The Ultimate Guide on How to Keep a Clutter Free Home

As moms, the dream of a clutter-free home is always out there, but many times far from a reality. Children seem to create a mess at many times the rate that we can clean it up, so clutter seems to be a permanent situation. This dynamic leads to feelings of overwhelm and frustration- especially with all of the other things we do as moms.

But, don’t fear. The dream of a clutter-free home is closer than you think, and I am going to show you how to live with less stuff and how to maintain a flutter free home.

Stick with me, and I’m going to show you how to keep a clutter free home.

By forming new habits, you will be able to create and keep a clutter-free home for you and you family- and it won’t be nearly as hard as you think.

An organized home will not only look appealing, it will add to your overall sense of control and comfort. In this article I will show you how to accomplish this goal. If you can follow these simple tips you can maintain a clutter free home on an ongoing basis.

*This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.

How to Stop Clutter In Your Home

The first step in decluttering is to get into the habit of regularly assessing your stuff, and eliminating anything that is no longer of use. Doing this will also lead you to start being more mindful of the things that you bring into your home and considering its place in the home before you buy.

We all get excited when we go online shopping, especially when it comes to clothes and home decor. We want it all, but when it arrives we actually have no place to put it, so it ends up decluttering the home. Start making a rule that you actually have a need for an item, before you purchase it, and take it home. This will make a huge difference to help you maintain a clutter free home.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to feel overwhelmed when I have too much stuff in my home! After living in an RV for 5 years, I much prefer a simplified home, surrounded by things I actually need and use!

I am going to share my best tips for starting the decluttering process to help you get your home clutter free. From establishing daily cleaning rituals to help you get rid of excess stuff, to helping you find cabinet space for new items, and to help you finally clean out that junk drawer you have.

Understanding Clutter and Its Causes

Common Causes of Clutter

Let’s face it, most of us have some kind of physical clutter in our homes. Whether it’s a junk drawer or a cluttered garage, we can all do better.

There are lots of different reasons as to why we don’t have a clutter-free house! Some of the common causes include:

Excessive possessions: In today’s buy, buy, buy world, it is easy to end up with a ton of stuff that has no real value in our lives.
Lack of organization: When we fail to designate a home for each and everything, then things start to pile up. It important for everything to have its proper place.
Emotional attachment: Some items have emotional or sentimental value to us. But then again, sometimes we can be overly sentimental about items we just don’t need.
Procrastination: Simply failing to take action can also lead to accumulations of clutter. Time to get to work and create some organization.

Psychology Behind Accumulation

Understanding the psychology behind clutter can provide insight into your habits, making it easier to address the root causes. Some psychological factors that contribute to clutter include:

Fear of loss: Many people cling to items out of fear of losing them, even if they no longer serve a purpose or hold any value.
Perceived value: Sometimes we assign more value to items than they deserve, simply because of the moment or reason that the item was gotten in the first place.
Sentimentality: Those things that do have a memory attached may be particularly difficult to dispose of.
Decision paralysis: It can be hard to make the decision to get rid of things we have had for a while, but it is imperative to make a start.

By learning about and recognizing these constraints, you will be better able to understand your own motivations and the emotions that may be holding you back. Then you can develop a strategy to keep you motivated and moving forward.

Setting up a Clutter-Free Home

Establishing Boundaries and Zones

Creating a tidy and organized home starts with defining spaces and boundaries for each area. Start by dividing your home into specific zones:

Living area
Kitchen and dining area
Bedrooms
Bathrooms
Storage spaces

Ensure that items belonging to a particular zone stay in that area. Adopt a minimalist approach by letting go of any items that do not serve a purpose or bring joy to your life. This will help you in maintaining an organized and functional living space, as well as living clutter free. .

Creating Functional Spaces

After establishing boundaries and zones, focus on creating functional spaces within your minimalist home. Here are some simple tips:

Designate storage spaces: Assign a storage space for each item, and make it a habit to keep things where they belong. This could include shelves, cabinets, or containers. Proper storage ensures that your home stays organized and clutter-free.
Optimize rooms for specific activities: Make sure each room serves its intended purpose. For example, keep work-related items in a home office, and recreational items in a living or entertainment area. This helps in maintaining an organized environment, as items will be used and stored in their designated areas.
Utilize multi-functional furniture: Consider investing in furniture that serves multiple purposes, such as a bed with storage drawers or a coffee table with shelves, or an ottoman. This not only saves space but also contributes to maintaining a clutter-free home.

