How to declutter and organize your home


You want to declutter and organize your entire home, right?
Sounds great! And I have a plan for exactly how to do just that!
First off, let’s talk about decluttering.

What does it mean to “declutter?”

When I’ve done Pinterest searches on decluttering the house, I got a ton of articles… that all talked about putting things in bins, color-coding, and label makers.
So there seems to be a bit of a difference in people’s definitions of decluttering.
So, in this article, I want you to know that when I talk about decluttering, I’m referring to getting rid of things.
We can’t organize clutter- well, maybe we can, but it won’t stay organized!
If you’ve ever struggled with setting up a beautiful system with baskets and labels only to have your family cram stuff in the closet NEXT to the baskets- then you know what I’m talking about.
If we want our family to be able to follow our organizational system, we need to make it stupid easy.

Decluttering should be de-owning

I remember reading a quote by Joshua Becker- don’t just declutter, de-own. And that is exactly what we need to do.
It doesn’t help our home stay clean and organized if we simply shuffle our clutter from one area to another.
I used to do the clutter-shuffle. Instead of getting rid of things, when I cleaned or organized a room, I would be “creatively rearranging” all the items.
But my house was always a disaster- unless it was a day or two past the shuffling episode. Rearranging all the stuff was simply that- rearranging.
And when I thought about having a tidy space, I pictured myself shuffling clutter All. Day. Long.
Um, no, thank you.
Years later, I finally figured out I had to DE-OWN all the stuff.
I wasn’t able to maintain my home. Because the amount of stuff in it- it was an impossible task. There is more to life than just taking care of THINGS.

But what if we like the stuff?

Of course, we like it! We own things for all sorts of reasons.
And when we realize that we are keeping things out of guilt or shame- those items are easier to be sure about. Yes, I’m sure I need to get rid of the 23 vases- I never use them, and it doesn’t matter that we got them all as wedding gifts 27 years ago- I don’t use them, they need to go!
But what about the things that we acquired because we really LIKE the item?
Here’s the deal: you have a life you want to live. And everything you own should assist you in living that life.
It doesn’t matter how great the item is; if your dream is to be a travel blogger, all the items you own are preventing you from doing that full-time.
Suppose your dream is to own a homestead. In that case, all the fancy dinnerware and cutesy decorations are creating more upkeep- when really, you need to be able to focus on maintaining the garden and preserving food.
If your dream is to volunteer your time to at-risk youth, all the excess in your home feels draining when you walk in, instead of being a calm retreat to come home to.

First step: declutter the most

Want to win the decluttering game? Get rid of the most. The most you possibly can.
People always tell me, “I’ve been decluttering for a long time, but it never makes any difference.”
Ok- so get rid of MORE.
Minimalism is about getting our possessions down to an amount that is stupid-easy to maintain.
The people that only own two plates? They’ve realized that washing a plate after every meal is easier than washing ten plates every other day.
The extreme is only having enough for one person for one day, but getting down the number of items you need to live comfortably for a week- simplifies everything.
It means the kitchen is easy to clean because there is nothing on the counters.
It means the living room is easy to keep clean because there isn’t anything stored in it.
It means the closet stays organized- because it’s not hard to hang up one coat per family member.

Specific decluttering advice:

After you’ve gotten rid of the non-essentials, then organize the rest

Picture a desk drawer- a big drawer full of pens, pencils, markers, tape, paper, notes, scissors- so much random junk.
Now, picture only the essentials in that drawer- a couple of pens, markers, tape, and scissors.
Then you can organize- easily!
Having a drawer divider for the essential things and the desk drawer is now useful; easy to know where things are, and easy to put things away again.
When there aren’t many items to organize, organizing is easy, and it’s easy to stay organized.

