Quick Guide on How To Declutter Your Home: Useful Tips for 2025
If you’re looking for tips on how to declutter your home, you’ve come to the right place. Decluttering can seem like an insurmountable task, especially if it’s been a while since you’ve done it. You might be wondering, "What is the fastest way to declutter a house?" Or, "What is the 20 20 20 rule for decluttering?"
This guide is full of actionable tips for dealing with those neglected boxes of stuff collecting dust and taking up valuable space. It includes guidance on how to declutter your house in one day or how to declutter your home before moving. It’s out with the old and in with the new when you learn the quickest, most efficient decluttering methods (including 7 unusual ways to declutter your home that you probably haven’t thought of before).
Discovering how to declutter your home isn’t just for aesthetic reasons. Sure, it’s nice when things are neat and tidy, but the unexpected benefits of greater mental clarity and an overarching sense of peace are even better. In fact, according to WebMD, decluttering is associated with mental health benefits, including increased productivity and stress reduction.
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- Why Should You Declutter Your Home: Benefits of an Uncluttered Space
- Decluttering Rules
- How To Declutter Your Home
Why Should You Declutter Your Home: Benefits of an Uncluttered Space
Learning how to declutter your home comes with numerous benefits, and some may surprise you. The obvious perks, like feeling more organized and being able to find things easily, are reason enough to embark on a decluttering journey. You’ll also experience better focus, increased ability to stay on task and even lessened anxiety when you master how to declutter your home.
What Should I Remove First When Decluttering?
The art of how to declutter your home is quite simple if you go about it strategically. It’s best to start with the most visibly cluttered areas and work backwards, tackling smaller tasks once you’ve built momentum. Perhaps there are toys strewn all over the living room floor, your wardrobe is bursting at the seams with clothes you never wear or you have piles of junk mail taking up precious counter space. Those are all great places to start.
When you learn how to declutter your home by dealing with high-impact areas first, you can get a lot accomplished in minimal time and go into the next leg of the process with confidence. Before you get started with how to declutter your home, make sure you actually have storage for everything you decide to keep — and plenty of trash bags for anything that doesn’t make the cut.
What Is The Fastest Way To Declutter A House?
Becoming a pro at how to declutter your home doesn’t happen overnight, but there are steps you can take to speed up the process. Take it one room at a time, only moving on after finishing each one. This will help you stay on task and prevent feelings of overwhelm. The “Core 4” Method is highly efficient when it comes to how to declutter your home. It entails removing everything from a chosen area or room, categorizing the items, deciding what to keep vs what to toss and finding storage solutions for the kept items.
You may also find it helpful to set a timer. This forces quick decision making and lessens the back-and-forth negotiations with yourself (such as "What if I need those unopened bank statements from 20 years ago someday?") that can make it daunting to learn how to declutter your home. Most importantly, you want to prevent having to do one giant declutter again in the future. The easiest way to guarantee this is to devise a system you’ll use moving forward to keep items from piling up. At least once every season, do a quick sweep of the house and take note of any areas where clutter is starting to accumulate. Then, use the Core 4 method or one of the rules outlined below to keep your house looking spick and span through a mini declutter.
Decluttering Rules
What Is The 12-12-12 Rule For Decluttering?
One of the best hacks for how to declutter your home is dividing the project into small, manageable chunks. The 12-12-12 rule, developed by minimalism advocate Joshua Becker, does just that. It’s simple: you find 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate and 12 items to keep. The throw-away pile should consist of anything broken, damaged, expired or worn beyond repair, while the items for donation can include clothing, books, kitchen tools, toys and other things in good condition that someone else could use.
The great thing about using the 12-12-12 rule for how to declutter your home is that you don’t have to stop after round one; feel free to keep going until you’re satisfied with the results.
What Is The 20/20 Rule For Decluttering?
When you’re learning how to declutter your home, oftentimes the hardest items to let go of are those you never use but feel like you might someday. That’s where the 20/20 rule comes in. The strategy says that if you can replace an item in under 20 minutes for less than $20, you should get rid of or donate it. It’s easier to let an object go when you know how easily you can get another in the future if the need arises. Then, you’re left with items that are truly important to you rather than a bunch of unnecessary “fluff” that takes up space without providing meaning or functionality.
What Is The "Ski Slope" Method of Decluttering?
The ski slope method for how to declutter your home is helpful for large homes or homes with a lot of clutter because it divides the project into small tasks (unfortunately, no actual skiing is involved). Even more nuanced than tackling one room at a time, the ski slope method breaks each room into different sections. You’ll go around the room, “skiing” from one section to the next and deciding what to keep, donate and throw away before moving on. This is also a great opportunity to locate any misplaced items and return them to their correct location.
What is Swedish Death Cleaning?
While the purpose of Swedish Death Cleaning is a bit macabre, it’s very effective if you’re looking for how to declutter your home and keep it that way. Designed for those nearing the end of life, Swedish Death Cleaning involves parting with all non-essential items to lessen the amount of decluttering your loved ones have to do. While that is the original intent behind Swedish Death Cleaning, anyone can do it. Just make sure you hit every room in your house (including the attic and basement) and only keep items that enhance your daily life.
Proponents of Swedish Death Cleaning like to emphasize, however, that sometimes getting rid of things promotes a better quality of life. Case in point: Scandinavian interior design. This interior design style emphasizes minimalism, creating functional spaces that are relaxing and aesthetically pleasing. When you’re learning how to declutter your home, Swedish Death Cleaning is a great way for people of any age to embrace the simplicity of Scandinavian design and, as decluttering expert Marie Kondo says, let go of anything that doesn’t spark joy.
