20 Things For A Clutter Free Home

Dishes in the sink, toys throughout the house, stuff covering every flat surface; this clutter not only makes our homes look bad, it makes us feel bad, too.

Walk into any middle-class home in the U.S. and you will come face to face with stuff—toys, trinkets, family photos, furniture, games, DVDs, TVs, digital devices of all kinds, souvenirs, nick-knacks, food, and more. We put our stuff anywhere in the house, every where there's room, or even if there's no room. We have Clutter-strewn garages, abandoned yards and families who are too busy to actually enjoy the possessions they work hard to acquire. 

George Carlin famously observed that "a house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it."

Buy stuff. Keep it. Get more of it. Keep that, too. Store it. Display it. Spend time on it. Spend money on it. Worry about it. Stress over it. Repeat. We are a clutter culture, and that, my friends is sad.

When clutter takes over, the home, can become a large contributor to our overall stress levels. - At least that’s what researchers at UCLA’s Center discovered when they explored in real time the relationship between 32 California families and the objects in their homes. 

It turns out that clutter has a profound affect on our mood and self-esteem. A link between high cortisol (stress hormone) levels in female home owners and a high density of household objects. The more stuff, the more stress women feel. 

Most women associate a tidy home with a happy and successful family. The more dishes that pile up in the sink, the more anxious women feel.

#flowersonmytable 

So here is a list of things you can do to keep your home clutter free.... 

1. Live Within Your Means 

This isn’t a new idea, but it’s a wonderful place to start if you’re aiming for a simpler, less cluttered life. What “live within your means” for your home is this: Let the size of your home dictate how much stuff you have, and not the other way around. If your closet is bursting at the seams, instead of dreaming of a bigger closet, reduce your clothes to fit the space you have. 

2. Purge Often 

Even if you get to a point where you have only as many things as will comfortably fit into your space, stuff has a way of accumulating. Go through your things often and get rid of the stuff you don’t use anymore. Instead of wasting time trying to keep things you don’t need under control, take a moment and purge some of these things you don’t need on a regular basis. You’ll feel so much lighter, and happier! 

3. Have A Place For Everything 

A place for everything, and everything in its place, is still some of the best organizing advice out there. While I agree with the quote "if your buying stuff to store your stuff, you have too much stuff" .... organization is a good thing. This is where clear plastic shoe boxes or a cabinet with lots of drawers can come in handy. 

4. Tidy Up As You Go 

When you take something out, put it away. When you walk in the door and take off your shoes, put them in the closet, not scattered in the hall! Hang that skirt you didn’t wear back in the closet! Clean it up and put it away before you move on. If you incorporate this into everything you do throughout your day, there will be a lot less lying around taunting you later. 

5. Go Paper Free or Condense Paper Clutter 

Scanning all the documents you’ve been hanging onto may seem like a daunting task, but once you’re done, they’ll be easily searchable and you’ll have that much less stuff to manage. That said, my husband and I are paper people.... we still keep paper receipts for our business, paper manuals, and other bills. However, we have drastically reduced the amount of paper we keep... 

6. Do Laundry On A Specific Day 

At my house, we don’t do laundry daily, - that is just one more thing to add clutter to everyday life. I do set a routine as to when the laundry gets done — and it gets washed, dried, folded, and put away all in the same day. 

7. Don’t Procrastinate 

Did a package get delivered today? Yay! Now take the contents out, pop the air-packets, break down the box and put it in the recycle bin. We live in the middle of nowhere, so we order a lot of products online for both personal use (can you say toilet paper?) and for our business. 

8. Clean The Kitchen As You Cook And After Dinner 

This may sounds pretty obvious, but while the food is cooking, clean the cutting board, and put away all the ingredients used to season your meal. When the oven timer goes off, you already have a head start on cleaning. Always clean up after cooking. If you quickly rinse your dishes and load the dishwasher right after you eat, the sink will be clear before you know it. A clean sink will instantly raise your spirits and decrease your anxiety. 

9. A Quick Sweep 

Keeping up with the clutter frequently makes it an easy, do-able task rather than an overwhelming chore. Fold the blanket on the couch, fluff up the pillows, tuck away any toys, shoes, put dirty clothes in the hamper, and make sure backpacks and bags are ready for the next day. Become a habitual putter-awayer. 

