HOME DECLUTTERING GUIDE

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 CONTENTS
INSTRUCTION
10 STEPS TO GET STARTED DECLUTTERING
PART 1: HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME
PART 2: ROOM-BY-ROOM DECLUTTERING & ORGANIZING TIPS .
HOW TO ORGANIZE & DECLUTTER YOUR BEDROOMS
HOW TO CLEAN YOUR CLOSET CLUTTER
HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME OFFICE OR WORKSPACE
HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR KITCHEN
HOW TO DECLUTTER & ORGANIZE YOUR BATHROOMS
HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR LAUNDRY ROOM
HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR LIVING ROOM
HOW TO DECLUTTER & ORGANIZE YOUR BASEMENT OR ATTIC
HOW TO DECLUTTER & ORGANIZE YOUR MESSY GARAGE
PART 3: HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME FOR GOOD
HOW TO DECLUTTER ANY ROOM IN 5 EASY STEPS
 Instruction
We'll organize literally anything (and we'll do it with impeccable style):
Closets, pantry, bathroom, playroom, tool shed, art studio, reading nook, that
weird space you’re not sure what to do with, nursery, office...
Whether you tackle it as part of downsizing effort or simply to simplify your
life, decluttering an entire home is a big job. The best way to tackle it is in
stages—to focus on one room, one space, or even one zone within a room
(like your kitchen cabinets), completing the job fully before moving on to the
next space. This will also build confidence as you experience visible success
at each step.
You don't need fancy tools to declutter your home, but you do need five
baskets or bins defined for these five purposes:

1. Put Away: This container is for items that have crept out of their
storage spaces. This could mean a coffee cup in the bathroom or
a sweatshirt in the kitchen. These are items that will go back in
their designated spots.
2. Recycle: This bin is for items that need to be recycled, such as
paper, plastic or glass.
3. Fix/Mend: Use this container for items that need further
tinkering, such as a pair of shoes that you love but which need to
be cleaned.
4. Trash: Designate one basket for items that are simply trash—
things that can go into the household trash immediately.
5. Donate: Designate one bin for for items that you can donate to a
charitable organization or another person. These should be items
you can imagine another person wanting or needing.
You can use bins, baskets or even just cardboard boxes for this task. You can
bring these bins into each room as you declutter or leave them in a central
place in your home while you work. The important thing is that you don't go
hunting for containers while you're decluttering—set up the bins before you
begin.
Learn How to Declutter Your Home With Professional Organization
Tips
Everyone has a little "junk" lying around the house. OK, some of us may
have more than a little. Regardless of how much stuff we have, we can all
benefit from decluttering our lives and homes. According to Psychology
Today and Web MD, people tend to feel like life is out of control when they
surround themselves with more things than they can manage. The mess
causes stress. If you’re not taking care of the clutter in your home, you may
not be taking care of yourself either.
In our ridiculously thorough decluttering how-to, you'll learn how to declutter
any space in your home using organizing ideas and decluttering tips straight
from the experts.
Why You Should Declutter Your Life?
When is clutter a problem? For many people clutter can be an energy zapper
or they waste inordinate amounts of time looking for things they can’t find.
In extreme cases, people may suffer from obesity or depression when a life of
consumption extends beyond "stuff." In hoarding situations, a house full of
clutter can cause fire hazards and other health complications when mold and
dust are present. But extreme cases are not common.
What is clutter? Clutter is anything you’re keeping around your house that
doesn’t add value to your life. Decluttering is all about making room in your
home for the things that matter.
Why should you declutter? Many people enjoy decluttering because it
relieves stress by providing a sense of control and accomplishment. For
others, getting rid of the junk frees up a little extra space in the house that
wasn’t there before. Some people may just need to purge before they move to
a new house. Whatever your reason for decluttering your life and home, this
ridiculously thorough guide will help you through the process.
 10 Steps to Get Started Decluttering
1) Decide Why You Want to Declutter
Decluttering just for the sake of decluttering will only lead to more
decluttering down the road.
In order to truly get a handle on the clutter, you also must curb your
purchasing habits. And if you don’t know why you want to have a clutter-free
home, you will simply continue the same maddening cycle of purchasing and
decluttering.
You may just want to declutter for the simple reason of having an easy to
clean house. Or you may also want to declutter because of something more
philosophical: like a desire to reduce your carbon footprint.
I have two reasons that I want simplicity in my home:
First, the amount of time I spend cleaning my decluttered home is greatly
reduced. This gives me more time for the important things in life. Like
spending quality time enjoying my family, instead of just cleaning up after
them.
The second reason that I choose to live minimally, is that I want my children
to have a simple childhood.
I want them to appreciate and take care of what they have.

