Tips To Cut Down On Clutter In The Home

Tips To Declutter Your Home

Wondering about tips to cut down on clutter in the home? Well, you’re definitely in the right place for that!

There’s a reason that the word mess rhymes with stress… because unfortunately, you can’t have one without the other. And sometimes the best thing you can do is hire a cleaning company for junk removal and a haul out.

Did you know that chronic clutter, untidiness in the home and a mess can leave your body in the fearful state of fight-or-flight mode? This can be taxing not only on your mind but also on your body. It’s much easier to reach for the bag of chips in the cupboard or the ice cream in the freezer when a cluttered house calls for your attention.

That’s understandable. They call it fight or flight for a reason.

But keep in mind the harmful effects clutter can have on your physical and mental health. It can:

If you’re not sure whether or not you have a clutter problem, think of this: if in order to accomplish a task you have to move things around, or feel overwhelmed by everything staring back at you, then clutter has prevailed.

And it might be stressing you out more than you realize.

decluttering tips mess equals stress

Here are some tips on how to cut down on clutter

1.   Only Keep Things That Bring You Joy

What exactly does this mean?

Well, let’s take a page out of Marie Kondo’s handbook. Her Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo changed the game of decluttering.

Her technique is simple. Take something in your hands, hold it for several seconds, and ask yourself: does this bring me joy?

Perhaps it’s an old T-shirt, a pair of nice sneakers you’ve only worn once, or a drawing you drew half a decade ago. The technique is the same. If something doesn’t bring you joy, it has no home in your house.

As Marie Kondo would say, listen to your heart, not your head. If you don’t feel joyful or some sort of useful connection to the item, let it go.

This includes everything from clothes to furniture to kitchen household items.

2.    A Place for The Essentials

First and foremost – your pockets.

Catchalls are a wonderful solution. Buy two – one for the entryway and one for your bedroom. When you come home, now you have a place to put your keys. When you get undressed and empty your pockets, now you have a place to put your Chapstick, your lucky rock, or that safety pin you’ve been meaning to take to work.

You can’t have a catchall in every room, but you can carry the sentiment with you.

Consider saving the box your perfume or electric razor came in. Cut off the top and place it in the drawer. Now you not only have a place to store said razer, but you can put things like a comb in there, or your eyeliner, or the dental floss.

What this does is relocate things to one spot instead of having them scattered all over the place.

3.   Borrow Instead of Buy

Not only will this save you clutter, but it will also save you money. Here are some things you can absolutely borrow (or rent) instead of purchase:

Note: Some baby items should absolutely not be passed around, but most reusable baby gear is perfect for borrowing.

If you don’t snowboard regularly, consider renting. The same goes for camping. Before you purchase that 3-room tent, think of where you’ll store it and how often you’ll use it. Did you know you can rent from REI?

The bottom line… If you’re only going to use it once, consider renting or borrowing. Your house will thank you.

4.   Garage Sales and Selling Apps

Do garage sales ever really go out of fashion? Yes and no.

Naturally, with the new advent of apps in the twenty-first century, there are new ways to hold garage sales from the comfort of your couch.

The app Offer Up is a great solution to buy and sell locally. Just take a picture of the item you want to sell and wait for people to bid on it. Once you have a buyer, set the terms of the pickup. Most times, they will come to you.

Other apps like Offer Up:

Note on COVID-19: Due to safety regulations, depending on where you live, masks may be required for in-person transactions.

decluttering tips

5.   Storage Furniture

Stylish or functional? Why settle for one when you can have both?

Storage furniture is a fantastic way to achieve the aesthetic you want while also eliminating clutter.

Bed frames with storage are trending more than ever before because companies are combining functionality with stylish features. Most bed frames come with six drawers all around, creating room to store extra linen, maybe some hats and ties, or even all those masks you now own.

A coffee table that doubles as a trunk is a wonderful solution to help your living room breathe. No place for all those board games? No problem.

What people see when they first walk in is important. A bench by the front door that doubles as shoe storage is a wonderful way to not only eliminate clutter but maintain a clean entryway. If you have kids and live in a wet climate, this is a wonderful way to keep track of all those pesky rain boots.

Either way, furniture with storage is a win-win for everyone.

Declutter your home today — say goodbye to stress!

Not only can decluttering your house ease your stress, but it can help you sleep better too. You should consider speaking to a company that offers heavy duty house cleaning if your mess is more unpleasant.

Companies like NJ’s Cleaning World, Inc. offer great services that can certainly help! Here is a link to their Google My Business listing if you want to reach out and ask them about junk removal in your home.

Psychology today says clutter “bombards our minds with excessive stimuli, causing our senses to work overtime”.

Imagine how well you’ll sleep knowing your house is clutter-free.

Imagine how free your mind will be to create, focus, and be productive.

It may seem like a “springtime thing” but getting rid of clutter all year round just may give you the peace of mind you’ve always wanted.