6 Genius Clutter-Free Home Ideas!

Are you struggling to keep your home clean and organized? If so, you’re not alone. A cluttered home can be a major source of stress, making it hard to get things under control. With a little bit of effort and some of these Clutter-Free tips for your home, you can set up a space that’s both functional and easy to keep neat and put away.

How to declutter and keep the mess gone for good.

Before we can talk about ways to keep clutter out of your home, let’s first get rid of some of the excesses so you have more space where you live.

More often than not, we keep things in our homes because we feel we have the room. Take my cabinet in our kitchen where we keep our coffee mugs. I have room for 2-3 dozen mugs, and for a time, that was how many I kept in there.

woman reaching into a cabinet decluttering coffee mugs with a donation box

In all actuality, with just my husband and I at home, all we really need is 4-8 mugs in total. By changing the way I looked at the space in my home, I was able to remove the excess giving a more organized look to each room.

Clutter-Free Tips for your home

Clutter is anything in your home that is not put away. Things that are lying out where they do not belong giving a “messy” look to an area. The more you put things away the less you will have lying out and the neater your rooms will be.

If you have more stuff than space, things tend to spill out onto counters and tables. This is where decluttering comes into play. Let go of the excess and free up space for the things you need to keep.

Let’s talk about a few ways that you can streamline the areas in your home to keep things put away.

#1. Get rid of unnecessary items

One of the easiest ways to declutter your home is to start with small spaces. Whether it’s your bedside table or your kitchen counter, dealing with clutter in small doses will make the task seem less daunting.

Start by getting rid of items that you no longer need, use, or have the room for. Your goal is to have a home for each item you have and this will be much easier once the excess is gone.

Keep what you need

Keep – 1 full set of dishes
Donate – mismatched or extra sets of dishes

Keep what you use

Keep – Your crock pot that you use every weekend for soups and roasts.
Donate – The instant pot you purchased 2 years ago but only used once.

Keep what you have space for

Keep – 1 drinking bottle for each family member.
Donate – the extra collection of bottles that are taking up space in several areas of your home.

Keep what is necessary.

Keep – Enough office supplies to pay bills, do homework, or write letters.
Donate – The hundreds of pens, pencils, and markers that you have collected over the years.

A pile of pens, pencils, and markers on a desk

Look at the things in your home as tools so you can streamline each area more efficiently.

#2. Organize your belongings

Organizing your belongings in a way that makes sense for you so you can more easily put your things away when you are finished using them.

There are a few different ways to do this, and the best method depends on your individual needs and preferences. For example, some people prefer to organize by type of item, while others prefer to organize by color. Whichever method you choose, the important thing is that it works for you and helps you keep your space clutter-free.

Easy Organizing Ideas For Clutter-Causing Tools:

Use a magnet rack to hold spices.
Use a shallow basket to hold incoming mail and papers.
Use a pill organizer to hold daily medicines and supplements.
Use a large basket to hold kid’s or pet toys.
Use a table top bin to hold tv remotes.
Use a carousel to hold pens, pencils, and markers.

A wooded carousel organizer with pens, pencils and markers inside with 2 spiral notebooks in the lower corner

Use organizers to hold the tools you use, making it easy to put things away.

Sevenblue 4 Pack Magnetic Spice Rack for Refrigerator, Spice Rack Organizer, Moveable Magnetic Shelf Fridge Organizer with 4 Hooks and 2 Hanging Cups for Kitchen and Oven Organization, Black Turn in Trays Classroom, 4Pcs Paper Trays for Classroom, Book Baskets for Library, Drawers, Office, Home AUVON XL Weekly Organizer 2 Times a Day, 7 Day with One-side Large Opening Design for Easy Filling, Black Privacy Protection AM PM Pill Case/Box for Medication/Vitamins/Fish Oils/Supplements OIAHOMY Cotton Rope Basket, Rectangle Woven Baskets for Storage, Nursery Blanket Basket Living Room, Toy Basket With Handle, Baskets for Organizing-18”x14”x12”-Gradient Grey Desktop Organizer with Pencil Holders, Office Accessories Caddy, School Supplies Organizer for Pen, Colored Pencil, Art Brushes, 5 Compartments, White , Gift for Teachers, Classmates, and Friends

#2. Organize Sentimental items

One of the best ways to keep your home clutter-free is to find storage solutions for the things you can’t get rid of. Let’s find solutions for a few of the more common examples.

Magazines

If you have a collection of magazines that you can’t bear to part with, consider investing in a hanging magazine rack. This way, you can keep your collection organized and out of the way. This will work for your magazines and your child’s as well.

Clothes

Clothes can be tricky to declutter because we enjoy having a large collection to choose from. If you have a lot of clothes that you don’t wear often but can’t bear to get rid of, consider storing them in a zipper storage bag or bin. This way, they’ll be out of sight and won’t take up valuable space in your closet. This tip is also helpful if you have seasonal clothes.