By following these guidelines and focusing on establishing boundaries and creating functional spaces, you can set up and maintain a clutter-free, organized, and minimalist home.

Decluttering Strategies

Decision-making and Prioritizing

To begin decluttering your home, a good starting point is making decisions and prioritizing. Focus on specific areas or categories of items in your home, like clothes or possessions on surfaces. Create three categories: Keep, Donate, and Toss. Go through each item and decide which category it belongs in. This process helps you take control and prioritize the things that matter.

Keep: Items that you use and enjoy frequently, or have significant personal value.
Donate: You may have things that are of no use to you, but are in good shape and may be used by others. These can be donated to Goodwill or another charity.
Toss: Get rid of any items that are broken, missing parts, or of no use to anyone.

Simplify and Reduce

As you start to reduce your clutter, you will start to feel lighter. It is actually quite liberating to get rid of loads of useless stuff. Once you have made decisions about each item, start reducing your possessions. here are some great tips to help.

Evaluate your clothes: Go through your wardrobe and remove items that don’t fit, you don’t enjoy wearing, or haven’t worn in the past year. Consider donating or selling these clothes. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a closet full of clothes that you actually wear in your daily life.
Deal with small items: Use containers, caddies, or drawer dividers to store small items like remote controls, keys, and other odds and ends. This will stop clutter and make surfaces clutter-free and organized.
Reduce visual clutter: Store items in closed containers, baskets, or cabinets to minimize visual clutter and create a calm environment.
Limit duplicates: Evaluate if you need multiple versions of the same item, like kitchen gadgets or tools, and keep only what you actually use. Do you really need 8 pairs of the same jeans when maybe 3 will do!
Stay consistent: Regularly assess your possessions and declutter as needed to maintain a clutter-free home. You can take 5 minutes each day to do a daily reset to live clutter free.

By applying these strategies in your own life, you’ll be well on your way to creating a more organized and clutter-free living space. Think how easier your home will be to clean it with less stuff in it.

Organizing and Managing Spaces

Bedroom and Closet Organization

To optimize and declutter your bedroom and closet space, follow these simple steps:

Sort through your clothing

Take the time to remove and examine all the clothes in your closet. Don’t be afraid to let go of items you no longer wear or need. I think we all have a tendancy to keep clothes we ‘think’ we might wear at some point in our lives, when in actual fact, they just end up as more clutter in our closet, taking up much needed space. If you’re terrified to throw something away that you think you mught use, get some clear storage containers, put the clothes in there and put a label on the containerand date them.

When you’ve got too many clothes, shoes, and bags in your closet, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But, decluttering your closet can be incredibly liberating. It’s time to get rid of all the things you don’t wear or don’t fit anymore.

You know the pieces; they’re hidden at the back of your closet, those impulse buys that you never see the light of day, and the gifts that don’t quite work for you. They’re not doing anyone any good, but you keep holding on to them anyway. Let them go, and you’ll free up some space, which is exactly what you need to create a clutter-free zone.

Sort Your Closet By Seasons or by Category

Once you’ve decluttered your closet, the next step is to sort your clothes by season, or category. Make three piles of clothes: one for clothes that you’ll wear in the spring/summer, one for clothes that you’ll wear in the fall, and another in the winter. This will help you to move heavy sweaters and pants to the back of the closet when you are not using them.

Maybe arranging your clothes by category will work better for you, e.g. pants, shirtss, dresses etc. Doing this will help you to easily find what you need and to use the clothes you have!

The One-Year Rule

The one-year rule is simple: if you haven’t worn an item within the last year, it’s time to let it go. We all have those clothes that we love but never actually wear. Whether it’s a dress that’s a little too small now or a pair of shoes that are too uncomfortable, it’s time to say goodbye. If you haven’t worn the iten in on year, it needs to go! Pass it along to someone else who will.

