You’ve been decluttering your home for weeks or months and have gotten rid of dozens of bags of items you no longer need. You thought that your home would start feeling more minimal by this point, it it isn’t. My hope is that this list will help you identify the things making your home feel cluttered!
Remember, these aren’t rules or judgement! My goal is to get you thinking about where clutter might be hiding in your home!
There have been many times when I have personally felt frustrated that my home still felt cluttered despite the dozens of donations bags I had filled!
A few simple tips will help you overcome that feeling!
TOO MUCH FURNITURE
You may have decluttered the items from a bookshelf, or dresser, but actually having too much furniture will make a room feel very cluttered! Try condensing items or moving things around to have less furniture. You may even be able to sell 2 pieces of furniture and buy 1 more functional piece!
Sometimes it’s not even that you have too much furniture, but maybe just that you have too many wood tones or too many colours!
If that’s the case, try refinishing some pieces of furniture so they match, and you might find that they look less cluttered!
THINGS ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER
Kitchen counters are notorious for collecting clutter. If you cook daily, you may find that it’s a constant challenge to keep your counters tidy. I know it can be tempting to have cute decor sitting on your counter, but it might just be adding to the clutter!
For a few days, just try clearing your counters of uneccessary items and see how you feel! Put away any appliances that you don’t use every single day, or decor items that don’t serve a purpose. After a week, reevaluate how you’re feeling.
If you miss having those items on the counter, bring them back! If you’re loving the extra space and reduced visual clutter, find new permanent homes for those items.
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TOO MANY PLANTS
I know, this is shocking from me! I’m a huge plant lover, but I’ve found over the years that too many plants – especially small plants – actually feel like clutter in my home. So I try to stick to bigger plants that I love and have a good spot for!
I also find that containing my plants to a few locations through my home makes it feel less cluttered!
ARTWORK ON EVERY WALL
It can be tempting to fill every single wall with picture frames, shelves or artwork. But white space in your decor is actually important to avoid things feeling too cluttered! There’s a good chance that too much artwork is one of the main things making your home feel cluttered after you’ve decluttered.
At first you might not like the look of an empty wall, but give it time. Empty white space made me feel so uncomfortable at first. But after a few weeks I realized it made me feel so much more relaxed!
SMALL DECOR
Along with too much artwork, is too many SMALL pieces of decor. We often collect small decor because it’s inexpensive and cute. I much prefer investing in one large piece of decor that is significant to me as opposed to several small pieces of decor!
MESSY SURFACES
Are there surfaces in your house that always collect junk? Messy surfaces are a quick way to make your home feel cluttered.
Work on creating systems in your home to reduce clutter. Have a designated spot to drop your keys & mail. Create habits to always clear the kitchen counter before going to bed.
Even in a small space, it’s possible to have clear, tidy surfaces!
ITEMS THAT DON’T HAVE A HOME
This goes along with messy surfaces because messes are often caused by items that don’t have a home! I’m a firm believer that every single item should have a home!
Instead of having 3 junk drawers in your home, have a drawer specifically designated for batteries and extra charging cables. Have another drawer where you keep all your pens and pencils.
I love using small, inexpensive dividers for drawers. Labelling them is also helpful so that everyone in your home knows where to put things!
Pro Tip: Sometimes I’ll just use small cardboard boxes instead of purchasing new, plastic containers.
MAGNETS OR PAPERS ON THE FRIDGE
I’m definitely guilty for putting things on the fridge when I need to deal with them. And that’s ok if it doesn’t bother you! But I try to go through those things often so they don’t turn into clutter. And don’t forget the space on top of your fridge if that’s somewhere you tend to throw items that don’t have a home!
UNORGANIZED ITEMS
Messy bookshelves, closets, drawers, etc can quickly make a space feel unorganized! I love the look of colour coordinated books, DVDs, Essential Oils on my shelves.
OPEN STORAGE
Open storage is super trendy and can be gorgeous if done right! But it can also make a space feel cluttered and messy. A good solution is to use baskets to make things look more organized and contained!
Make sure that open storage doesn’t become an excuse for a space to become a dumping ground for junk! Even with open storage shelves, everything should have a home.
MAIL / PAPER CLUTTER
If you find mail or paper clutter piling up in your house, try to establish a system where mail can only sit for a day or two before you deal with it! I also always try to recycle and junk mail immediately, instead of letting it pile up.
OLD / DAMAGED ITEMS
Old items, mismatched decor or items that are damaged can really quickly make a space feel cluttered. If all your furniture is old and mismatched, it might not be an option to replace it all at once. You could paint it all to be more cohesive while you save up for furniture that you really like!
TOO MANY THROW PILLOWS / BLANKETS
I used to love having tons of throw pillows and blankets on my couch but I found myself constantly fixing & fluffing them. Now I keep 2-3 throw pillows on my large couch (mostly for my dog 😉 ) and that seems to be a good number for us!
WIRES AND CORDS
Wires and cords really make a room look cluttered. Even if you live in a rental where hiding your TV wires may not be as easy, it still helps to have them tidy and as hidden as possible!
ITEMS YOU’RE KEEPING OUT OF GUILT
These items can be HARD to declutter but they are often the things making your home feel cluttered! There are two main things we feel guilty about decluttering : gifts & expensive items.
When it comes to gifts, I remind myself that the gift giver would not want me to keep something that isn’t bringing value to my life! If you want to read more about how to handle gift giving as a minimalist, click here!
When an item was expensive, I am usually able to sell it for at least a portion of the price I paid for it. Otherwise I remind myself that the money was already spent, keeping an item that I don’t like isn’t going to change that.
I hope this helped you to identify the items in your home that are making it still feel cluttered!