I want them to have toys that bring them joy and encourage imagination. (See
my Intentional Gift Idea Post for clutter-free toy recommendations.)
I don’t want them wasting their childhood fighting over an endless pile of
toys or worrying about which toys belong to which child.
Whatever your reason for decluttering, take a couple of minutes and write it
down.
That way, when you are up to your elbows in the process and you are wishing
you had just let it be, you can easily reference the reason you are decluttering
so you can stick with it…
2) Pick a Method
When looking at how you want to declutter your house, you should choose
what will work best for your personality. For example, if you are the type of
person who loves to accomplish things and to check items off your list
quickly, don’t go with the slow and steady method.
There is no wrong method to use, as long as you pick something you can
stick with until your task is completed.
I personally combined three of the methods when I decluttered and it worked
well for my personality.
Don’t spend too much time deciding which method to use, just go with your
gut!
Here is a quick rundown of the different ways to declutter your house:
Option 1: Slow and Steady
If don’t have a lot of time to commit to decluttering, this method is for you.
If you choose this method, you are going to carve out a small amount of time
each day or each week until you feel like your space is decluttered.
Each day that you declutter, set a timer for 15-30 minutes and tackle
whatever you can in that time. Keep going back to the same area session after
session until you feel like your space is clear and comfortable. Then move on
to your next area, or room, or category.
This is a great way to declutter without loosing steam.
Just be sure that you have the dedication to stick with it for a while since this
method will take you the longest.
Treat the dedicated time as an important appointment you can’t miss.
Option 2: Speed Decluttering
This method is for all the marathon runners out there. You know who you
are. While most of your friends spend their weekends relaxing, you are
checking things off your list.
If you want to do a speed declutter, set aside a week or a weekend to tackle
this project.
I recommend setting a timer for each section so you don’t get stuck in one
area too long, but you probably already knew that if you are choosing this
option, didn’t you?
Pro Tip: If you want to minimize distractions, see if the kids can stay at
Grandma’s house for a few days!
Option 3: Room by Room
I love this method for decluttering because, well, I love making lists.
Checking things off my lists makes me happy.

This method is great for list makers because it breaks your house down into
tiny little manageable chunks. (And each chunk is an item on your checklist
for you to check off!)
For my fellow list makers out there, here’s how you do this method:
Grab a notebook or your phone and write down every room and closet and
area in your house that needs to be decluttered.
For example, I would write down:
☐ Master Bathroom
☐ Under Ross’s Sink
☐ Under Kassy’s Sink
☐ Linen Cabinet
☐ Drawers
I like to be specific so that I feel like I accomplished something even if I
didn’t get my entire room done. (Maybe that’s cheating, but it worked for
me!)
Option 4: Category by Category
It’s time to meet to celebrity of decluttering, Marie Kondo.
In her bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie
Kondo describes in great detail her now-famous category by category tidying
method.

I found decluttering category by category especially useful for my clothing.

When I fold my clothes and organize my dresser the way that Marie Kondo
recommends, it is much tidier and I know exactly which clothes are clean in
my drawer.
If you want a step-by-step manual for how to declutter your house, The Life-
Changing Magic of Tidying Up is an excellent resource.
Marie Kondo recommends starting with decluttering Clothing, then
minimizing Books, then simplifying Papers, then downsizing what she calls
“Komono” or “everything else”, before decluttering any sentimental items.
According to her book, the category of Komono includes kitchen supplies,
bathroom products, toys, and anything else that does not correspond to one of
the other categories.
When I tried my hand at the KonMari method, I needed additional categories
that made sense for me. I added in a category for my kitchen, my bathrooms,
my garage, and my children’s toys.
Pro Tip: If you choose this method, I suggest adding as many categories as
makes sense for your home.
3) Give Yourself a Deadline
Most people are naturally procrastinators. Parkinson’s Law states that “work
expands to fit in the time we give it.”
Essentially that means if you give yourself a year to declutter your house, it
will probably take a year.
To avoid having the decluttering process take an eternity, give yourself a
deadline and be punctual with it.
Since you might be anywhere on the spectrum from “I just want to get the
toys organized” to “I’m so sick of clutter that everything in my entire house
needs to go!”, I can’t give you an exact amount of time that this should take
for you.
Before setting your deadline, look at the amount of things you will need to go
through, the size of your house, and how much time you can dedicate to the
process on a weekly basis.

4) Write Down Your Plan

If you are using this Home Decluttering Guide, go to the game plan section
and write down the specifics of your decluttering plan. Make all the notes
that you can about how and where you will conquer your clutter.
You can also just grab a notebook and answer the following questions:
1. What is your overall goal with decluttering?
2. What order do you want to tackle your clutter in?
3. What method would you like to use to declutter?
4. How you will sell items that are still in good shape?
5. Where will you donate items that you can’t sell?
6. How will you know when your decluttering process is complete?

