6 Steps to Creating a Decluttered Home

Everything you need to know to declutter and create a home you love!

Have you ever had a moment where you accidentally overfilled your cup? And I'm talking about your literal cup. Whether it's a glass of water, your favorite morning beverage or maybe even a Diet Coke.

Now, of course you didn't plan on filling it so full but the end result is a drink that goes right to the rim. And while a kid might sometimes think a challenge is fun, or more is always better, we as adults quickly realize that having a cup that is a little too full is more problematic than the little extra bit of drink you might get to enjoy.

However, we often still try to walk to the other side of the room with said precarious drink. We have to walk much more slowly and hope that we don't spill. If that process of walking slowly and carefully isn’t already costing us more time, we also have to worry about the possibility of spilling, which would create a mess and require even more time cleaning up when all we wanted to do was enjoy a simple drink.

At ¾ full, we still have plenty of beverage, but it changes everything in terms of:

• Having the freedom to cross the room at a normal pace.

• Saving time by not having to accommodate our overflowing glass.

• Not worrying about spilling and creating even more work.

Yes, at ¾ full we have enough room for a little bit more, but the burden that extra little bit brings is not worth the hassle it also adds.

Overflowing with literal piles to sort through, never ending to do lists, booked schedules, bursting closets, overfilled pantries, and crazy garages. I know we all live differently, but I have learned that even the most organized people are often living at capacity.

If your house is perfectly organized but at capacity, where does that leave you when Christmas comes? Or back to school school shopping? Or if a big life event, sickness, or injury happens and life and schedules are thrown off?

I have often lived by (and taught) about the principle of being realistic about the space you are currently living in and making that space work for you, which usually means letting go of any excess in smaller homes. Once you set boundaries about what your home can fit, try and live by the one-in-one-out rule

But what if we tried to live by a little bit higher law? What if instead of filling our house to the brim and then practicing the one-in-one-out rule, we only allowed our home to be at 75% capacity? What if instead of buying ever slimmer hangers to fit more shirts and file folding our clothes so we can fit more items (even though I love slim hangers and will forever file fold everything I own), what if we gave the spaces in our home room to breathe and room to grow? That way, when something unexpected happens and we encounter a ‘bump’, we don’t find ourselves overflowing with a huge mess that we don’t have time for.

Have you ever organized your closet and gotten everything to fit and it looks amazing and you feel accomplished and motivated? That’s a great feeling! I’ve often wondered and tried to understand why the majority of people’s efforts to get organized don’t always stick. There are plenty of reasons. I believe organization is truly a skill. Spouses and kids can disrupt the best of systems. Not having the right products can impact maintenance.

That means that the effort we need to exert to keep it all in is exponentially greater than if we left some wiggle room. And inevitably (as with a glass filled right to the rim), a bump causes a spill and all of a sudden a perfectly beautiful glass of Diet Coke has now become a big sticky mess.

Today we're going to talk about things and tactical ways to approach clutter in your home. However, I hope this analogy will help paint a picture of all things in life for you. And while I would like my cup to overflow with gratitude and all good things, my current life goal is not to have an overflowing home, or schedule, or to do list.

I’m aiming for 75% full. I have confidence that leaving that extra room in my life and home will open the doors for more opportunities, more peace, and eliminate the inevitable trip and mess that usually ensues when I am living at capacity.

6 Steps to Declutter Any Area of Your Home

Step 1: Prepare

The first step to creating a decluttered home is to recognize your pain points and identify which areas are the smallest and most manageable. Start with the biggest pain point and least overwhelming space first (if your biggest pain point is a garage or a storage room, find something more manageable like a junk drawer or mismatched sock bin). As you learn to flex your decluttering muscles, the bigger projects will feel more doable.

Decide on a time for your decluttering project and enlist help if you think you will need it. Find a great audio book, podcast, or create a playlist you will love. I have found that listening to something that inspires or motivates me while I'm tackling a project I've been procrastinating really helps me get things done.

Create 4 landing places (at least):

1. Trash: separate recycling and trash if possible.

2. Donations: decide on where you want to donate your items ahead of time. Create a designated cardboard box or trash bag for the donation center or neighbor/friend who will receive your donations.

3. Relocate: this can be one box or multiple to differentiate between returns, belongs to someone, or belongs somewhere else in the home. Sometimes I will use post-its to separate piles that need to be relocated throughout the home.

