Stop Cluttering Up your Home in Three Steps

It’s a Catch-22: living in a cluttered home feels overwhelming, but getting rid of clutter can feel overwhelming, too. Why? Because we make a big deal out of it, turning it into a project we have to find time for, rather than a process we do a little at a time.

There’s an adage, which I discuss in my book 30 Days to a Clean and Organized House, about the best way to eat an elephant. The answer: one bite at a time.

In other words, you don’t think about how much work is going to take or how miserable it’s going to be. You just grab a fork (or whatever someone would use) and start in… one bite at a time. Just as we’re going to deal with clutter: a little at a time.

How to Declutter a Room

These steps are in order for a reason. It’s not just because the 1-2-3 approach is catchy, though it is and that helps you remember it. The steps are arranged to tackle the mess in short bursts without becoming distracted, overwhelmed, or bored.

Step 1: Choose your priority.

Pick ONE area to tackle. If your home isn’t too bad to start with, work on a room you can’t stand seeing messy. If you’re dealing with a lot of clutter, choose just one area in a room.

The point is to start with something that personally affects you—not your kids’ room, not your spouse’s dresser drawers, nothing that involves sorting through someone else’s stuff or making someone else happy. This is about letting you see the rewards of your effort from the onset, which will help you stay motivated.

Step 2: Do a 2-minute frenzy.

Now, spend two nonstop, frantic minutes grabbing everything that’s trash. Don’t think about it. Don’t debate about getting the money you spent back through selling it online or in a garage sale. Don’t start rationalizing about how you might use it someday or that a friend might like it.

If any of those things were true, you’d have sold it, used it, or given it away already. It’s trash. Treat it as such and toss it.

Step 3: Find three more things.

Next, find three things that belong somewhere else and take them there. Now. Kids’ shoes in your family room? Chuck them in their room. Dirty dishes on the coffee table? Take them to the kitchen. Library books to return? Put them on your seat in the car.

By limiting your efforts to just three things, you’re getting a start on decluttering the room. But—and this is important—keeping it to three things prevents your brain from feeling bored or overwhelmed. So, before those thoughts start to creep in, it’s time to shift your focus again.

Step 4: Circle back.

By this point, you’ve been working for five to ten minutes. And yet you’ve made progress toward getting rid of clutter! So, switch to another priority area and repeat the cycle there: a two minute frenzy followed by putting away three things. Now, again because third time’s a charm.

If you’ve been counting, this has only taken a total of 15-30 minutes—not an overwhelming amount of time at all. But you’ve cleaned up three different areas and that’s progress. It is also good enough for one day.

It’s a Process Not a Project

Making 15-30 minutes of progress is good! You don’t need to declutter your entire home in one day. It’s not a project to take over your life, it’s an ongoing process that’s part of living. Make that mental shift and you’ll be on your way to a decluttered home. Now, let’s talk about keeping that clutter from sneaking back in.

Keep a Bare Surface in Every Room

Choose a flat surface in each room to keep bare of knickknacks and decor. Nothing even set down “for just a second.” It stays bare 24/7. Why? Because having one bare horizontal surface prevents clutter blindness by forcing your brain to notice the contrast between the clean and cluttered spots.

Revisit the Process Daily

Every day, spend two minutes in each room of your home picking up trash. No debating with yourself. If it’s broken, outdated, expired, if you haven’t used it lately, or wouldn’t spend money on buying it today, get rid of it.

Have a Good Reason for New Things

Before you buy anything new, make sure you have three strong reasons for bringing it into your home. And, sorry, but I want it, I like it, or it’s on sale (or free) aren’t good reasons. Instead, ask yourself:

1. Do we truly need this?
2. Would anything we already have work just as well?
3. Why do I think we will use it regularly?
4. Does this seem like a good price considering how often we’ll use it?
5. Do I know right now where I’m going to put it, so it doesn’t become clutter?
6. Am I willing to put this away every single day if my family leaves it laying around?