Invest in Closet Organizers

Now that you’ve decluttered your closet, it’s time to make the most of the space you have. Investing in closet organizers like hanging shelves or multiple-layer hangers will make it much easier to see all of your clothes. Keep your closet color-coordinated, with the lightest colors to the front to create an airy feel. For extra storage, use under-bed storage bins or vacuum bags to store your offseason clothes and get them out of your way.

Toy Organization in a Bedroom

Decluttering your home when you have kids is particularly hard, especially when it comes to toys. But don’t worry; it’s possible to have a tidy home without sacrificing fun and creativity. I am going to show you several different ways for you to store toys will help you to keep a decluttered home.

Store Toys in Furniture with Hidden Storage Compartments

Furniture with hidden storage compartments is a genius way to keep toys and other clutter out of sight while still having easy access to them. For example, a storage ottoman is a perfect place for putting things into like extra blankets, pillows, and toys, and it doubles as a footrest or extra seating. You can store craft supplies in boxes to hire the mess!

Clear Storage Bins for Easy Visibility

Clear plastic storage bins are a must-have for any playroom or bedroom. They allow you to organize your child’s toys by category, making it easy for them to find what they’re looking for and easy for them to put things back where they belong.

Plus, since they’re clear, they can easily see what toys are inside without having to open the bin. You can also add labels to the bins to make it even easier for everyone to know where everything goes.

Use Wall Shelves for Books and Small Toys

Wall shelves are a great way to use vertical space and keep small toys and books organized. They also make it easy for your child to see and grab whatever they need without having to dig through a bin or drawer. You can also add some decorative elements to the shelves to make them more visually appealing.

Wall Cube Organizers – My Favorite

This is what I used when my kids were small and it worked perfectly. I got mine at Target for cheaper than Amazon, I believe. The kids were great at putting things away in the little cube boxes, I didn’t care what went with that, just that theyYou can get a smaller set for the bedroom, or a bigger set if you are lucky enough to have a playroom.

As you start the decluttering process, now is the time to get rid of broken toys, ripped books, and old art supplies that no-one uses anymore. With kids, we always have too much stuff, so when you have less stuff in your home, it’s easier to keep your home clutter free.

Look, just having everyone make their beds every day and putting things back where they belong, will help you to easily maintain a clutter free home.

Bathroom and Kitchen Management

Efficiently managing your bathroom and kitchen space can make a significant impact in maintaining a clutter-free home. Here are a few suggestions:

Control countertop clutter: This is where you want to get all flat surfaces free of clutter. Keep your bathroom and kitchen countertops clear by only having daily use items on display, like your toothbrush. Store all other belongings in drawers or cabinets. Get your makeup off your countertop and into an organizer. Keeping your flat surfaces clear is the best way to keep your home tidy. Move anything off your kitchen counter that does not belong there, the same goes for your dining room table, stop any clutter building here and put things back where they should be.
Organize cabinets and drawers: Utilize dividers, shelf risers, and labeled containers to keep everything in its place. I purchased these to store cans in my pantry, doing this gave me much needed extra space in the pantry.
Develop a cleaning schedule: Establish a weekly cleaning routine for these areas, ensuring surfaces, appliances, and floors are kept clean and unburdened by unnecessary items. Take a few minutes at the end of your day and have everyone help putting things in their proper place, doing this will stop you from having a cluttered home.
Store products vertically: Make use of vertical storage solutions like door-mounted racks or hanging baskets for items such as toiletries, cleaning supplies, and spices.
Manage waste efficiently: Use appropriate-sized waste bins and empty them regularly to avoid unsightly and unhygienic overflow.

By following these guidelines in organizing and managing your bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen spaces, you’ll be well on your way to maintaining a clutter-free and tidy home.

Paper Clutter and Junk Management

Reducing Paper Clutter

One of the biggest sources of clutter is paper. Newspapers, junk mail, bills, etc. The first thing you can do is to reduce the amount of paper that comes into your home. Switch to online bill pay, paperless billing, and receive bank statements and receipts in digital form. This helps both the environment and keeps your home tidy.

When dealing with existing paper clutter, follow these steps:

Sort your paper clutter into three piles: keep, recycle, and shred.
Go through the “keep” pile and organize the contents to file away.
Set up a small file to organize the papers that you really need to keep.
Set up electronic billing etc to get rid of as much paper as possible.