10. Focus On One Room At A Time 

Once a month, pick a room (or area, if your home is open-concept) to clean and vacuum everything like baseboards, doors and curtains, etc. Also clean windows, organize nick-knacks, etc. Tackling one room at a time and giving it a deeper scrub is less overwhelming, and more productive.

 And one other little secret: Clean doesn’t mean spotless. By incorporating these simple habits into your daily routine, they will help keep everything more tidy in less time. Your stress level will decrease, and your guests will definitely take notice at how awesome your place looks. It's funny... I rarely "clean" my house, but since we keep everything in it's place, most of my guests comment on how clean my home is!

11. Keep Surfaces Clean 

Don't Store Things On The Floor, Counters, or Tables.

Stacks of books, the box that should have been dropped off at the thrift store two weeks ago, your purse, the kids homework, and the laundry basket can all clutter up surfaces and make your home seem messier than it really is. Keep your floors, counters, tables, and flat surfaces clean.

12. Make the bed

If there’s one thing you can control in the day's chaos that lies ahead, it’s your bed. It doesn’t take but a few minutes, but this easy task sets your day up for success. Making your bed helps you start your day with a sense of productivity and order that’s likely to carry through to the next thing you do. My hubby and I keep our bedroom clean and free from stuff, as it is like our own little oasis in the middle of life!

13. Don't Over Decorate

One statement piece will make a much bigger impact than five small things. I'm all for making your home feel cozy, but too many decor items just become clutter and make your home appear messy. Choose your decor carefully and let it tell your story.

14. Donate And Get Rid Of What You Don't Need 

Stuff is reeking havoc in homes everywhere. Get rid of the ugly dish Aunt Sally gave you 5 Christmases ago. You don’t need 15 water bottles for a family of 4, and it’s likely time to get rid of that shirt your son grow out of months ago. And seriously, is your kid gonna want that macaroni craft project she made at school? Take a picture and let it go! It’s much easier to keep a home organized when there is less clutter in it. Treasure items with meaning, but don’t collect unnecessary stuff. 

15. Unburden Your Refrigerator Door

There is a correlation between the number of items stuck to the fridge door and the amount of clutter in the house. Toss extra magnets, file restaurant menus, and place calendars in less conspicuous places. (I keep my fridge completely cleaned off and love it.) And while your at it, clean your give your refrigerator a weekly refresh. Not only will cleaning your fridge help you keep things spic-and-span, but it will also help you create an accurate list of what you need on your next run to the store. 

16. Keep Toys Put Away 

There is absolutely no reason to have toys scattered all throughout the house. Have the kids only get one toy out at a time. U.S. consumers only have 3% of the world’s children, but we buy 40% of the world’s toys. And these toys live in every room, fighting for display space with kids’ trophies, artwork, and snapshots of their last soccer game. Just say no! Reduce the number of kids toys and keep what's left in it's home in the kids room. See my kids toys here! 

17. Beautify Your Home

Keep a vase of flowers on the table! Flowers add a touch of class and elegance to your home. Get a candle warmer and candle melts, or essential oils and a diffuser to keep your home smelling fresh. Add a few throw pillows and a comfy throw to snuggle up with. Live plants add warmth and clean the air. Use green, safe, toxic-free cleaning products. And, finally - make it yours. (I keep a funky little Type 3 elephant on my dresser, because it makes me smile, and a chainsaw chain on my livingroom wall!) Customize your home to your likes... make it your own! After all, you're the one who has to live there everyday.

18. Life Is About Experiences, Not Things.

We’re constantly being bombarded with advertisements that try to convince us that a happy life is all about having the latest stuff: a new car, an outdoor kitchen, an ice cream maker. But studies have shown that it isn’t the things in our lives that make us happy, it’s our experiences that we treasure most. So the next time you’re tempted to buy more stuff, ask yourself if the money wouldn’t be better spent on a vacation or a nice night out.

19. Forgive yourself and try again 

Remember that nobody is perfect, and nobody’s home is perfect. Even the homes you see in the magazines aren’t perfect — it took a whole team of stylists to make them that way. So if you have an off week, or month, and suddenly your house is a disaster, don’t panic. It’s never too late to forgive yourself and try again. 

20. Enjoy The Journey 

Life is lived in the everyday moments. 

See more de-cluttering posts here...