter Away: Twelve-Month Decluttering
9 Clever Organizers to Tidy Your House
How to Get Organized in a Small House
How to Organize Papers You Don’t Want to Lose
Pretty and Functional Bathroom Storage Ideas
Happy Drawers: Simple Organizing Ideas
10 Habits of People with Organized Houses
How to Set Daily Routines that will Transform Your Life
5 Takeaway Tips from a Small Office
My Kitchen Pantry and Tips for Pantry Organization
DIY Organized Free-Standing Command Center
How to Clean Your House When You’re Busy
How to Eliminate Paper Clutter Forever
Habits for an Organized Home
How to Organize a Small Kitchen
9 Ways to Get Organized Now
5 Minute Baking Drawer Organization: Using What You Have
Find inspiration and strategies in my book Make Room for What You Love.
More books by The Inspired Room include:
Simply Home (a two-in-one book combining Simple Decorating and Simple Organizing)
Love the Home You Have (New York Times Bestseller)
All books
Room and kitchen sources are available in my shop and resource lists.