5) Choose a Start Date

Set aside a day, an afternoon, or a couple of hours to begin decluttering.
At first, it might take a lot longer to accomplish a task than you thought it
would. Be generous with the amount of time you give yourself, especially for
your first session.
Choose a date and time that isn’t too far in the future. Starting while your
motivation is strong will help keep the process going until you have
completed your goal.
Pretend that the decluttering time on your calendar is an important business
meeting that you can’t reschedule or book over.
Then stick with it!
6) Get a Babysitter
If you have young kids and are pretty sure that they will slow you down, see
if a friend or grandparent would watch your kids for your first decluttering
session (especially if you are tackling a large area!)
The more you declutter the more you will get used to getting rid of things and
the more you will be able to downsize with distractions.
But at first, it’s nice to be able to focus!

7) Get Three Containers

On your start date, get three receptacles.
One is for things you want to keep. One is for things that you don’t want to
keep, but are in good enough condition for you to sell or donate. And the last
one is for trash.
After each decluttering session, throw the trash away, put the donate
container into your vehicle, and list any items you are going to sell.
8) Find a Home for Everything that Stays
After each decluttering session (and before you start the next one) find a
permanent home for each item that you decided to keep.
Just because something has always been stored in a certain loaction for your
entire life doesn’t mean that it is the best place to keep it.
Marie Kondo advocates for storing things in the place that you use them
most, and I love this idea.
9) Remember That it Takes Time
No matter your intentions and/or the method you use, decluttering takes time.
Even if you decide to do a marathon-method-speed-decluttering session, it
will take a lot of work.
Sometimes in the middle of the process, it might feel like things are getting
worse before they get better.
Stick with it. I know it is hard, but you can do hard things!
I promise that you will thank yourself when you have finished.
10) Just Start!
The only mistake you can make when you begin to declutter is putting it off.
Throw out the idea of perfection and go for it!
Even doing one 15-minute decluttering sweep through your house will make
you feel lighter and happier.
Don’t keep putting it off, start today!
PART 1: How to Declutter Your Home
Decluttering Plan for the Home

Step 1: Set Goals

Before you get started, make a plan. No matter how many rooms or how
much clutter you have to get through, starting with specific goals will help
you create a plan that will reduce any frustration as you go. Here are a few
things to keep in mind as you get started decluttering your home:
Write down or make a map of all the rooms and ‘clutter hot spots’ you want
to tackle.
Give each space a grade based on the severity of the clutter. For example, on
a scale of 1 – 3 (3 being the most cluttered), a particularly messy room or
closet would get a 3. This will help you prioritize your time.
Do one room or one space at a time.
Set completion dates for each phase of your cleanup. Be sure to pick dates
that are attainable so you don’t get frustrated. If you make it into a declutter
challenge for yourself, it may feel a bit more like a game.
In addition to completion dates, you should plan time to work on specific
areas when you expect decluttering those spaces to take longer than a few
hours, such as a basement or a garage.
Step 2: Create a Sorting System
As you go through the rooms and spaces in your house, you will need a
system for sorting the items you find. You can create your own method, or
use one of the most popular organizational tips: the “Three-Box Method.”
This method forces you to make a decision item by item, so you don’t end up
with a bigger mess than the one you started with.
Gather three boxes or storage bins, label them as follows and then use the
organizing tips below:
The Three Box Sorting Method

Step 3: Get Rid of the Clutter

You have a few options for disposing of items that make their way into the
“Get Rid of It" box.

Recycle: Recyclable glass, plastics and paper can go straight into

your recycling bin if you have curbside pickup. Otherwise put
your recyclables in bags so you can transport the waste to the
nearest recycling drop off location. Many electronics can and
should be recycled. With over 1,890 kiosks in 42 states,
EcoATM recycling kiosks can turn your old electronics into
cash. Check prices for your old devices and use the ecoATM
locator to see if there is one near you.
Donate or Freecycle: You can rest easy knowing that something
you no longer need is going to a good home. Clothes, shoes and
other household items in good condition can be donated to a
number of local charities. Or try posting to freecycle.org: You
post what you want to get rid of and people come get it. Your
trash can be another man’s, or woman’s, treasure - but if you're
donating, check out the charity's donation guidelines before
dropping off your items.
Have a Garage Sale: If you’re up to the task, you may be able to
make a little money off your clutter by having a garage sale.
Check to see if your neighborhood or homeowner’s association
has a designated garage sale date. Just make sure you begin your
declutter process early enough so you can participate – you’ll get
more foot traffic that way.
Rent a Dumpster: This is an affordable, stress-free option,
especially if you have a lot to get rid of or larger household
items you’re throwing away. We happen to be able to help with
this one – we’ll deliver the dumpster to your house, you fill it up
and we haul it away. It’s that simple.
PART 2: Room-by-Room Decluttering
& Organizing Tips
Decluttering room-by-room is the most efficient way to declutter and
organize your home. And you will feel a sense of accomplishment as you
complete each room!
Use your plan that you created as a guide and click the images below for
decluttering how-tos for each room in your house.

