Since we started this blog, decluttering has been a big topic. It’s necessary if we want to be able to downsize into a Tiny House. But it certainly is a long process. So thought we would take the time to share with you some tips on reducing clutter!

Identify Your Clutter

Let’s take a closer look at how we define clutter. What I believe to be clutter may not be the same for you. And that’s perfectly fine! You just need to be able to recognize what clutter is for you, and then we can move onto the reducing phase.

Clutter in our home is a wide variety of things. But mainly clutter is anything we don’t need, want or use. If it doesn’t fit into one of those categories, it no longer belongs in our home.

Here are some examples:

• Old receipts
• Clothes
• Holiday decorations
• Candles
• Empty Boxes
• Unused bins & baskets
• Old plates & kitchenware
• Office Supplies
• Books
• Toiletries
• Etc, etc, etc!

Take Action Now

When it comes to clutter, it needs be conquered now. You need to make the conscious decision to take action in the present. Don’t leave things lying around telling yourself you’ll pick it up later, or finish that task later. Later never comes and then you’ve got a bigger mess on your hands.

I know sometimes you’re tired, but you will thank yourself for making the effort to put things away right after you use them. Or pick something up that’s on the floor and shouldn’t be – dirty laundry, I’m looking at you! Or cleaning the dishes right away so you don’t have to scrub, and scrub, and scrub when it’s all dried up later on.

There is no better time than now to take action. So save yourself some trouble and take care of your clutter. Now.

(OK, maybe not RIGHT now… You can finish reading this post first if you want and then get to work.)

Make Conscious Purchases

Even though you are purging and decluttering your home, it is impossible not to make other purchases. The important thing to keep in mind is why you are buying this new items or product. I always ask myself these three questions:

• Do you love it?
• Will you use it?
• And will it have a place to call home?

If I do purchase something new, I know that I either have to get rid of something to make room for it, or find a place for it in our home. Honestly, the biggest reason we keep accumulating clutter is because we never assign homes to our new things and they end up laying on the counters for days on end. And then when we “find” a spot, whatever item used to be there ends up on the counter, finding itself homeless now.

I’m not saying run out and get all the latest and greatest organizing products out there, but sometimes a little something can help create a better space for all your things. In the end, just do what’s best for you. If that means getting rid of more stuff, then that’s the right decision for you. If you have a small amount of space but you love and/or need (actually NEED) all of your things, then getting some new organizing items is the right decision for you.

I swear our closet has never been so organized since we bought this organizer. It’s not necessarily the right purchase for everyone, but for us, it was just the thing we needed. We’ve had this for the past 2 months and no clutter has accumulated in the closet!!

We’re still working on our Downsizing Journey, and we certainly will be for the next couple of months. As we go through all of our belongings, we’ll share more tips as well as our (stressful) experience.

If you have any tips to add, please let us know in the comments!