Having an organized and clutter free home does not have to be an impossible task. We can have it all by discontinuing the following 7 habits. Having clutter in our home can also lead to clutter in our family and work life. These 7 habits are stopping you from having a clutter free home and mind.
You have too many accessories.
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It’s very common to over accessorize. Instead of the many accessories having a beautiful visual effect, it does the opposite. Having too many accessory items looks like clutter and takes away the purpose of having accessories. Accessories are meant to add decor to your existing pieces, not take the full attention away from them.
You are holding on to too many antiques.
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We often tend to hold on to items longer than we need to. Sometimes its simply too hard to part with sentimental items. We often become a prisoner of these items which cause clutter in our home and space. Instead of holding on to the item, try holding on to the memory. You don’t need to keep every keepsake to remember the event or person. (Stay tuned for our new blog post on how to let go of items.)
You are leaving rooms empty-handed.
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Stop leaving rooms empty-handed! Try to make it a habit to aways take items that don’t belong in that room out when you leave. We often walk throughout our homes multiple times a day. By simply relocating items while we move throughout our homes, we are easily getting rid of clutter at the same time.
You have not assigned a home for all of your items.
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Every item in your home should have an assigned home of its own. If items don’t have a home, they end up being permanently placed on tables, chairs, or countertops. Avoid over clutter by finding a home for all items and putting them away after use.
You are not putting your clothes away.
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Clothes can be the ultimate visual clutter in your bedroom. If clean clothes are often left not put away after washing, considering washing smaller loads. Wash the amounts you can easily put away. Dirty clothes can also be a problem. Instead of taking off your clothes and putting them in a stack in the corner, immediately hang up clothes you can wear again and put dirty clothes in a laundry hamper.
You are not making up your bed each day.
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Nothing makes a room appear unclean and cluttered like an unmade bed. Although it doesn’t take a lot of time, people often tend to skip on making up their bed. Sometimes the thought of taking a few extra minutes to make up the bed with sheets, blankets, and pillows may seem overwhelming. Don’t think you have to make it perfectly. Just try to pull the covers up and place the pillows near the top of the bed until you get into a routine. By making up your bed each day, it actually makes it easy to keep it made and can make your bedroom appear less cluttered.
You have too much paper clutter.
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Paper is the one item that we all constantly bring into our homes almost daily. We have mail, magazine, flyers, bills, invitations, and many other paper items that need to we receive often. Paper usually end up overflowing our tables, desks, and other horizontal areas. Stay tuned for our post on 7 Must-Do Ways to Tackle Paper Clutter.
I hope you found these tips for getting rid of clutter useful. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions. I would love to hear your thoughts on other habits you can break to achieve a clutter free home.
If you need help getting your home and life organized, register for my free “5 Days to an Organized Home & Life” email course. You’ll receive tips and suggestions for five days and a copy of my eBook. You can register for the free course at www.decoratorsvoice.com/free5daycourse.
For information about my Full Home & Life Organizational Strategies course, please visit www.decoratorsvoice.com/homestrategiescourse.
As always, thanks for stopping by. If you have any organizational or decorating questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I would love to hear from you. For information concerning our decorating services and products, please visit www.divineelementsofdesign.net
Thanks for the tips! I am so bad at folding and putting my clothes away, trying to work on that. Living in a smaller place pretty much forces me to do that now lol. I feel organziation doesnt come naturally to me and your blog is helping me, keep them coming :).
Thanks for reading. Laundry is a hassle for me as well. If I don’t take care of small loads, I’ll have a million clothes on the chair in my room.
Great tips, I really need to study these as I have so much clutter! I am far too sentimental and hold onto things forever!
It’s hard to part with sentimental items. You are not alone. Thanks for reading.
Love all of these tips! I went through some major decluttering over the past 6 months and it felt great.
That’s great.
I need to work on a few of these ! It would help so much, and give this Stay at Home Mom a little more Sanity.
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Agh!! Good reminder — thank you. I did a big declutter a couple of years back… but it’s all crept back.
Oh no, looks like it time to declutter again.
This is such a struggle for my fiancee and I (even though I don’t feel as if we have too much stuff, it’s mostly stuff not put away). The suggestion of never leaving rooms empty-handed is so helpful!
Thanks, you’ll be surprised how quickly things can fall into place.
Yes to all of these! I moved into a new house a couple months ago and was able to get rid of a lot, but I’m also realizing there’s still a lot I can get rid of!
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Yes, there is always stuff to declutter. We have to make a habit of periodically getting of things.
great advice! i live by myself & still manage to clutter – and it’s because I buy too many accessories like you say – especially seasonal ones – i get out of control!
You don’t have to display everything at one time. Consider changing it up.
Soo many of these are too true. I like to think if I keep getting rid of things eventually everything will have a place and everyone will notice to put their stuff away. While most of it is under control, the paper. My kids bring home so much every day, it just keeps coming back.
Yes, paper is a never ending cycle.
These are all great tips! I’ve been working on cutting down on my paper clutter, even before I bring it into the house so that it doesn’t start to pile up. I’ve also been making sure everything has a home. If not, I get rid of it. If it doesn’t have a spot and I can’t make space for it, I obviously don’t need it.
Great tip!
I absolutely hate clutter and I am alway open to new ways of keeping my house clutter free.
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These are all so true, especially the one about making your bed everyday! It makes such a big difference and only takes a couple of minutes! Thanks for sharing.
It’s a hard one, but the benefit is great.
I am a fan of the empty handed tip. I am forever trying to get my family in the same habit. If I go downstairs I grab laundry, dirty glasses or anything else that needs to go down. If I am going upstairs I look for anything that does not belong and put it in the right room when I get upstairs. Once things are on the right floor we tend to be good from there.
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Great examples. Thanks for sharing
Making sure everything has a home is definitely SO important for reducing clutter!
Thanks
I can never seem to decliner my house! I look at spots and instant anxiety because of it. I will try these techniques.
Julie * http://www.hdthreviews.com
Don’t stress over it. Set a timer on your phone or tablet for 25 minutes. Just do whatever you can for 25 minutes.
Great tips! I’m totally a paper hoarder and I don’t know why! I need to get my office a bit more organized and put together. Thanks for the inspiration!
The paper clutter struggle is real. Best of luck to you.
Putting clothes away has been easier for me since I’ve recently declutter a lot of clothing and have tons of free hangers. However, the paper clutter is my next big obstacle to take on. It just piles up so quickly!
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Congrats on conquering the clothes struggle, I’m sure you will master paper next.
Not putting your clothes away, that’s the one at our house. Every one of the 5 of us don’t seem to be able to put the clean clothes away or the dirty clothes in the basket lol
Clothes are the ultimate struggle in my house. But taking a proactive stand against sleeping with them is helping. Lol
I definitely need to do a better job of making my bed every day. It makes the room look so neat when I do.
grea tips! my new goal is: every item should have an assigned home of its own! =)
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Yes, yes, and YES!! Love these tips. Those pictures remind of some of my family members’ homes (who shall remain nameless). I grew up hearing, “You just make room.” Clearly, that’s not a good idea. Lol! Great post! Absolutely love it. 🙂
LOL.. I think we all have some of those family members. If not, we “are” those family members. Thanks for stopping by.
I didn’t realize how much of an issue clutter can be. I suppose I have always been very mindful of this in my life and home. But I love your tips! Great article 🙂
Great tips! I’m constantly complaining about our need to declutter.