How to Organize & Declutter Your Bedrooms

Bedrooms often become dumping grounds for stuff that doesn’t have a home
in your house. When you think about it, you don’t really need more than a
bed, a nightstand or two, storage for clothes, shoes and perhaps a home for
jewelry and makeup.
Follow the tips below to declutter messy bedrooms – we’ll address
decluttering closets in another section since they also tend to be clutter hot-
spots requiring special attention!
Start by Decluttering the Bedroom Drawers
Take everything out of the drawers and ask yourself the following questions
about each item:
Does it belong in the bedroom?
Have you used it in the last year?
Did you answer, “No," to either of those questions? If so, then put it in your
“Get Rid of It" bin or move it to the room where it belongs.
When you are ready to place items back into the drawers try adding dividers
or small containers so you can store like things together.
Bedroom Decluttering Tip: You don’t have to go to the store to buy
something. You can use small gift boxes, shoe boxes, cereal boxes or
repurpose plastic containers to hold the items in the drawer. Get creative –
perhaps you won’t have to send as many things to the landfill at the end of
the day!
Keep Flat Surfaces in the Bedroom Clear
Or at least keep them almost clear. Moderation is key here. It’s ok to have a
few decorations, a lamp or pictures on your dresser or nightstand tops, but try
to limit each surface in the bedroom to less than five things. When you have
fewer things cluttering the flat surfaces in your bedroom, the space will feel
more calming and peaceful.
Use Storage Bins for Kids’ Toys, Seasonal Items or Things You Use
Infrequently
Let’s face it, not everything can be tucked away behind a closed door -
closets are valuable real estate in a house, so some items like kids’ toys or
seasonal clothing/bedding need to go somewhere else.
Kids’ toys can live in baskets, toy chests or even shelves in a bedroom. If you
find yourself running out of space for toys, it’s probably time to donate those
toys that were a hit for a few weeks but no longer get much attention.
Seasonal clothing, bedding or decorations can be easily stored in plastic or
cloth bins that fit under the bed or in a closet. Space-saver bags or even
comforter bags are also an option if you’re looking to get bulky items into a
smaller space.
How to Clean Your Closet Clutter

I have some good news: decluttering your closet is therapeutic. The process
of going through clothes, shoes and other long-forgotten belongings will help
you cleanse your house and your mind of any emotional baggage that may be
connected to these items. Be sure you keep your three bins nearby for this
task as you follow these three ways to declutter your closet:
Declutter Your Closet From the Bottom Up
Your instinct will be to start from the top with the things that are hanging, but
cleaning up and cleaning out the mess at the bottom of the closet is the better
way to go. Not only will you free up space in which to work, but you will feel
like you’re halfway done in no time!

Get Rid of Clothes and Shoes

In case you glossed over the section earlier in the guide where I discussed the
80/20 rule, I’ll reiterate. We typically wear 20 percent of our clothes 80
percent of the time, which means you should have a significant amount of
clothing you can purge. Ask yourself these questions about each item if
you’re having trouble deciding which items you should pitch:
Does it fit?
Is it damaged? (stained, torn, faded)
Has it been worn in the past year?
If you answered, “No," to any of those questions, I strongly urge you to add
the item to your “Get Rid of It" bin. If you have something that is sentimental
or seasonal that you don’t wear often, put it in your storage bin and free up
some space in your closet. The same goes for shoes.
Since I’m sure you will keep at least a few things that you probably should
get rid of, even after this exercise (I know I did), try the “backwards hanger"
trick over the course of the next year to weed out any more items that can free
up space in your closet. Start the year with the hangers' tips all facing the
front of the closet (backwards). After you wear something, put it back in the
closet with the hanger facing the back. At the end of the year, you’ll be able
to easily identify the clothes that just aren’t worth keeping anymore.
Clean Up Closet Shelves
Remove everything from your closet shelves, wipe down the shelves and then
get rid of anything that isn’t adding value to your life. Avoid stacking
clothing on shelves and storing stuff on shelves that can get buried under
hanging clothes. Aside from items you store in containers, you should be able
to see everything in your closet without moving too much. Boxes and bins
are recommended for storing smaller items on your closet shelves.
If you are decluttering a closet that you don’t use to store clothing, it can be
really tempting to stack everything in there like a beautiful game of Tetris.
Don’t do it. Consider adding more shelving above things that you may keep
at the bottom, like a vacuum cleaner or storage bins. You can also add hooks
inside the door for brooms, mops and dustpans.
Cleaning up your closets is guaranteed to improve your quality of life!
Seriously, it’s the little things. You’ll save time when you no longer have to
look and search for items you ‘could have sworn were in there.’ You’ll make
room for new belongings that bring you more joy. And you won’t risk
something falling on you the next time you open a closet door.
How to Declutter Your Home Office or Workspace
Does your home office or workspace look like it was hit by a tornado? Have
no fear; our tips will help with the disaster cleanup. And as an added bonus,
organizing your home office can actually make you more productive!

