Simple Habits for a Clutter-Free Home

Wouldn’t it be great if a clutter-free home was easy? Luckily it can be. Change how you live each day and you will create habits for a clutter-free home. Habits are always a good thing especially if they save you time around your home.

By instilling just a few mess-free habits you will get my best tips on how to declutter your entire home for good.

I guess it comes as no surprise that I am writing this article. After discovering the reason behind all of my own clutter and home chaos, I now see that there are more people like me out there.

We weren’t born cluttered hot messes, we just developed the wrong habits when it came to our stuff. We saw our things in a certain way, turning us into cluttered people.

Habits can Help

The good news is you can make a big change by tweaking your perspective. If you want to eliminate the clutter you need to change the way you look at your things. And in order to do that, you need to back up just a bit and take a look at your habits.

Habits are a funny thing.

A clutter-free kitchen counter with a wooden tray and a small plant with coffee mugs.

They can dictate how we eat, how we get dressed each morning, how we approach a problem, how we shop, and yes even how we keep our homes.

If you change your habits, you can change your entire life. Sounds crazy? Think about it.

From the outside, it may seem that a habit is such a small and insignificant thing, and maybe right how you are thinking, there is no way it can make a change of that size.

However, habits are surprising things. One habit shift can make a bigger impact than you might realize.

Learning you can change your entire life just by changing your habits is like saying you can lose all your weight by cutting out soda.

And to be honest, both statements are absolutely true.

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It’s true that you can lose some weight by cutting out sugary drinks. Maybe not ALL of the weight, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. And, sure, cutting those drinks is not the ONLY step you need to take, but it is an important one.

And the same is true with your habits. It’s not the only step you will need to take, but it is a step and crucial one to start with.

If you remove all the clutter in your home right this second, yet still have a habit of dropping things rather than putting them away, your home will soon be the cluttered mess it was before.

Change those habits and you can kiss the clutter goodbye.

What are the habits of a clutter-free home?

I am so glad you asked! That’s why I am here, after all, to lay it all out right here for you. So you can take this very crucial step toward kicking the mess to the curb, allowing you to have the home you have always dreamed of. A home that you love to be in rather than one you have to be in.

A home where you can welcome anyone inside at any time. (no more hiding behind the door because your house is a mess.)

A home that oozes peace, comfort, and coziness. No, it’s not a pipe dream, and yes, you can do it……all by adopting these easy, clutter-free habits in your home.

Get tips on Organizing Calendar Solutions to help create new habits by the month!

10 Habits for a Clutter-Free Home.

Make a list of these habits and track them as you work to incorporate them into your daily living. Trust me, this will be time well spent!

Clutter-Free Habit #1 Daily Purging

It’s no secret that clutter is a disease. And to fight off any disease you need to do daily things to arm yourself and your home. That is where daily purging comes into play.

Years ago I had more clutter than home. There were so many things scattered around that I began to purchase extra furniture to house it all!

I had piles everywhere covering just about every surface.

Cleaning it out took a while, and even now years later, I am still purging. I like to always keep one eye open for clutter so it cannot sneak up on me again.

a donation basket in a kitchen to collect clutter

The best way to do this is to keep a donation box out at all times. And not just one either. I like to have several donation boxes strategically placed throughout my home. They are there so I can toss in any items I want to remove quickly and easily without fanfare.

When you declutter, It is important to not make a big deal about it. Just pick up the clutter, walk it over to the box, toss it in, and move on with your day.

Easy, simple, effective.

Clutter-Free Habit #2 Temporary Clutter

Temporary clutter is just that, stuff that shows up as the day goes along. This clutter does not need purging but rather put away. This is where my super simple tip of utilizing catch-all baskets comes into play.

Read our guide on How to Organize your Entire Home with Baskets for more ideas on this easy tip.

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If you have baskets strategically placed throughout your home you will keep clutter from piling up. So, rather than spending all day putting things away as you see them, you can instead toss those random items into that room’s catch-all basket.

a white basket sitting next to a fall decorated table in a mudroom that is filled with clutter to be put away

When the basket is full, take the time to pick it up and carry it with you as you put everything away that is inside.

This little tip is a fan favorite and for good reason. Anything that saves time and keeps clutter from piling up is a good thing…a very good thing!

Clutter-Free Habit #3 Have a Home for Everything

Our grandmothers were right when they said, “A place for everything, and everything in its place”.

When you have a specific home and keep items in their specific homes, you will keep temporary clutter from forming.

If finding a home is just too much for you right now, then at least find a ROOM for that item. Even narrowing things down this little bit will help get the clutter to the right room. And that is at least a step in the right direction.

Clutter-Free Habit #4 Keep it Simple Silly!

I cannot stress enough how important this habit is. If you have organizers in your home that require more than 3 steps to use, then you need to let those go. Boxes with lids are pretty but that is just too many steps for a clutter bug to keep up with. We need simple solid systems so we can drop and go.

