Clutter Free Home
The great Albert Einstein once said, “out of clutter, find simplicity.”
Clutter free home – is it possible? Clutter in your home can make your space feel confusing, messy, and inefficient. When your home is cluttered, the rest of your life can feel chaotic and disheveled as well.
With the popularity of people like Maria Kondo and her “Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” more and more people are discovering the benefits of reducing clutter in their homes and enjoying a fresh, clean space.
Creating a clutter free home doesn’t need to feel intimidating; there are dozens of simple steps you can take to spruce up your home and create the tidy, efficient space you desire. If the current layout of your home is encouraging disorder and disorganization, a good room renovation or home remodeling may be in order.
Without proper organizational elements and designated storage spaces in your home, clutter will continue to creep in time and again. A home design solution that’s created to integrate custom organizational solutions will help you live a productive, efficient life while allowing you to enjoy your space more.
Determine The Source of The Clutter
Clutter can be found anywhere in your home. Still, it’s most often found in the rooms or areas that don’t have adequate storage and organizational opportunities. If your home lacks structural solutions, it’s time to start thinking about room remodeling.
It all starts with finding the source of the clutter. You don’t necessarily have to renovate your whole home, there are usually a couple of rooms in your home that bear the brunt of your clutter.
Where’s your clutter coming from? Here are the most common sources of disorder in your home. Start here for a clutter free home.
- Mail and paperwork
- Scraps of paper and sticky notes
- Chargers and other electronic devices
- Outerwear (coats, hats, mittens, etc.)
- Books and magazines
- Decorative items and knickknacks
- Appliances and their additional parts
- Manuals
- Laundry piles
- Tools and hardware
- Tupperware and other kitchen extras
- Shoes
Once you determine the source of your disorganization, it becomes easier to learn how to create a clutter free home and implement a system that creates a tidier environment.
Create a Clutter Free Home Efficiently
There are several ways to cut back on the clutter in your home, below is our list of decluttering ideas that can improve the efficiency and tidiness of your home.
Part Ways With Unused Items
If you haven’t used something in over a year, get rid of it. Whether you’re hanging onto that china set, you were gifted for your wedding, or your child’s baby gear that hasn’t been used in a decade, if it’s not being used, it’s probably time to let it go.
Rather than holding onto things that you feel like you should keep because it was a gift or it was a great deal if you’re not using it, it’s taking up precious space in your home and life.
Designate a Space For Essentials
Your keys, wallet, phone, purse, etc. all need a place to rest when you walk in the door where you know you’ll be able to find them when it’s time to head back out. You can add in shelving, cubbies, hooks, or even a front entry table by the door to neatly stash your essentials.
Create a Mudroom
If the entryway to your home doesn’t have the capacity to store your coats, hats, shoes neatly, and other outdoor wear, you may want to consider a new room renovation that includes a mudroom area. A functional mudroom has plenty of hooks, cubbies, and spaces to store all the outdoor gear that you don’t want to end up sitting in the middle of your entryway in a disheveled mess. This is a great step in creating a clutter free home – take care of it as you walk in the door.
Get Clutter Free with Built-Ins
Many new room designs are incorporating smart storage options built right into the room’s walls. Built-ins are popular in living spaces to add a storage element that is both discreet and visually appealing. Built-in shelving is a popular option for around television and entertainment centers as a place to neatly display books, photographs, and other decorative items without taking up extra space in the room.
Utilize Vertical Design and Storage
In most people’s homes, space is limited. Rather than add in storage that protrudes and takes up more space in your home, try using vertical storage space that goes up. Vertical storage takes up less space on your floor and can help provide a clutter free home while preserving your space.
Outfit Your Closets With Additional Storage
Most home closets have only basic shelving available, and its usually never enough to keep things organized. Try adding in more shelves, organizers, and hooks to ensure everything has its place, and you can quickly locate all your items.
Stay On Top Of Your Mail
It seems like we all have an endless flow of mail and paperwork to contend with. To reduce paper clutter, you can implement a mail sorting system that will prevent the dreaded pile-up of mail; this can be a simple filing tray system or set of folders.
By creating a system that encourages you to open, sort, and destroy correspondence immediately, you can reduce clutter and stay on top of bills and other essential documents. There’s nothing worse than paying a bill late because it got lost in a pile of unorganized mail.
Additionally, it’s wise to take a look at what kind of mail you’re getting. If you’re subscribed to magazines or catalogs that you’re not using, unsubscribe and eliminate that extra pile of junk and waste of paper.
Follow The “One In, One Out” Policy
This policy is excellent to help you accumulate less. If you purchase something that you want or need for your home, make a pact to donate or throw away something else to make room for it. The idea is that, instead of compiling your possessions, you can keep the number of things you own roughly stable over time by replacing a new item with an old, unused item.
Keep a Donation Pile and Donate Regularly
Speaking of donating, this is the perfect way to remove clutter while also supporting a cause. Just because you have something that no longer serves you doesn’t mean that it should be thrown in the trash. You know the saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Keep a donation box handy and add items that are in good condition that you wish to get rid of. Be sure to empty your box by regularly donating, though, or else this too will end up as a source of clutter. There are likely many donation centers and boxes located throughout your town or city. Some places, like the Salvation Army, may even come to your home and collect the items for you.
Don’t Pursue a Clutter Free Home If You Don’t Have an Organized Room Design
If you don’t have space in your home to organize your clutter, don’t waste your time merely shuffling the excess from one room to another. If you consistently find that your space is messy and disorganized, you should consider a new room design that promotes organization, as this is the real key to a clutter free home.
We would love to help. Call us today for a free consultation on how to create that perfect clutter free home. Enjoy your space, enjoy your home – we can provide a complete home improvement solution, kitchen design or basement remodel.