Go Through Paper Items

For most people, office clutter consists of piles of bills, important documents,
semi-important documents, receipts and other pieces of paper you "intended"
to get to. When cleaning up an office or workspace, it’s best to start with the
papers. Cleaning up the paper mess is likely half the battle!

The best way to start organizing your office is to sort papers into three piles:
File, To-do and Trash. Once you have everything sorted, throw the trash pile
in the trash or shred the papers, file the papers you need to keep and put your
to-do pile in a basket or special file so you can address it when you’ve
cleaned up your office space.
Here are some other tips for decluttering stacks of papers in your home
office:

Scan important documents and receipts to make a digital record,

then shred and throw away the paper if you don’t need a physical
copy lying around.
Older paper files, such as taxes can be stored in a plastic bin and
kept in your basement, garage or another space for things you
don’t need to access often.
Designate a space for important mail or paper documents that
you need to act on soon, or for future incoming paper documents
– this way you’ll have a place to put them when you get them.
When you’re filing paperwork, don’t forget the most important
file: the circular file.
Clear Off Your Desk
Challenge yourself to remove most items from your office desk, aside from
your computer, a lamp and a few other essentials. Only keep items on your
desk that you use frequently. Whenever possible you should store office
supplies in drawers – table top organizers can easily get messy. A few
knickknacks are OK, but don’t overdo it!
Clean Out and Organize Drawers
Do your office drawers look like piles of junk when you open them up? We
have three simple steps to help you make sense of your office supplies:

Take everything out of the office drawers.

Get rid of the excess. If you have more than you actually need in
the next year, then get rid of it. If you haven’t used it in six
months, you should probably get rid of it.
Organize like-things together and avoid a lot of free-floating
objects in a drawer when you put your office supplies back in.
There are drawer organizers you can purchase or you can use
small boxes or containers you already have.
Tame Your Cords
While not essential for organizing your home office, wrangling in your cords
will help you achieve the clean, crisp look you will want to have in every
room of your house. A simple search online will present a myriad of cord
management products made for tying up and taming cords. You can also use
a few of these clever cord hacks:

Label cords with washi tape, so it’s easier to tell what cord goes
with each device.
Hold cords that are frequently unplugged up on your desk with
binder clips.
Use twist-ties or rubber bands to tie up excess cables – it’s not
fancy, but it’s effective!
How to Declutter Your Kitchen
You probably use your kitchen more than any other room in the house, and, if
you cook even semi-regularly, you likely have a lot of stuff in it. Utensils,
cookware, small appliances, food, spices, and more likely leave little space in
your kitchen cabinets, drawers, and counter tops. We want to help you take
back your kitchen from clutter! Our kitchen declutter tips will make this
space more enjoyable and hopefully make cooking less stressful.

Start by Decluttering Kitchen Countertops

Kitchen counters are clutter-magnets in most homes, so this is a great first
step for anyone looking to declutter their kitchens. This small, two-step
project will look and feel big when you are done!
Step 1: Clear everything off your kitchen counters except 3-5 essential items
(such as a coffee maker or knife block). You can put the counter clutter on
the kitchen table or on the floor, but get the stuff off the counter.
Step 2: Put away or find another home for everything you cleared off the
counter. If you’re left with a lot of papers or junk mail, trash them or move
items that need to be addressed to your office or workspace.
This is a project that only takes a few minutes, unless you have piles of things
in your kitchen, in which case you may need an hour. Either way, it will feel
like a NEW kitchen when you are done!
Divide the Kitchen into Zones
We recommend decluttering one section of your kitchen at a time to avoid a
potentially bigger mess. Assigning zones can also help you improve the
organization of your kitchen things.
Identify space near the stove for cooking utensils, pots and pans. These items
should be conveniently located near where you cook.
Unless you bake every day, store your baking supplies away in a cabinet or
on a shelf – if you have a mixer on your countertop try to corral your baking
supplies near it.
Storage bags, cling wrap, aluminum foil and similar items should get their
own zone, as well as cleaning supplies.
Purge and Relocate
As you start to declutter your kitchen, consider throwing away or donating
any items you come across that haven’t been touched in a year. When you
decide to keep an item you use infrequently, you may want to put it away in
storage in another part of your home, especially if you’re low on real estate in
your kitchen. And be sure to move anything you come across that belongs in
another zone to its new home.
Small Appliances: If you use that food dehydrator or deep fryer maybe once a
year, you should put it in your “Get Rid of It" bin. Inventory all of the small
appliances you have and only keep what you really use. Appliances that do
multiple things tend to be keepers.
Plastic Storage Containers: If you’re hoarding enough plastic storage
containers to open your own take-out restaurant, it’s time to purge. Start with
the lids – there always seem to be fewer lids than bottoms in my house.
Match each lid up to a bottom. If you have any stragglers you can get rid of
them. You can keep some spare containers to accommodate occasions when
you may need more plastic storage containers, but you should consider
keeping them in the basement or somewhere outside the kitchen.