Having a system in place will enable you to sort paper that comes into the home more quickly in the future. Add this to your daily routine, as you receive stuff in the mail, decide there and then what to do with it.

Organizing Junk Drawers

The junk drawer is a necessary evil in most homes, but it does need to be cleaned out from time to time. Here’s how to start decluttering this drawer:

Empty the drawer and organize its contents.
Decide what items you need to keep, discard, or donate.
Put away whatever items belong somewhere else. Organize the remaining items into a drawer organizer or small bins to help keep the drawer neat and orderly. Put any items you plan to donate into a donation box.

By taking control of both paper clutter and junk drawers, you’ll be well on your way to maintaining a clutter-free home. Remember to regularly revisit these areas to stay on top of clutter and maintain organization.

Donation and Recycling

Donating Unwanted Items

As you work towards maintaining a clutter-free home, it’s essential to regularly evaluate and donate items that no longer serve your needs. When going through your possessions, identify items such as clothing, toys, books, and household goods that could be donated to charity organizations or given to friends and family.

Keep a donation box in each room to remind you to declutter and donate items on a regular basis. This will also make it easier for you to transport items for donation when the box is full.

Consignment and Recycling Options

For items with resale value or that you’re hesitant to part with, consignment stores can be a great option. Consignment stores allow you to sell gently used items while decluttering your home. With the money earned from consignment, you can put it towards new items or save for future needs, maintaining a minimalist lifestyle.

Recycling is another important component in achieving a clutter-free home. Environmental awareness and responsible disposal will help you make more conscious decisions about your possessions.

Containers: Implement a recycling system in your home with designated containers for paper, plastic, glass, and other recyclables. Ensure that these containers are easily accessible to encourage regular use.
Electronics: Dispose of unwanted electronics, like old phones and laptops, at designated recycling centers to reduce waste and avoid clutter buildup.
Batteries and lightbulbs: Many retail stores offer recycling drop-off points for hazardous items such as batteries and lightbulbs. Locate your nearest drop-off point to ensure proper disposal.

Remember to utilize these donation, consignment, and recycling options to maintain a clutter-free home and create an organized and refreshed living space.

Maintaining a Clutter-Free Lifestyle

Incorporating Daily Routines

To maintain a clutter-free home, it is essential to incorporate daily routines that involve organizing and tidying up. Take small steps to prevent clutter from accumulating, such as:

Dealing with paperwork immediately (disposing, filing, or scanning)
Washing dishes promptly after use and putting them away
Designating specific spots for items like keys, phones, and remote controls. I like the idea of keeping your keys at the front door on a hook.
Putting coats and bags in your hall closet instead of draped over a chair. Doing this will keep your home clutter free.
Keeping a junk box for broken items. We have so much physical clutter in our homes from stuff that doesn’t even work anymore!

By doing these tasks regularly, you will find it easier to keep your home organized and free from clutter.

Long-Term Habits

Developing new habits and long-term habits is essential to maintain a clutter-free lifestyle. Consider the following to live clutter free:

Periodically assess your belongings and discard or donate items that are no longer useful or hold sentimental value.
Keep furniture and decorations minimal, ensuring they serve a purpose in your space.
Regularly assess your home organization systems and adjust as necessary to ensure they work efficiently for you.
Change your shopping habits, so when you bring new stuff into your home, something needs to go.
Make sure at the end of the night, everything is in its designated place.

By committing to these habits, you will create an environment that supports a clutter-free lifestyle.

Woman putting clothes into a donate or keep box

Tips and Tricks for How to Keep a Clutter Free Home

Here are my best tips and tricks to help you maintain a clutter-free home:

Use organizing tools like bins, labels, and drawer dividers to make it easier to find and store your belongings.
Avoid impulse purchases by carefully considering whether an item will be useful and functional in your home before buying it.
Address common causes of clutter such as unopened mail, unread magazines, and unused kitchen gadgets by creating systems to deal with them effectively. For example, dedicate a space for incoming mail and sort and process it immediately.
Break down large organizing tasks into smaller, manageable steps to make decluttering less overwhelming.
Get the whole family involved in helping you to maintain a clutter free home.

I hope my ultimate guide to living a clutter-free lifestyle will help you to get your home clutter free and to maintain a clutter free home moving forward,