Our 1920s home is relatively small and has very little usable storage. We do have a root-cellar and attic, but neither of these are ideal for storing clothes or other belongings. Here are 8 tips for reducing clutter in your home!
Declutter Often
Instead of waiting until your completely overwhelmed with the clutter in your home, spend a few minutes a week going through cabinets or drawers in your home and make a piles to donate, sell, or throw away. Then, once a month go through and deal with those piles. This can make it more manageable then trying to do the entire house all at once!
Utilize Baskets for Reducing Clutter
For me, using baskets is one of the easiest ways to reduce clutter in our home. I store my kids’ toys, books, and art supplies in baskets. Then, when it is time to use them we simply pull them off of the shelf to use! Here are some of my favorite baskets to use around my home.
Add Hutches for Storage
Storage hutches are a great solution if you don’t have a lot of closets or storage space in your home. We have one in our kitchen for dishes, three in our dining room for dishes, school supplies, and one that kind of acts as a catch-all. We also have one for toys in our stairwell, one for games in our sunroom. You can find great deals on hutches secondhand online or at estate sales! If you can’t find one you like secondhand, here is a beautiful hutch that offers great storage!
Look for Multi-Purpose Items
We have a bench that we use to store books, but my son also uses it as a toy table. Additionally, we have a coffee table that doubles as a snack table for our kids. Our guest room bed has a trundle and built-in drawers. (Ours is originally from Ikea, but here is a similar one). Look for items that can serve multiple uses in your home if you are looking for ways to reduce clutter and make the most of a small space.
Get Creative with Storage
We store some items in plastic tubs like these under our beds. We use wooden chests to store coats, boots, and off-season clothing. Try to think of ways to make useable storage out of those unseen nooks and crannies in your home.
Think Before You Buy
One of my biggest tips for reducing clutter in your home is to really consider what you need and want in your home. Sometimes that means saving up for items we love instead of buying a lot of other things just to fill a space.
I don’t always do this, but I do find when I invest in items I truly love, I have less clutter in my home which leads to less feelings of overwhelming.
Buy Bulk Food
This one may seem very counter-intuitive, but buying bulk grains and beans has significantly reduced clutter in my kitchen! I store the food in 5 gallon-food grade buckets in my root cellar (you could use a basement or closet if you don’t have one), and the rest of the food items in my kitchen in these 1 gallon glass jars. Buying in bulk leads to cooking more from scratch which leads to less items I need to buy for my pantry.
I like to buy my bulk food and pantry staples from Azure Standard. Read this post to learn about what I like to buy and how I store it in depth.
If you don’t have storage for the buckets you could just buy in smaller amounts. I just buy larger amounts to save money and trips to the grocery store!
Keep Surfaces Clean for Reducing Clutter
The truth is, sometimes I just don’t have time to declutter and organize as much as I want. But I find that when the main surfaces in our home are clutter free, I feel a lot less stressed. If you don’t have time to declutter everything, try putting some of the clutter in baskets for now, and keep those countertops clean! Beyond just picking them up, wiping down surfaces and keeping them dust-free makes a big difference in a room.
When living in a consumerist culture, it’s hard to say no and to have discipline in terms of owning less. But I find that when I take the time to declutter my home, I feel a lot less stressed. I also.feel more grateful for the items I own!
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