Pots & Pans: Chances are you only have so many burners on your stove that
you can use at once, so you may not truly need all of the pots, pans, cookie
sheets and whatever else you have. Unless it serves a special purpose, and
you use it frequently, duplicate pots and pans should get donated. When was
the last time you used your wok?
How to Declutter & Organize Your Bathrooms
We’ll cut straight to the chase with bathrooms. Decluttering a bathroom
mainly requires purging and organizing the items that consume your counter
tops, shelves and drawers. You will probably be surprised not only by what
you have but how much you have of some items as you go through
everything.

Follow this simple four-step process for decluttering your bathrooms:

1. Pull all of your stuff out of the bathroom closets and drawers.
Some experts recommend decluttering multiple bathrooms at
once so you really get an idea of how much excess you have –
you may have enough soap to last you for a year and a half and
not even know it. However you decide to do it, clear off
countertops, empty drawers and completely clean out linen
closets in or near your bathrooms.
2. Put like things together. This is an important step in organizing
your bathroom clutter. Make piles for medicine, towels,
toiletries, cleaning supplies, makeup, etc… so you can see
exactly what you have cluttering up your bathroom.
3. Throw away or plan to donate the excess. Often times we have
multiple bottles or boxes of half-used stuff in our bathrooms. For
multiples of the same thing, combine them and clear out some
empty bottles or packaging. In the case where you are holding
onto something that only has a little left, give yourself a month
to use it – if you don’t use it throw it away. Do you have more
towels than you will use in a month? You may want to donate
excess towels to a local animal shelter. And if you are holding
on to something (a gift perhaps) that you never really liked, you
should pull the trigger and get rid of it.
4. Put your bathroom back together, but keep it organized.
Dividers, drawer organizers, small boxes and baskets are
 essential for bathroom organization. With a lot of small items
floating around in your bathroom, you don’t want to have to dig
through a drawer to find that one thing you need, especially
when you are getting ready in the morning. Organizing your
bathroom clutter doesn't have to cost you money either. Look for
small boxes or plastic containers around the house that you can
repurpose into drawer organizers.

Similar to other spaces in your house, your goal is to remove as many items
from bathroom countertops as possible. If you have items you use daily,
organize them neatly on a tray, or put them in an easily accessible drawer or
on a shelf.
How to Declutter Your Laundry Room
Everyone’s laundry room is different so our advice for decluttering your
laundry room is less specific. Some people have their washing machine and
dryer in an unfinished basement or a mudroom off of their garage, and a
lucky few have their washer and dryer on the second story, closest to where
all the clothes generally live. All of these different laundry room setups create
many more possible scenarios for laundry room clutter, which makes it a
little challenging to offer specific advice.

No matter what clutter plagues your laundry room and what other uses your
laundry area has, follow these laundry room declutter guidelines:

Get rid of what you don’t need in your laundry room.

Organize what you keep with baskets, well-labeled bins and
sturdy shelving.
Keep clothes off the laundry room floor.
Try storing detergent and fabric softener in glass jars or beverage
dispensers to improve the aesthetic when this space is highly
visible or in a high-traffic part of your home.
And avoid storing items on top of the washing machine and
dryer – remember the declutter mantra: “Keep flat surfaces
clean."
If you have questions about how to better remove clutter from your laundry
room, or a particular challenge in this space, drop us a note in the comments
and we’ll help you out!
How to Declutter Your Living Room
There is one thing that everyone intends to do in their family room or living
room: Relax. It can be difficult to really relax and unwind when this space is
cluttered with toys, books, wires, blankets, magazines and more. Nothing
feels as good as a sitting down to enjoy family, friends or entertainment in a
clean and organized room. If you’re in need of a family room or living room
refresh, follow these living room organization tips to curb the clutter so you
can truly relax at home.