Some of my favorite organizers are baskets, buckets, bins, and hooks. Yes, it is time to love hooks again! An organizing superstar that anyone can use, even kids. Command hooks are a game-changer and can be placed anywhere.

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Basket Organizing Resources:

Clutter-Free Habit #5 Systems

Systems are simply routines for tasks you complete on a daily basis. By having systems set into place you will, in turn, keep clutter away.

Yes, but how?

When you have a routine set up for getting dressed, for example, you will have a quick way to reset your bedroom before heading out for the day ahead.

Morning Clutter-Free Bedroom System.

Change clothes.
Put pajamas go into the closet (on a hook)
Make your bed.
Gather up any dirty clothes and toss them into the hamper basket.
Clear up the clutter from your nightstand.
Toss any tissues.
Straighten magazines and books.
Take any dishes into the kitchen.

This super-simple system will keep clutter from forming because you are always dealing with it. Always on track putting things away.

In the beginning, you may want to keep systems simple with just the steps needed to complete the task. Take it one step further and write it out so you can post it for the family to see as well.

A bedtime routine for your kids posted in the bathroom will keep that room pretty cleaned up at all times.

Clutter-Free Habit #6 Have a Purpose for Every Room

A purpose is like a system and another key to a clutter-free home. When you have a specific purpose for a room, you in turn create a rule for what items belong and what items must go.

So for example, a kitchen’s purpose is for cooking, eating, entertaining, and possibly homework. That means toys, clothes, tools, magazines, paper piles, etc. should not be there.

When you know the purpose of the room it keeps the excess out. If an item isn’t used in a room, it doesn’t belong there.

Read out to streamline your space with our Kitchen Layout Ideas list.

Clutter-Free Habit #7 Evening Pick Up/Meal Time Pick Up

I love this habit and consider it the game-changer in our own home. Before I head off to bed I do a 5-minute clean-up in the family room and kitchen. These are usually the rooms that affect me the most, so by picking up the clutter I can set myself up for a better morning.

There is just something about being greeted with tidy rooms that makes me smile. And who doesn’t want to start their day smiling?

I call this clutter-free habit a room reset, and you can read more about how they work HERE.

A great tip here is to use a clothes basket to gather up the daily clutter. I love clothes baskets and I now consider them my go-to tool for clearing clutter. They can hold just about any item and a lot of it. Once full just take a quick walk around your home putting things where they belong.

If you are new to this process, you may not be ready to put things completely away yet. Your goal is to instead get those things in the correct room. Even this small step will help you to understand the importance of the habits mentioned above.

Clutter-Free Habit #8 Sort Paperwork ASAP

Paperwork can pile up fast. So staying on top of it is incredibly important if you want a home that is free of clutter. Don’t let this habit scare you. Dealing with paperwork as it comes into your home will be your game-changer when it comes to clutter.

Piggyback on Habit # 5 and set up a mail system that will keep the mail from piling up and stressing you out.

HOW TO CREATE A MAIL SYSTEM FOR YOUR HOME

Dealing with paper clutter as you get it only takes seconds. Dealing with paper clutter after it has built up can take hours or even days. Keep it simple so you don’t get overwhelmed.

Clutter-Free Habit #9 Household Daily Goals

Each day I like to have a list of 5-6 things that I need to get done to keep my home from getting out of hand. These are the bare minimum tasks that need my attention and really take just a few minutes to complete.

Make the bed/tidy up my room
Do a load of laundry/fold/put away
Sweep the kitchen/mudroom floor
Wipe down the bathroom
Load/unload the dishwasher

For me, I like to do my household daily goals first thing in the morning. It is just another step that helps to set me up for a stress-free day. Your list will not be the same as mine and the time you have may differ as well.

Either way, having a list of daily goals will keep you from getting overwhelmed.

Again if this is too much for right now, rather than household goals you can do just a room. Daily kitchen goals might be a great place to start and as your home starts to evolve you can tweak this list to evolve with it.

Clutter-Free Habit #10 Morning/Evening Routines

I cannot stress enough the importance of a good solid morning and evening routine. Not only will a morning routine set you up for a good day ahead, but an evening routine will ensure that you get a good and restful night’s sleep. These two ingredients are key to a clutter-free home and life.

If waking up to a morning prepped kitchen is something you would love to have, then part of your evening routine may be to make the coffee and set the timer.

Remember, routines do not need to be complicated. Just include a few small tasks that will help you start out your day on a better more positive note.

Habits are a funny thing. They are so simple, so small on their own but when you clump a few together they can completely change your entire home and life. By adopting these habits of a clutter-free home you will learn to see your home and your things in a different light.

As you do the clutter will slowly and magically disappear and leave you with the home of your dreams.