Decluttering does more than remove physical clutter—it can actually make your home calmer—and there are ways to make it easier. Some organizing pros recommend waging a whole-house war on clutter to knock out the excess stuff in one fell swoop, so no room remains untouched. This approach may take a whole weekend (or even longer), but it might also be more successful—and it’ll mean the chore is finished quickly, not left to drag on for months and months. Decluttering the whole house can also be broken down room by room, so it feels doable. A few new organizers or clutter management tools (think bins, crates, shelving systems, and the like) are suggested but not mandatory. Ideally, at the end of the decluttering process, there’s not much left that needs to be stored, but a little extra equipment can help tame whatever remains. To use this room-by-room guide to its fullest potential, gather a trusty team—the whole family, ideally. (After all, they helped create the mess, right?) Give every family member a room to declutter, or work as a team to declutter one room at a time. This way, everyone will have buy-in on the success of the decluttering project, and will hopefully do what they can to keep spaces clutter-free for years to come. Employ a large basket to corral in-and-out items, like store returns and sports equipment. Get the look: HAY Kaleido Tray Small, $30; store.moma.org; The Little Market Hamper (similar), $168; thelittlemarket.com; Marquetry Boot Tray (similar), $98, anthropologie.com. Yamazaki White Tosca Umbrella Stand, $60; containerstore.com.
Keep cooking essentials handy on a tray near the stove. Whatever doesn’t fit belongs in the pantry.Create a non-fridge spot for displaying art, homework, and schedules, like a magnetic board.
Get the look: SmorgasBoard, $75 for complete set; ilovehandles.com; HAY pepper grinders, $40 each; store.moma.org. Package sheet sets within one of the matching pillowcases to keep everything together in a neat stack. Get the look: Classic Core Sheet Set, from $125; brooklinen.com;. Waffle Bath Towels, $49 each; parachutehome.com; No. 10 Fabric Fresh, $17; thelaundress.com. Make storing collections part of the room’s decor. Use a magnetic knife holder to corral toy cars. To buy: Our Tall Shoe Boxes, $6 each; containerstore.com; 18" Magnetic Wall Bar, $55; surlatable.com; Dry Erase Board, from $34; threebythree.com; Mighties Magnets, $13 for 16; threebythree.com. Style flat surfaces like dresser tops and bedside tables with a few objects you enjoy to discourage them from becoming landing strips for clutter. Get the look: Stackable Bamboo Drawer Organizers, from $7; containerstore.com; Seagrass Basket, from $258; serenaandlily.com.
Our Experts
Sally Augustin, PhD, environmental and design psychologist Elspeth Bell, PhD, psychologist specializing in clutter issues Jacquie Denny, cofounder of the online auction site Everything But The House (EBTH) Molly Graves, cofounder of The Neat Method Isha Gupta, MD, neurologist at IGEA Brain & Spine Debra Johnson, Merry Maids home cleaning expert Ellen Madere, professional organizer in Old Lyme, Connecticut Melissa Maker, author of Clean My Space Jordan Marks, cofounder and owner of It’s Organized Andrew Mellen, professional organizer Rachel Rosenthal, organizing expert Beth Penn, author of The Little Book of Tidying and founder of Bneato Bar in Los Angeles Gail Saltz, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell Medical College Mimi Shagaga, Beverly Hills–based clinical psychologist
