How to Declutter Your Home Room by Room

Decluttering your home can be a difficult task, whether you are selling your house or simply trying to simplify your lifestyle. When you are overwhelmed, it’s best to declutter in stages. Create a “declutter your home” checklist in order to prioritize the clutter.

Concentrate on one area or room at a given time (e.g. kitchen cabinets) and finish each task before moving onto the next. This can help prevent the task of decluttering your entire home from being overwhelming. One great tip for when you’re moving is to start this process well in advance of the move so you don’t feel rushed.

How to Declutter Your Home

Everyone knows that one of the first steps to selling your home is to declutter it and depersonalize it. Well, here is how you do that.

Sort items using containers

Sort your items into the following containers before you begin to declutter.

  • Clean up: Put away items that have escaped their designated storage areas.
  • Fix/mend: Items in need of something before being put away. For example, a shirt without a button.
  • Recycle: Items made of recyclable materials
  • Trash: Things to throw out in the garbage
  • Donate: Items that are unwanted but still in good shape can be given to a charity or someone you know.

Remember these rules when decluttering

  • The 20/20 Rule: You can replace items for less than $20 in under 20 minutes.
  • 80/20 Rule: According to this rule we only use 20% of what we own 80% of the time. Get rid of the 80% you don’t regularly use or put them away.
  • 5 Second Rule: When sorting through your items, allow yourself five seconds to recall the last time you used the item. If you cannot remember the last time an item was used within five seconds, then it is best to throw it out.

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Create a Decluttering Schedule

You can declutter your home in one day, over a weekend or by using a 30-day time frame. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, keep your goals attainable and realistic. Estimate how long it will take to clean each space. This gives you a buffer in case things don’t work out as planned.

You shouldn’t pull all of your stuff out without having a plan on how to sort them. You’ll waste time if you try to sort through your clutter. Before you start decluttering, clean your space so that all of your daily items are neat and out-of-the way. Start with a room that is not cluttered, as you will be able to declutter more quickly and you won’t feel so overwhelmed.

Bathrooms

  • Medicine cabinet: Remove everything and throw away outdated skincare, makeup and medications. Put everything you’re keeping back in the cabinet. Store the items that you use the most frequently at eye-level.
  • Cabinet drawers: Take everything out and make a quick assessment of what to keep and what to throw away. Place the items that you will keep back in their drawers. The items you use the most are placed for easy access.
  • Shower, tub, and sink: Lastly, pull everything out from these areas so you can clean and declutter the items you have in there.

Finally, you can quickly sort everything into the five bins that you have set up for this purpose.

Bedrooms

  • Put away anything that does not belong on your nightstands. Remove mail, papers, pens, and books that you have already read. You can recycle or throw away anything you don’t use anymore, like empty tissue boxes, pens or chargers.
  • Check the tops of dressers, bureaus, or chests for any clothes that are strewn around. Put away anything that needs to be folded or hung. You can also lay your clothes on the bed if you are afraid they will wrinkle more.
  • Remove everything from the drawers. Donate anything you no longer wear. Fold the clothing that you are keeping and store it.
  • Put things away in the bin instead of shoving them back into the drawers. You can recycle or throw away anything that you haven’t touched in six months.

Place items back where they belong. Fold, hang or store all clothing. Now let’s tackle your closet.

messy closet that needs to be decluttered

Closets and clothing

OK, deep breath. Now is the time to clean out your closet. To declutter a closet, it’s easiest to sort your clothes by type. Start with the shoes, then move on to boots, dresses, and denim.

When you look at all of your jeans at once, it’s easier to decide whether to keep or toss a pair. Start by pulling out various types of clothing and deciding what to keep and throw away.

After you have sorted through the clothing you have, you will be left with four piles.

  • Put away anything that was in the wrong place before.
  • Bring your dirty laundry to the laundry room or into the hamper.
  • Repairs should be made at the tailor or dry cleaner.
  • If you want to get rid of any clothes, take them to either a consignment shop or a donation center.

Entryway, mudroom and foyer

You might not have a traditional mudroom, but there is a certain entryway. Decluttering your entryway regularly is the best way to keep it functional, no matter how small.

  • Desks, consoles, and side tables: Remove the contents from each drawer. Then, make a decision quickly whether to keep or toss each item. Also, check the tops and sides of each console or desk. Are there any designated areas for keys or other important items? Make sure that everything is easily accessible and not crowded. It will be easier to get ready in the morning with everything you need.
  • Hall closet: Declutter it as you would any other closet. Start with shoes, boots, jackets and accessories.

Entryways are another place where clutter can accumulate from other rooms. Spend some time clearing out the clutter that has migrated from other rooms to your entry.

The kitchen

It can be difficult to keep your kitchen clean, as there are so many activities that take place in it: cooking, eating and socializing. The kitchen gets cluttered with many different items.

Decluttering your kitchen can be done by either focusing on a single category (cutting boards or glassware or utensils or bakeware for example), or by going through the different zones in the kitchen.

  • Empty your cabinets, drawers, and pantry. Then, go through each one and decide what you need to put back. First, start with the most important storage areas such as your pantry and upper cabinets. Next, move on to the lower cabinets, drawers and space beneath the kitchen sink.

It’s worth nothing that doing a great job at decluttering here before a kitchen renovation will make that process substantially easier. 

cluttered living room

The living room

It is difficult to keep your living room tidy on a daily basis. It’s because the living room is used a lot and doesn’t have a ton of storage. There are a few bookcases, and maybe a TV console. But they’re not very useful. It’s important to do two key things. Decide on permanent storage areas for items that are frequently used, like remote controls, magazines and books. Second, regularly declutter the space.

  • Bookcases, consoles and side tables are the first large furniture to be purchased. Next, move onto your entertainment center and coffee table. Then, return the boxes to their original storage areas. Put away books, reduce the paper clutter or return remotes to their correct places.
  • Remove all electronics that are not connected to the TV or home theater system. Do you use it? Does it work? Keep items like chargers and gaming gear near the devices you use.
  • Check all toys for wear and tears. Does it work? Does your child still play with the toy? Store or recycle each toy.

Take your put-away container and bring everything from another room back to its rightful storage area.

How to get rid of clutter

You have a few options to dispose of items that you don’t want to keep after you declutter. It’s helpful to have already separated the items into bins for recycling, trash and donation. Be sure to check your local recycling regulations, as some items, like electronics, cannot be recycled in regular bins. Separate bins can be used to collect these items and bring them to the appropriate recycling center.

Renting a dumpster for the unusable things that you will need to throw away in advance is a good idea if you are planning a big decluttering. You can also start a collection for items you want to sell at a garage or yard sale. If you’re planning to give certain items away to family and friends, create bins per person.

Now that your home looks amazing and well-organized, those professional listing photos will highlight all the best parts of your house without showing all the clutter!