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Alright so you’ve FINALLY accomplished and gotten through ALL of the clutter, but how do you prevent it from getting to that place again? Clutter can be really sneaky, and you may think you’re staying on top of it, but all of the sudden you realize you’re surrounded by clutter again.
The three biggest pieces of keeping clutter at bay is making sure anything at home is always put back in its place, regularly decluttering, and being mindful of what you bring into the house.
Below are some key tips and tricks to help STOP the clutter before it has a chance to start and get to that super overwhelming place that it often can. Incorporating some or all of these small little habits will really help you to keep a clean and organized space!
Wanting to get started with decluttering? Here are 11 decluttering hacks that will help get you through your home projects!
Put Thing Away When You’re Done
This might be stating the obvious, but it’s such a crucial tip! Once you’ve gotten your home to the point where everything has a place, this is an extremely important piece to the puzzle! Always put things BACK in their place after you’re done using them.
We’re all human, and sometimes that means we’re just a teensy bit lazy. Or sleepy. Or distracted. Whatever it may be, I know I’m not the only one who takes a tool out of a toolbox and drag my feet to put it back when I’m done and put the toolbox away. Or leave dishes on the drying rack way past the point of being dry. Or simply take something out to use it and not put it back for whatever the reason might be!
It’s small, but overtime, all of those items that weren’t put back in their place only add up to one thing – clutter.
Put things back! Maybe you’re able to in the moment every time, or maybe you designate a few minutes every day to put anything away that isn’t in it’s place.
Have A Declutter Basket & Go Through It Regularly
Have ONE small designated place for things that need to be put away but maybe can’t right in that moment, or things that you’re not sure where their place is. We don’t always have the time to put things away or find a place for items! That’s okay.
Have a little spot somewhere where these items can live, so they aren’t just taking up counter space, and set a regular time to sort through and put away. Once a week, every day, whatever makes sense for you and your family!
Avoid The Catch All Areas
Do you have one of those areas in your home where random things just seem to pile up? We have a spot on our kitchen counter where I always end up putting my keys, our mail, packages, sunglasses, chapstick, random items from our pockets, etc. Completely clutters up our counters!
Again, this ties into putting things away! Not sure where one of those items needs to go and don’t have the time to figure it out, no problem, place it in your declutter bin. But if you have an idea of where those items live, take a moment if you’re able to put them away instead of just tossing them into your catch all space.
Seasonally Go Through Your Closet
Designate a time one a season to go through your closet and evaluate what you have. Get rid of/donate anything you know you won’t wear anymore. Take a look at anything that you’ve been holding onto for future wear, but continually don’t choose it – perhaps it’s time to toss.
Do you have items that don’t fit? Have holes? Stains? Things you’ve been meaning to get rid of but just haven’t felt like it? DO it!
You also can utilize the trick to flip your hangers backwards, and flip them forward for any clothing item you end up wearing. Then once a season see what you haven’t flipped aka haven’t worn, and take a moment to think if it’s really a keeper for you.
Read more on things you need to get rid of in your closet!
Have A Place For Donations
Create a small space somewhere for you to place any item you are going to donate so that you never have to even give it a second thought when you find those items you’re ready to part with.
Sometimes I have that where I know I want to get rid of X item, but I don’t know where I’m going to put it in the meantime before I’m able to donate. So then whatever the item is just stays in it’s place, continually going unused and collecting dust.
Get ahead of that mentality by having a designated spot where you can place anything you want to get rid of!
Don’t Wait For It To Get Bad
Sometimes we might not be reminded to declutter until it gets to a much more overwhelming point, but it doesn’t mean that’s the only time we should be doing it!
Maybe you see a few things not in their place and think you’ll get to them eventually. It’s not that bad, just a few things left out here and there. But overtime, that adds up to a much bigger and likely overwhelming pile of clutter that be tough and time consuming to get through.
Don’t wait for it to get to the point of being a constant eye sore, and where there are noticeable piles of stuff you have to deal with. When you notice a few things accumulating, take a moment to deal with them. See something not in it’s place? Put it away. Take those few extra seconds or minutes to just deal with the stuff, instead of constantly putting it off.
Regularly Declutter
This point goes hand in hand with the point above! Set a time that makes sense for you to regularly declutter. Maybe it’s once a month, once a week, ones a season, whatever works best for your home, but pick a time and put it on the calendar and take a little bit of time to declutter.
Go through the house and deal with little things that might be accumulating, put things away that aren’t in their place, put things in the donate bin that you know it’s time to toss, and get rid of any trash that doesn’t need to be held onto. Would be a great time to deal with anything leftover in your declutter bin from the earlier point as well!
Having this regular time will ensure that it never gets to the place of feeling overwhelming where you don’t even know how to begin!
Ask These Questions Before You Make A Purchase
Like I said before, a key part of stopping the clutter before it starts is being mindful about what you’re bringing into your house. These are a few questions you should be asking yourself before making a purchase to help limit any unnecessary purchases that might end up cluttering up your home.
- Where will this item go?
- Do I have something similar to this already?
- How often do I anticipate myself actually using this?
- Is it something I need to purchase right now?
Don’t feel like you’re not allowed to buy anything ever again, but being more aware of what you’re bringing INTO your house is an important piece of avoiding the overwhelm that clutter can become!
I hope these tips give you a good idea on the small things and habits you can work to incorporate to help keep your home clutter free!
Want more on decluttering?! Click here to see all that I’ve written on decluttering your home!