4. Questions: To be decided later. If anything is too difficult for you to decide on, just set it aside here. The first part of the decluttering process should feel easy and unemotional. If there are items you want to declutter, but it’s pulling at your heart a little bit, put it here and we will come back to it later.

Step 2: Categorize

Empty the space you are decluttering or collect all like items. This is where the fun begins.

If you are focusing on a space like a drawer, empty all the contents and sort by category. For example, a junk drawer or a nightstand drawer.

If you are focusing on a category, collect all like items from around the house so you can have everything together in one place. Think magazines, mugs, cords, etc.

Pro tip: Use a timer to stay focused. It is easy to get ahead of yourself when you are feeling motivated. Commit to one space and set a timer to stay focused and complete one task 100% instead of starting any other side projects.

Step 3: Decision Time

Getting good at making decisions requires a mindset shift. It is very personal and there is no right or wrong answer. Come back to your why. What is your goal? How can you live with more intention? How can managing the items in your home help you to clear your mind so you can focus more on what really matters and less on managing, cleaning, and tidying ‘things’. Ask yourself what value is the item adding to your life TODAY?

Remember!

• The money has already been spent.

• The gift has already been given (and/or received).

• The memory has already been made.

Here are a couple of rules that help me when me or our clients are making decisions about items that haven’t been used in a while and may not be used again:

• 20-20 rule: if an item costs $20 or less and is replaceable in 20 minutes or less, let it go.

• Spontaneous combustion rule: if the item were to spontaneously combust, ask yourself if you would go out and replace it. If you would, then you know it's an item you use and should keep.

Pro-tip: Throw out any bulky packaging. The more packaging you have the more cluttered and less efficient your space will be.

Other questions to ask when deciding on what to declutter:

• Is it being used regularly?

• What is its purpose?

• How many do I realistically need?

• When was the last time I used it?

• When is the next time I expect to use it?

• What is the expiration date?

When making decisions around clothing, there are a few more questions I ask. Clothing can be hard because our bodies change, styles change, and we attach memories and emotion to clothes we wore at certain events and they remind us of specific moments.

However, the benefits of having a closet that suits you right now. Your body, your lifestyle, the season, the style… makes such a big difference. No one wants to look in a full closet and feel like they have nothing to wear or just see clothes that make them feel bad about themselves.

Here are questions to ask yourself when making decisions around clothing:

• When was the last time I wore it?

• Do I love it? Do I feel good when I wear it?

• Does it have any holes, stains, pilling, discoloration, missing buttons, etc?

• Is it hard to care for? (ie. Do you avoid wearing it because it needs to be dry cleaned or hand washed?)

• Does it fit me right now? Does it flatter my body type and shape?

• Do you have items with tags still on them? Do you have a plan to wear them soon?

• Does this fit my current lifestyle?

• Do I really need multiples of the same look?

• Would I buy this again?

Step 4: Give Your Items a Home

Put items back in a designated place. Refold, stack, and corral items in containers if needed. Remember, an open flat surface is not a permanent home (think counters, tables, shelves) when you are trying to eliminate clutter.

Pro tip: Adding labels to bins makes the home official and helps those in your household maintain your new systems.

Step 5: Trash, Donate, and Relocate

Don’t let those bags, boxes or piles sit. Your project is not complete until everything is put where it belongs (including trash and donations).

Step 6: Question Pile

Come back to your question pile and make final decisions. Now that everything is back and everything else has been cleared out… revisit your question bin. Do you need a little longer? Consider putting the question bin away somewhere and setting an alarm to revisit in a month or two… or more. Oftentimes, when we experience the space with less, our ability to let go of the excess increases.

I will share about letting go of sentimental items in a future blog post, but know that this is hard for everyone. We all have different backgrounds, experiences, and ways we view things. We have experienced grief and loss in different ways and process it differently as well. There is so much that can be done to make the decluttering process a positive one, even when dealing with personal items from a loved one who has passed.

I hope this has been helpful! You can access all this information in condensed form along with our 80 days to a decluttered home.

I truly believe that the first step to a home that is calm, the first step to systems that are easy to maintain, the first step to taking control of your home so it doesn’t control you is through decluttering. Mindfully and intentionally filling your home with items that have purpose will change everything. I can’t wait to hear how it goes.

Jen is the founder of Reset Your Nest, a Professional Home Organizing Business in Utah (servicing Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Alpine, Highland, Mapleton, and St. George). She loves creating order and systems out of chaos and is known for bringing a beautiful aesthetic as well as easy to maintain function to any space. She shares her tips and tricks on Instagram @reset_your_nest.