How to Declutter Your Home without Feeling Overwhelmed

From the clothes in your closet to the food in your kitchen, you may be wondering how to declutter your home without feeling overwhelmed. These decluttering tips and suggestions will leave your home feeling fresh and tidy without stressing you out. Plus, there’s a free printable decluttering checklist at the end!

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Do you ever feel suffocated by the sheer amount of stuff in your home?

I certainly do, and I hate that feeling.

I always feel better when the rooms in my home have plenty of space to breathe. It sounds a bit silly, but it’s true! My closet stresses me out when it’s packed to the gills, and I don’t enjoy the beauty of my antique TV stand when it’s overflowing with DVDs we don’t even watch.

To combat this feeling of suffocation, I try to undertake a deep decluttering every few months. And if I see that a particular area in my home is getting a bit unruly, I’ll do a small-scale decluttering right then!

In fact, just last week I purged my kitchen cabinets of the kitchen tools I no longer use. Who knew I had so much cabinet space in my small kitchen!?

If you want your home to feel like a welcoming sanctuary instead of an overcrowded storage unit, then you could probably benefit from a good decluttering session. You’ll be amazed by how light and pleasant your home feels once you get rid of the stuff that no longer brings you joy. It’s quite liberating!

So let me show you how to declutter your home room by room without feeling completely and utterly overwhelmed.

How to declutter your home without feeling overwhelmed! Be sure to print the free decluttering checklist so you can work down the list at your own pace! | decluttering tips | decluttering home | decluttering ideas

First Things First. Let’s Talk About The Basics

Before I tell you how to declutter each room in your home, we need to go over a few decluttering basics.

You’re Allowed to Get Rid of the Things You No Longer Enjoy

I’m personally giving you permission to get rid of anything and everything in your home that you don’t absolutely love.

If you feel bound by some sort of obligation to keep that hideous knick-knack your friend gave you as a gift five years ago, then go read this post I wrote on the topic:

Let It Go: How to Give Yourself Permission to Declutter

That post gives you four truths to help you let go of unwanted stuff. Seriously, go read it right now. I’ll still be here when you get back. 🙂

You Should Ask Yourself Some Hard Questions to Determine What to Keep

Do you use it? Have you used it in the last year?

Do you need it? Does it serve a particular purpose for you?

Do you like it? Does it bring you joy when you look at it or put it on?

If you can’t answer “yes” to one of those questions, you should get rid of it.

You Can Declutter Like a Pro in Four Simple Steps

If you want to declutter effectively and efficiently, you just need to follow these four steps:

1. Work in small batches, or categories. If you’re decluttering your closet, start with your shoes. Then move to your dresses, then blouses, then purses, etc. Working in small batches lets you declutter without making your home look like a tornado ripped through it. It also prevents you from taking on more than you can reasonably accomplish in a set time frame.

2. Within that small batch or category, take everything out. So if you’re decluttering your shoe collection, you should take every pair of shoes out of your closet. Taking everything out of its place forces you to decide what you will do with each item.

3. Sort your items into three piles. The first pile is what you plan to donate, the second pile is what you plan to throw away, and the third pile is what you plan to keep.

4. Put back only the things you love.

How to declutter your home without feeling overwhelmed using a free printable decluttering checklist! | decluttering home | decluttering tips | decluttering ideas

How to Declutter Room by Room

Now for the fun part! These are the categories of stuff you can declutter, sorted by room. You can also download my free printable decluttering checklist at the end of this post so you don’t forget anything!

Kitchen

Spices. If they’re expired, toss ‘em!
Food in your pantry. If it’s expired or doesn’t fit your dietary goals, toss it!
Food in your refrigerator and freezer. Same as above.
Tools in your drawers. If you don’t use them, toss ‘em!
Tools and small appliances in your cabinets. Same as above.
Dishes, cups, glasses, utensils. If they’re broken, toss ‘em!
Storage containers. If they’re missing a lid, toss ‘em!
Catch-all or junk drawer. Dead batteries, empty rolls of Scotch tape, buttons from clothes you donated three years ago, etc. Toss ‘em!

Bathroom

Towels. If they look ratty and disgusting, treat yourself to some new ones! You can find nice towels for cheap at Ross and TJMaxx.
Linens. Same as above.
Medicine. If it’s expired, toss it!
Makeup and nail polish. If it’s old, dried out, or isn’t your color, toss it!
Cleaning products. If they’re old, empty, or no longer fit in with your health-conscious lifestyle, toss ‘em!
Under the cabinet. I’ll let you handle this one on your own. There’s no telling what you have stashed in there!

Living Room

Books. Are you going to read them again? If not, donate them!
DVDs. Are you going to watch them more than once? If not, donate them!
Magazines. Have you already read them? Recycle them!
Knick-knacks. Seriously, if you hate them, donate them! Someone else would love to have that tacky gnome on their mantel.

Bedroom

Shoes. If they hurt your feet, smell terrible, or look like they stepped right out of the ‘70s, toss ‘em!
Clothes in your closet. If they’re too big, too small, dated, or aren’t your style, donate ‘em! If they’re stained, toss ‘em!
Clothes in your dresser drawers. Same as above.
Costume jewelry. If it’s tarnished, dated, or not your style, toss it or donate it!
Nightstand. If it’s packed with random things that you don’t even use, toss ’em!
Under the bed. Do you have a bunch of unnecessary stuff stored under there? Donate or toss what you don’t need!
Knick-knacks. Here we are again with those pesky knick-knacks! Just get rid of them if they don’t bring you joy every time you look at them.

Laundry Room

Laundry supplies. If it’s old, empty, doesn’t work, or no longer fits with your health-conscious lifestyle, toss it!
Stuff stored on laundry room shelves. Do you really need it? If not, donate or toss it!

Home office

Supplies. Toss out any pens that don’t write smoothly, any markers that are dried out, and any pencils that only have a tiny bit of eraser left on the end.
Receipts. That grocery store receipt from three months ago? Toss it. Receipts supporting tax deductions? File those away for seven years. Receipts for major purchases? File those away too.
Desk drawer. Do you have more dead batteries and empty rolls of Scotch tape stored in there? Toss ‘em!

Printable Decluttering Checklist

And now for the free printable decluttering checklist I promised you! You can get it here.

Wrapping it Up

Whew! So now you know how to declutter your home room by room without getting overwhelmed!

You’ve given yourself permission to declutter, you know the hard questions you need to ask yourself to determine what you’ll keep, and you know how to declutter your home effectively and efficiently in four simple steps. And to bring it all together, you know which categories of stuff you need to tackle in each room of your home. Now it’s time to get to work!

It may seem a little overwhelming at first, but just take it slow. Working on one small batch at a time will make the process much easier. Make sure you only tackle what you can reasonably expect to finish in one sitting. That will keep you from feeling overwhelmed with the decluttering process.

Also, be sure to download my free decluttering checklist! You can work your way down the list at your own pace without forgetting anything.

How to Declutter Your Home Without Feeling Overwhelmed (plus a free printable checklist!)

First Things First. Let’s Talk About The Basics

You’re Allowed to Get Rid of the Things You No Longer Enjoy

You Should Ask Yourself Some Hard Questions to Determine What to Keep

You Can Declutter Like a Pro in Four Simple Steps