When you open you’re eyes in the morning, what is the first thing you see? Is it a peaceful beautiful space or do you see disorder?
When you step into your bathroom, does it feel spa like? Is it clean or does it look kind of funky?
Honestly speaking, I’ve woken up in both situations. When Mr. B and I first got married housekeeping was not my strongest skill set or top priority. Add that to the fact that Mr. B is kind of messy and we had a recipe for disaster.
I grew up in a house that was clean about 90% of the time. My mom was always tidying up and organizing. I, on the other hand, was completely okay with taking the lazy route. Mainly because I knew she would do it if I didn’t. I know, shame on me. I admit it, I was a little spoil. But when I got my own place there was no one to fall back on when I slacked off. When it comes to cleaning in my home, if I don’t do it, it’s probably not going to get done. So for the first couple years, the house was a mess and not a beautiful mess either. Which is sad because clutter sucks.
I mean it really sucks the life out of you by increasing feelings of overwhelm, decreases energy and ability to focus. Not to mention, nothing kills the mood in the bedroom like a pile of dirty clothes on the floor or a messing nightstand. And if that wasn’t enough, cluttered spaces are more likely to contain dust and mold. Can you say… allergies.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Clear clutter. Make space for you. – M. Vandenberg via @becoming_fab” quote=”Clear clutter. Make space for you. – M. Vandenberg”]
3 Steps To Clearing the Clutter
When thinking about decluttering, do you think of it as a complicated or simple task? Most people think it needs to be complex process. However, if you think about it, decluttering is as simple as getting rid of the stuff that has no purpose or function and assigning a place to the stuff you need. I cringe whenever I see headlines like 100+ steps to a decluttered home. WTH? Can you say, information overload. Who has time to read through that many tips and then implement each one? I don’t. That time could be better served decluttering and maintaining your space.
So what are the steps to a clutter free space?
1. Determine how you want to feel in your space
Take my bathroom for example, I want to feel relaxed when I go in there. (Ha! Pun unintended). That means clear countertops, a fresh smelling scent, and a overall clean space.
2. Clear the space and determine what you need
After I know how I want to feel in my space, I clear it out completely. When I first decluttered my bathroom, I took everything that was moveable out of the room. That included stuff under the cabinets. Then I gave the space a top to bottom cleaning. I went through item and decided if it was something I needed. If I didn’t need it, it went in the trash or was donated.
3. Give everything a place and develop a system for keeping things in their place
Finally, the things that I kept was given a place. I like to use baskets and drawer organizers. I’m a fan of clear countertops so the only thing that goes on our countertop is a tray with a small plant and a candle. Everything else is kept in drawers.
To keep my space functioning and clutter free, I follow this simple rule: immediately put things where they belong after use . Yes, it is really that simple.
Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.
My Challenge To You
If you don’t have a system in place for keeping your space clutter free then create one. Work on one room at a time and follow the three steps above. You can do this. Don’t let clutter steal your joy and stifle your creativity.
What’s your plan to keep a clutter free space? Let me know in a comment.
Great post!! I’ve been meaning to clean my desk and underneath it for months now and now after reading this I’m going to get to it this weekend!
~Sara
Yay!! You can do it.
I am a organizing and home junkie, which I wasn’t in my younger years. My husband was in the Military and is sort of a grouch when it comes to having things junky, so now I am sort of a tyrant about it. This is a great post because I am always looking for inspiration to make things around me even tidier:) Dropping my from #blmblogger. I am Erin from liveprettyonapenny.blogspot.com
I wasn’t into organizing when I was younger either but I’m trying to make it a way of life now. Thanks for stopping by.
Love this post. I have recently been focusing more and more on decluttering my spaces and it really is making a different in my ability to focus and get other things done. You share some great tips here! #BLMGirl
It’s amazing how decluttering physical space helps clear the mind.
I am pretty good with getting rid of clutter and making the house nice but my boyfriend makes the clutter!
I can totally relate. My husband doesn’t want to throw away anything.
We have a lot of clutter right now, my family really has a problem letting go of anything. We are repainting my sons room and we just pulled out 5 garbage bags of clothing and toys to donate.
Start small. I think clutter is harder to clear out when more people are involved.
this is good advice. I feel sometimes it IS impossible though, like us we are living in a REALLY small house and we have a LOT of stuff, so its almost impossible to clear the rooms.
Start small and go room by room. I try to go through my stuff at the end of each month to keep it from piling up.
this is awesome tips the give i have a lot of clutter in my room that i have to try to get rid of and organize
You can do it. Just start small.
I always look at photos of great interiors and wonder where all the cords and cables are. My house is full of then no matter how organized I try to be. I need to apply these tips to hide them clutters away.
lol They hid the cords in most interior pictures. It would be nice to not need them. I use zip ties keep them organized.
I have more of an organized mess, if that’s possible. I’m not a hoarder at all…I just have a lot of stuff! But, everything has its place! I’m like you…my mother is a clean freak. Funny, it didn’t trickle down to my sister and I! But, I clean as the need arises. If it gets on my nerves, I’ll clean it.
I think the clean freak gene skips a generation lol I totally missed out on it.
I love organizing! Everything in my home is organized for me (obviously)!!! Some of it looks very organized, the rest is sort of cluttered, but organized!
This is what I’m all about right now… I’m about to move to a new place so I’m getting rid of tons of old stuff I’ve had in storage. Not worth the clutter. I love an organized, clear home.
Me too. Clutter is so draining
Tranae, thanks so much for the tips, there are 6 adults in our house and clutter stacks up like crazy, I’m hoping to have everyone try these tips
You’re welcome Diana. Glad I can help.
I started out early, organizing things! At age 1 1/2, I was organizing shoes, near the front door. I would organize them according to size! Biggest to smallest!
I live in so much clutter! I am going to try this, thank you.
Good luck Judy. You can do it.
I think that the worst thing about de-cluttering, and organizing…is finding out where you should start! Especially, if you have a big pile of stuff to go through before you can move it!!!
great tips for keeping clutter under control
Thanks so much for sharing this! Clutter definitely takes away from your day.
Thank you for the information. This is very helpful to me.
thank for sharing this post
it help me to be less clutter
Nice advice for clearing the clutter!
After 23 years of marriage I’m still learning to keep a house well but I’ve gotten better. My house is probably tidier now with a family of 9 then it was when we were only a family of 3. Of course there is a lot of stuff but having such a large family forces us to really prioritize what we keep in our home. “Just one item per person” quickly adds up around here, lol!
I often get things with the intention of using them and end up not doing so for many reasons. I am going to go through my items soon and get rid of a lot of them.
Simple, great info!