Remove Clutter That Doesn’t Belong

A lot of things tend to end up in this frequently used space in your home.
Start by removing any items that have lost their way and belong in another
room. Look for toys that belong in your kids’ rooms, mail or magazines that
belong in the office and glasses or dishware that may not have made it back
to the kitchen yet.
Add More Storage
You may find yourself with an overabundance of blankets, toys, video games
and more that DO belong in this space. Here are some simple storage
solutions that will help you declutter your living room by finding a new home
for the clutter.
Add baskets to hold frequently used toys and blankets.
Add shelving for video games, DVDs and other media that is prone to sitting
out in the open.
Look for furniture/storage combos such as storage ottomans and trunks to
store anything you don’t want out in the open. There are even some couches
and loungers that double as storage.
Add other furniture that doubles as storage space such as a credenza below
the TV or a behind-the-couch chest.
Un-Decorate
It is possible you simply have too many things in your family room or living
room, which is making it feel cluttered and overcrowded? Try pruning back
the pillows, hanging pictures and adding floating shelves to the walls to
remove pictures or collectables that are crowding your table tops.
Donate or Sell
Be sure to address your books, CDs, DVDs and other entertainment by
donating or selling anything that is no longer a staple in your collection. If
you can convert your music and movies to digital format, you can free up a
lot of valuable real estate in your family room without having to part with
something you would otherwise keep. Get rid of any broken or unused toys,
tchotchkes, remote controls and anything else that has lost its usefulness.
Wrangle the Wires
A mess of wires from your entertainment center is an eyesore that adds visual
clutter in your family room or living room. There are countless products these
days to help you tie up and hide your cables, but here are a few other tips for
cord management:
Use cords and cables that aren’t excessively long – you don’t want to have to
tie up 20 feet of coaxial cable!
Choose furniture that will cover up the cords if you don’t want to go to the
trouble of feeding them into the wall (though you may be surprised at how
simple that can be in some cases).
Store your mess of cords in a container that matches your room décor.
After you finish decluttering your family room and/or living room, be sure to
let us know how it feels to sit down in your new Zen den after a long day!
How to Declutter & Organize Your Basement or Attic
Clutter can live forever when it is banished to a basement or attic. Again, the
old adage of “out of sight, out of mind" comes to mind as we easily forget
about the things we have stored in these spaces. You probably have
possessions you haven’t seen in years...decades, even. If you’re holding on to
items because you think you might use them later, it’s time to get real about
clutter. Yeah, you might use it one day, but if you haven’t used it in the last
five years or more, I’d wager the odds of you putting these long-forgotten
items to use are slim to none.
You should put aside a good chunk of time for addressing basement or attic
clutter – these typically aren’t 15 minute or hour-long projects. You may
want to enlist some friends to help if you have a lot to carry or move up or
down stairs. And if you have furniture or large items that can’t be donated,
call us to rent a dumpster before you get started.
Follow These 6 Steps to Clean and Organize Your Basement or Attic
We break down basement and attic decluttering into six manageable steps to
help you avoid getting overwhelmed:

1. Divide your basement or attic into zones. It is important to work

in one area of your attic or basement at a time. Start with a set of
shelves, a stack of boxes, seasonal decorations or old kids’
clothes and toys.
2. Take everything out of the zone. If you’re tackling shelves, clear
the shelves. If you’re working through boxes or bins, empty the
bins. Don’t move onto another zone until you completely finish
the current zone.
3. Sort everything into two bins. Since you’re working on a space
that is generally used for storage, you can remove one of the
bins and just focus on keeping or getting rid of the items you
find. If you find things you intend to fix, you may want to create
a separate pile for items that can be fixed affordably, but give
yourself a deadline for fixing them. If you don’t get them fixed
by the deadline, donate the items or throw them away.
4. Move the items you are not keeping outside the house. Before
you start putting away the things you are keeping, move the
things you’ve chosen to part with outside of the house. Put them
directly into the trash or dumpster if you are throwing them
away. If you are donating or selling them, you should put the
 items in the vehicle you will use to drop them off, or keep them
on a porch or in your garage until they can be picked up.
5. Keep like things together. This organizational tip applies just as
much to decluttering your basement as it does your bathroom. It
will greatly improve your ability to find and access items when
you do need them later. Do you have more ornaments than you
can fit on a tree? Try sorting the ornaments by color. Next year
when you go to decorate the tree you won’t have to move as
many boxes!
6. Label boxes and bins. As you put everything back that you are
keeping into boxes and bins, be sure to clearly label the contents.
If you don’t want to write directly on the bin, you can tape a
paper list to the front of it so you have a visible inventory of
what’s inside. Or you can use a label maker to add semi-
permanent, removable labels. If you use clear bins you can more
easily see what is inside.
How to Declutter & Organize Your Messy Garage
Garages allow things like old sporting equipment, tools that have been long-
forgotten, old kids’ toys, half-complete DIY projects, rusty car parts, storage
boxes, and more to hang around like a bad cold. This is another challenging
space to declutter – challenging, but not impossible! From my experience,
this is where most of the items that make you think you might use or need
one day end up. I’ve got news for you: If you haven’t used it in the past five
years, the chances are high you will never use or need it.