What Is The Four-Box Method of Decluttering?
The four-box method is great if you need ideas for how to declutter your home quickly. It involves sorting items into four boxes: one for things you want to keep, one for trash, one for donating and one for storage. The items you decide to keep should be things you use often or that have sentimental value.
Donate anything in good condition you don’t regularly use and that could benefit someone else, such as clothing, toys, books etc. Consider selling larger items, such as furniture pieces. The trash box is for things that are broken, irreparably worn or otherwise no longer usable. Finally, use the fourth box to store items you want to keep but only use occasionally, like seasonal décor. (This method is the gold standard for Christmas ornament storage ideas.)
You can also place any “maybe” items in the storage box that you aren’t quite sure about and might use in the future — but this can turn into a slippery slope, so utilize discernment and keep it to one box maximum. What’s so special about the four-box method is that it promotes quick decisions, so the process of how to declutter your home seems much less daunting.
How To Declutter Your Home
How To Declutter Your Home Before Moving
If you need to know how to declutter your home before moving, the most important rule of thumb is to get an early start. You want to give yourself plenty of time to sort through everything without feeling overwhelmed. Choose one of the decluttering methods listed above to streamline the process; the four-box method is especially useful in this case because it emphasizes storage, so once you’re finished decluttering, you’ll already have some boxes packed for the move.
Envision your new home throughout the decluttering process to help you decide what to keep and what to donate or toss. Whether you’re upgrading or downsizing, how much storage space you’ll have and what design style you’re going for are all important considerations. A new home is a fresh start, so if you’re going for an entirely different look, you probably won’t keep very much of your furniture or décor. On the other hand, if you have a lot of sentimental pieces — perhaps antique family heirlooms — that you want to display proudly in the new house, focus instead on smaller items when deciding how to declutter your home.
If you’re feeling indecisive, the one-year rule is a great strategy to employ in terms of how to declutter your home. It’s simple: if you haven’t used an item in a year or longer (with the exception of sentimental items), it’s probably okay to part with it. Even when it comes to sentimental items, discernment is important. Consider keeping only the things that mean the absolute most to you and taking photos of the rest for posterity’s sake.
When you’re deciding how to declutter your home before a big move, remember that the more you keep, the more you have to take with you. Don’t be afraid to let go of anything that isn’t an automatic “yes.” First of all, the unpacking process will go much more smoothly if you take a minimalist approach, plus you can always replace small items at a later date if necessary.
Consider temporarily renting a storage unit if you’re selling your home and plan on showing it to potential buyers. This way, you get the best of both worlds: you can decide how to declutter your home later on and display an immaculate, clutter-free space.
How To Declutter Your Home With Kids
Looking for tips on how to declutter your home with kids? Making it fun is a surefire way to get them excited (this goes for all chores, not just cleaning!). Instead of simply telling kids to pick up their toys or stop leaving things on the floor, turn it into a scavenger hunt where they can go around the house looking for misplaced items. Another option is to say that their toys have wandered away from their homes and need help getting back safely.
Get creative with storage to make decluttering exciting for kids. Brightly colored bins, baskets and drawers are eye-catching and capture their attention without much prompting from you. Store similar items together (one bin for books, another for toys, etc.) so they know where to put everything. In the same vein, create designated areas to leave shoes, backpacks and other items that often end up strewn about haphazardly. Save sentimental items, such as toys from their younger years, for last. Leave final decisions up to the kids to cultivate a sense of independence, but don’t hesitate to remind them that memories are more important than physical objects. Offer to take photos of old stuffed animals, toys or books before donating them, and let the kids know they’re doing a good deed by giving the items to another child.
Emphasize the importance of cleaning as you go, reminding kids to put toys and books away after each use so you aren’t left with a big mess to tackle every night. Parenting is enough of a whirlwind as it is! You can model this with your own belongings to serve as an example for them. Most importantly, give lots of praise each time they put something in the right place to create a positive association with cleaning. Before you know it, you’ll have little helpers for all of the household chores.
How To Declutter Your House In One Day
Learning how to declutter your house in one day is all about using your time efficiently. Before you even get started, make a game plan for the day and gather supplies like storage boxes and trash bags. Create a detailed plan, outlining which areas of the home you want to tackle and allocating a specific amount of time for each one. IKEA hacks, including IKEA desk hacks, are great for decluttering quickly because they offer creative storage solutions and are usually easy to set up.
When it comes to fast ways to declutter your house, prioritize areas with lots of visible clutter, such as countertops. These high-traffic areas benefit most from a cleanup because you’ll have more space available for daily tasks like chopping fruits and vegetables. Utilize a decluttering strategy, such as the four-box method, and decide on each item quickly. It can be helpful to implement the one-touch rule, which states that you can only touch an object once before choosing whether to keep, donate, throw away or store it.
Learning how to declutter your home isn’t easy, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Holding on to items you no longer need can really weigh you down, both physically, as it creates a cramped house with little breathing room, and mentally.
From discovering how to declutter your home with kids to how to declutter your house in one day, now you’re equipped with plenty of strategies, including 7 unusual ways to declutter your home. A clearer mind and simpler life are within reach; all you have to do is take the first step and decide how to declutter your home in a way that works best for you and aligns with your values and future goals.
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