3 Tips on How to Stay Decluttered

Decluttering might be hard, but staying that way is definitely harder. Without identifying the root cause, there is a higher chance the clutter will return within the next few months. With that being said, it might be time to start thinking about some small changes to your lifestyle that will help reduce its accumulation in your space.

Intentional shopping

Going shopping is a fun pastime, I won’t deny that. But sometimes it can lead to us accumulating more things than we need. Instead, try shopping intentionally by making a list and sticking to it, or having a few things in mind and only getting those things. This will help prevent impulse buying, which is one of the biggest causes of clutter in the home, according to the Organized-ish blog.

Shopping intentionally is not giving up shopping forever; it’s using the resources available to us in a mindful manner rather than overconsuming and cluttering your space. You can still chase the thrill of a new thrift find, just ask yourself, “Is this something I need?” and/or “Do I love this enough to justify bringing it home?” before buying.

Additionally, staying away from the clearance racks and not using coupons just because you have them will also help you stay decluttered. Remember, buying something on sale even though you don’t need it is not really buying something on sale. And I’m not saying stay away altogether. If you have a coupon for 20% off a new frying pan and you need a new frying pan, buy the new frying pan with that deal!

Achieving an intentional shopping habit might not be easy at first, and that’s okay. If you need to, take it a few steps at a time. Try setting goals like making the list, but giving yourself the leeway to stray with a certain number of items each trip, so you can get used to the habit at first.

Upcycling

Styles change every couple of years. That’s been a fact for decades, and now with the prevalence of social media, it’s been happening at lightning speed. Instead of following the style cycle and buying new, try upcycling.

Refinish a piece of furniture with a different color stain or reupholster it with a different fabric. Tailor old clothes to fit new styles if possible. Use that dartboard that’s been sitting in your basement as a jewelry organizer. Sky’s the limit. Just don’t fall for that trap of keeping things you’ll upcycle or repurpose one day. Then it’s not upcycling, it’s still clutter.

Upcycle That has loads of different articles with ideas on how to upcycle anything from fabric to rubber, or make anything from decor to storage.

Organization

One of the reasons clutter builds up in your house might be because of the “I’ll set this here just for now” mindset. This isn’t always caused by laziness or procrastination. It could also be because of a lack of organization. You’re leaving this on the kitchen counter because you don’t know where else to put it, and it ends up sitting there for weeks. Or you shove something in a closet for the same reason and after a while, the closet barely closes. Don’t worry, I’m guilty of this too. I bet we all are.

Taking 5-10 minutes every evening to pick up and put away miscellaneous things around your seen space will help keep the clutter down. As for your unseen space, like your closets and cupboards, think about getting organizing containers, or dedicate spaces to things you have multiple of and don’t allow yourself to overflow that space. When your space is full, you can try using the one-in, one-out method as described by Rose Morrison in an article found on Apartment Theory, where whenever adding one item to your space, you make sure to take out as well.

These are just a few places to start. It’s important to do what works for you, whether that is trying and implementing all or none of these. But it’s most important to know that it’s okay to be struggling with clutter; in fact, more than half of Americans feel like they do, according to Side by Side Design. It’s great that you’re here now because you’ve taken that first step.