Books

I love books, and if you are like me and have a large collection you want to keep, but don’t have room for on your bookshelves, consider storing them in a storage ottoman. This way, you can keep them within easy reach, but they’ll be out of the way when you’re not using them.

By finding storage solutions for the things you can’t get rid of, you can keep your home clutter-free and organized.

#3. set up a routine

Decluttering and organizing is an ongoing project and one that, when given routine attention, will keep your home neater and put away.

I like to partner decluttering with cleaning; this way, I know I am staying on top of things without giving extra effort.

Assign a room to a different day to set up an easy routine. This will keep the work short and simple while ensuring your home is getting the routine attention it needs.

A Basic Weekly Cleaning Routine

Monday – Bedroom
Tuesday – Bathrooms
Wednesday – The kitchen
Thursday – The family room
Friday – The mudroom
Saturday – Errands and outside
Sunday – Planning day and laundry

Set aside 30 minutes to clean, declutter and organize the room you have set for the day and free up more space when you.

More Cleaning Resources:

#4. Keep only the things you love and use regularly

One of the best ways to keep your home clutter-free is only to keep things that you love and use regularly. This may seem like an obvious solution, but it’s often easier said than done.

It can be difficult to let go of things that we’re attached to, even if we don’t use them very often. It’s also easy to accumulate clutter without even realizing it. So how can you ensure you’re only keeping things you truly love and need?

A basket of dog toys on a hardwood floor

One approach is to take a look at your belongings. Walk into each room and look at the things you have. Are there things lying out on every open surface? Maybe you have piles sitting on the floor. Really look your room over and ask yourself whether you need what you see or if it would be better to get rid of it and free up some much-needed space.

If you’re unsure, try putting a few things into a tote or box and storing it away for a few months. If you do not retrieve items from that container during that time, then chances are you don’t really need it.

We call this test driving, decluttering, and it works quite well, especially if you are struggling with making decisions.

Taking this clutter-free approach to your belongings can help ensure that your home is a peaceful and organized haven.

#5. All the way away

Many times folks think clutter is stuff that needs to be donated, but actually, clutter is items in our home that are not put all the way away.

What does that mean? It means when you or your family member put items close to where they belong.

Almost all the way away – Dirty dishes on the counter or staked in the sink.

All the way away – Dirty dishes in the dishwasher.

By making a conscious effort to put things into their homes, you will have less clutter lying about in your home.

#6. Keep it simple

I love containers. They allow me to put things away without much effort. And the less effort I need to return an item to it’s home the more likely I am to keep up with it.

Let’s look at a few examples of simple containers for organizing.

A large basket in the family room – great for holding throw pillows and blankets.
Clear bins in the refrigerator – great for keeping produce separate from meats and dairy.
Lazy Susan divider on the counter – great for spices, oils, and more.
Sink organizer – great for soaps, sponges, and more.
Stair basket – great for tossing items that need to go on another floor.
Hamper – put one in every bedroom to toss dirty clothes into.
Table organizer – great for items you keep next to your bed.

If you have an area in your home that tends to get messy, try putting a basket there to put random items inside. This one tip will neaten up any area in your home. Don’t forget to empty your basket out every day or so to ensure nothing get’s lost inside.

AivaToba Cotton Rope Basket, Blanket Basket for Living Room, 24 Pomeat 10 Pack Fridge Organizer, Stackable Refrigerator Organizer Bins with Lids, BPA-Free Produce Fruit Storage Containers for Storage Clear for Food, Drinks, Vegetable Storage Set of 4, 10 Inch Non-Skid Lazy Susan Organizers – Turntable Rack for Cabinet, Pantry Organization and Storage, Kitchen, Fridge, Bathroom Makeup Vanity Countertop, Under Sink Organizing, Spice Rack Cisily Sponge Holder for Kitchen Sink, Sink Caddy with High Brush Holder, Organzier Rustproof 304 Stainless Steel Dish Organizer Divider, Soap Dispenser Storage STRIKING LIFESTYLE Stair Basket 16 ToteTastic 3-Pack Laundry Basket, Freestanding＆Waterproof Laundry Hamper, Collapsible Tall Clothes Hamper with Easy Carry Handles for Clothes, Towels＆Toys in the Family and Dorm,Gradient Grey,75L MobileVision Bamboo Tissue Box Holder & Tablet Stand Organizer for Bedroom & Desktop; compartments hold iPad Phones Remote Controls Reading Glasses Notepads & Pens

Keeping your home free of clutter can be a bit tricky but I hope you learned some easy Clutter-Free tips for your home that you can start using today.

Clutter-Free tips for your home