The following pointers will help you declutter your garage so you can
actually use it for parking a car or two. We recommend planning this project
for a weekend with good weather so you can pull EVERYTHING out and
sort through it before putting anything back in.
Tips for Decluttering Your Garage

1. Take everything out. There may be a few extreme cases where

this isn’t possible, but you will have the most success if you start
by completely clearing out your garage space.
2. Sort through your finds, putting like things together. This is the
most important step as you work to free up some space in your
garage. Put all of the tools together, the sporting equipment
together, the gardening tools, the hardware etc. But don’t put
them back in the garage yet.
3. Purge. If you have duplicates that you don’t expect to use in the
next five years, get rid of them! If you are holding on to worn or
damaged anything, you should probably say goodbye to it too.
That one tool, that did only one thing that one time – sell it or
give it to a friend.
4. Organize. After you have sorted through all of the items in your
garage and decided on the things you are going to keep, you
need to plan how you intend to store everything to maximize
your space. This may require purchasing more storage bins, a
 tool cabinet or pegboard. You may also need to install some
sturdy shelving. When possible, try to create storage space in
your garage that is up and off the ground to maximize space. Be
sure to clearly label everything to identify the contents, so you
can find things easily later. Check out this post for more garage
storage ideas.
5. Rent extra storage space. This garage decluttering tip may feel
like cheating, but it’s a very practical move. If you still have a
lot of items you want to keep after decluttering your garage, but
don’t have the space for them, consider moving some things to a
local storage unit to free up space around your house.
PART 3: How to Declutter Your Home
for Good
Trust me, after you spend the time removing clutter from your house, it will
be easy to let it back in due to all the excess room!
Prevent the clutter in your home from returning in the future with these four
simple tips:

1. Don’t allow potential clutter into the house in the first place:
Before you purchase or acquire anything new, ask yourself, “Do
I really need it?" and “Where will I keep it?" If you don’t have
an immediate answer to those two questions, don’t bring it
home.
2. Declutter a little each day: Deal with mail, clothes, toys and
other common clutter a little each day. Set aside 20 minutes a
day and you’ll avoid having to find hours to clean up messes in
the future. If you build this time into your daily routine, you are
likely to have greater success. If daily isn’t doable, plan a
weekly declutter sweep and be sure to give yourself enough
time.
3. Use the one in, one out rule: Whenever you bring something
new home, you have to throw out or donate something else. You
can even implement this room-by-room – it will make you think
about where you will keep this new thing.
4. Don’t buy. Rent or borrow: If you need something only once in
a blue moon, consider renting or borrowing it. When it comes to
books and video, the library is a great resource, or you can opt
for digital versions, which take up far less space!
 How to Declutter Any Room in 5 Easy
Steps
Get your Clutter Under Control
Here are some simple steps to help you clear out any room or space in your
life.
Step 1: Empty the Space
Start with the first big step in this process: Take every single thing in the
room and move it out. Make sure to arrange like items together. This will
make it easier to sort them later.
Step 2: Create a Vision for the Room
Now that you have a completely clean slate, ask yourself, "What do I want
from this room?" It's really important to have a clear vision for the room
because once you know what you want from a space, you can then decide
what to eliminate and what to keep.
Step 3: Sort Everything into Two Piles
Sort every item into either a "Vision Pile" or an "Out-the-Door Pile."
The Vision Pile
The first pile is the "vision" pile, and contains anything that you want to hold
on to that holds strong memories and reflects the kind of things that you want
from the room.
The Out-the-Door Pile
The second pile, your "out-the-door" pile, contains items that are going to
either be donated or trashed.
If you get stuck sorting through a large quantity of items of a similar type, for
every four you keep, get rid of at least one.
Step 4: Donate or Trash Items
Get rid of items in the "out the door" pile by either donating them, or
throwing them out.
To clear out your donation items, get a hamper, a trash bag or bin. Whenever
there is something you no longer need, use or want, put it inside. When the
bin is full, put it in the trunk of your car and take it to donation. Don't
procrastinate! As Peter always says, "later is the best friend of clutter."
Step 5: Rebuild With Items from the Vision Pile
Reload everything that you are keeping back into the room, and rebuild
according to the vision you created in Step 2.