Follow the flow of the room and how you use your home

Store items near where you use them most.
As Elizabeth Enright Phillips said in her book Minimalism Room by Room: take a moment to pause in each room and imagine the traffic pattern- where would all the footprints be in that room? What are people doing, and what things are they using?
And create your organized zones based on that pattern.
In the kitchen, pay attention to which counter you do all your baking at, and then arrange your baking, mixing, and measuring supplies near there, so it’s easy for you to access.
If you always get water out of the refrigerator, use the cupboard near the fridge to hold your water glasses.
If you always take your shoes on and off at the entry, then find a shoe organizer that fits in your entry area and holds the amount you typically store there.
If you’re digging out the lawnmower and yard tools every week, then make a space for them near the door, so it’s easy for you to retrieve and put away again.

Make the organizing easy for all household members

I have a million kids.
Ok, 6. But still, it feels like a lot.
All the organizing systems have to be easy for them, or they won’t do it.
That means we have one bin for pens, pencils, and markers. One bin for scissors.
The dishes are in a place that is easy for them to get to, and they can set the table and not get in my way while I’m cooking.
There are hooks in their room for coats and backpacks- because they’ll hang things on hooks, but not on hangers.
No personal items are stored in the communal areas. Instead, every child has their own shelf/bin. If I find anything that belongs to them- I put it in their space or ask them to.
Each of the containers in their room has a purpose: one for legos, one for Bionicles, one for Perler beads, etc.
It was better when I could reduce the amount and give “homes” to items that were easy for the kids. Perfect? No- but better, easier, and they knew what to do when I asked. The system wasn’t too complicated for them.

Specific organizing advice:

You want to declutter and organize your entire home, right? Sounds great! And I have a plan for exactly how to do just that!

About Rachel Jones

Hi there! I’m Rachel Jones, and I founded Nourishing Minimalism in 2012 at the beginning of my minimalist journey. If you're looking for encouragement in your journey, I created a FREE Facebook Group - feel free to join me there: Nourishing Minimalism Facebook Group and I share videos each week on YouTube

3 Comments

  1. Gail Holden on 08/14/2020 at 6:35 am

    We had a house move this year. Luckily I had a big declutter last year. I used to have things for everyday, and things for good, which I never use. I got rid of all my everyday things and started using my good things, even with my clothes. I now have 7 sets of summer clothes and 7 sets of winter clothes, not a wardrobe of clothes I’d forgotten I had. Washed and sorted everything including ornaments I really didn’t need. This all made our move into our new house so much easier, as everything in our house we wanted. We now have clear benches and empty cupboards and drawers which is great. My house is lovely and so easy to clean now, love it makes me feel great

    • KAMALAM ALAGARETNAM on 02/12/2021 at 3:26 am

      I love to watch and read your youtube and writing Rachel.I ,m mum of 4 kids ALSO having MDD since 2007.In treatment almost 3 years.after see your nourishing minimal youtube and blog…It’s inspired me a lot.even though being in depression I had started my first step to clutter my kitchen.for the first time when sorting still a lot things in my shelf.bY WHN I READ AND READ AGAIN TO YOUR ARTICLE IT MAKE ME TOOK DECISION TO LET GO MORE THINGS..CAUSE I NEVER WILL USE IT…CAUSE WE KNOW MOST ABOUT OUR SELF…RIGHT RACHEL…..ANYWAY PRAY FOR ME ….I MUST COMPLITE MY DECLUTTER AND ORGANIZE MY KITCHEN…WHAT U SAID IS RIGHT RACHEL….THE MESSY HOUSE GV IS MORE DEPRESSED…I WANT TO CLUTTER AND ORGANIZED FASTER CAUSE I WANT MY KITCHEN BEAUTIFUL FOR ME TO LOVE COOKING FOR MY FAMILY.THANK UOU RACHEL..

  2. Bristol on 08/17/2020 at 2:35 pm

    As I get older, I find that purging my house of “stuff” gets more and more satisfying. A spouse, two kids, pets. We all accumulate so much stuff! I have to stay on top of everything to keep the clutter at bay.

Leave a Comment