10 Ways to Declutter Your Life

10 Ways to Declutter Your Life

Decluttering isn’t just for your closet or home.

It’s for your mind, your relationships, your finances, your time, and so much more.

When you declutter your life, you gain the focus and clarity needed to truly live an intentional life.

Let’s talk 10 ways to declutter your life.

10 Ways to Declutter Your Life

Declutter your spending.

Whether you can afford to do so or not, getting in the habit of buying things you don’t need, such as clothing, will only leave you unfulfilled (and with a cluttered closet).

It’s also an unproductive way to spend money.

I used to buy hundreds of dollars of new clothes every month, because I could. Some of the items never saw the tags cut off. It was not just a waste of money, but a waste of space in my closet.

The feeling of fulfillment after making such a purpose is fleeting and will never truly fill a void within you. You’ll always be chasing the next big “high” of spending money.

There is definitely a time and place to treat yourself to a luxurious item, but it should be seen as a treat, not a habit.

Being intentional about spending is a great way to reduce the clutter in your home and be smarter with your money.

Over the last five years I went from someone who was constantly spending money to someone who only bought things as needed or as an occasional treat.

When you practice the disciplined habit of not giving in to every little thing you want for immediate gratification, eventually you’ll get really good at it. That’s what happened to me. And I saved a bunch of money in the process.

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Declutter your house.

Clutter not only clogs up your living space, it clogs up your mind, too.

At one point, my husband and I turned our office into a storage space-but not intentionally.

We had a few large wedding gifts not put away, along with other assorted “stuff” just taking up space-including a pile-up on the desk, which is the desk I worked from at the time.

One weekend, we finally cleaned out the office.

I cannot put into words the mental freedom I felt to work in a clutter-free office on a clutter-free desk.

Grab a notebook and pen and go through every room in your house, notating what needs to be decluttered. Be specific in your notations-is it dresser drawers, a shoe rack, a closet? Write it all down.

Then, get started with one room, one dresser drawer or closet at a time. Schedule time to get it done. You don’t have to block out a whole day to do it, just schedule one hour if that’s all you have.

Another easy way to declutter without blocking out any time is to simply get rid of one thing per day for a year. That’s 365 items you’re decluttering from your home!

After you select your item of the day, decide the outcome of the discarded item’s future: trash, give away, or sell.

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Declutter your closet.

I am singling out your primary closet from the rest of the home because it tends to be one of the most stress-inducing places in your house.

How many times have you walked into your bedroom closet trying to decide what to wear and are completely overwhelmed?

We tend to forget we even own certain articles of clothing or accessories, and they just sit in our closet for years on end. Articles of clothing fall off hangers or are disorganized, and before you know it, you forget what you actually own and struggle just to put an outfit together.

I’m still working on getting to the place where I can open my closet and be pleased with the way it looks entirely, but it’s come a long way. Below are some tips I abide by to declutter my closet so when I open the doors, I have an easier time finding something to wear in the mornings and piecing outfits together.

It really is a time-saver and having an organized closet greatly reduces stress-similar to decluttering in general.

If any of the below is true regarding the contents of your closet, discard, donate, or sell:

It doesn’t fit you.
You haven’t worn it in years.
It has rips, holes, stains etc you have yet to fix or treat.
A gift you’re never going to wear.
Your style has changed since purchasing the item and it no longer suits you.
You have no place to wear it to.
Gut instinct says you’ll probably never wear it again.

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Declutter your mind by limiting social media.

Social media started out as a great thing-staying in touch with friends and family became easier than ever.

But over the years, social media has become more harmful than a source of good, and I’ve found it clutters our minds no different than a messy house does.

One scroll-through leaves you susceptible to others’ negativity. Not to mention, it’s become an addiction for many people. And then there’s the comparison trap-you see others on exotic vacations or out to fancy dinners with their husbands while you’re barely making it through the day working full-time with three kids.

There are a couple of ways you can declutter your mind regarding social media. Limiting your time is one of them.

But you’re going to have to actually schedule the time of day you’re going to use social media in order to stick with limiting your time. Without clarity, you’ll still inadvertently grab your phone and open your apps. So, you have to schedule a specific time when you’ll use social media, and stay off of it otherwise.

Depending on your habits and how social media affects you, deactivating or deleting your account may be the solution. I recently deleted one of my own accounts on one social media platform as a way to help reduce my time on social media altogether.

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Declutter your email.

If you open up your inbox and cringe, this one’s for you. There are a few different ways you can declutter your email.

For starters, if you’re not truly interested in updates from a person, website or business, unsubscribe.

Don’t just hit “delete” every time their emails come through. That’s just one more annoying action step you have to take daily.

Declutter your inbox by scrolling to the bottom of irrelevant emails and clicking “unsubscribe.”

The other thing you can do to declutter your email is to set up folders and categories to keep all your important emails organized by topic. That way, when you need to reference something, it’s much easier to find it.

Related:

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Declutter your work space.

Whether you’re working from home or in an office, having a decluttered and organized work space is imperative to your productivity at work, not to mention, your peace of mind.

With so many people now working from home, having an organized work space is more important than ever.

Make decluttering and cleaning your home office a top priority on a weekly basis. I know from personal experience how clutter affects your work performance.

There are built-in bookshelves in my home office. One has shelves lined with photos, and the other one has a hodgepodge of books and other items on it. For whatever reason, my husband and I seem to always make the home office the “dumping ground” for random items we haven’t found a place to put away yet.

I remember one particular period of time where I kept looking over at the messy bookshelf and a pile of random old mail next to it. It drove me crazy. I made a point to declutter and dust that whole bookshelf and it freed up so much space in my home office and in my mind.

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Work from Home Dos and Don’ts

Declutter your relationships.

Even relationships can cause clutter in your life.

It’s better to have close relationships with a handful of people vs. having scratch-the-surface type relationships with 50 friends.

That’s not to say you can’t make new friends or spend time with someone who isn’t one of your close-knit friends.

Unfortunately, most of us are limited by time-constraints, so it’s important not to overexert yourself to everyone. There’s a time and a place for all friends, but keep your circle of close friends your top priority.

I used to try to keep tabs on all my friends and it got to a point where I just had to let it go. And that’s okay, because as people grow older, start new careers, get married and have kids, they too let that go as well.

On that note, invest your time with those who have impacted your life positively and who leave you feeling energized after spending time with them.

Discerning who to invest your time in and who to keep at arm’s length is a valuable skill you can get good at. Just watch how people make you feel after you’ve spent time with them. You’ll either feel energized and uplifted, or drained and exhausted-which creates clutter in your mind.

Related:

5 Reasons Why Toxic Friends are Holding You Back

Declutter your schedule.

One positive thing that came out of the global pandemic that I noticed is people got better at saying “no” to what didn’t serve them.

The mandated lockdown experienced in 2020 forced all of us to stop many of our extracurricular activities, giving people the perfect opportunity to resign or step down when things picked back up.

That time on lockdown made many people realize what didn’t serve their agenda or what wasn’t truly important to them, so in that regard, it helped bring clarity.

Obviously, it feels good to volunteer and help others. But if you’re looking at your schedule thinking there isn’t enough time in the day, you need to create more time. That comes by reducing the activities that don’t serve your agenda.

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Declutter your mind with a morning routine.

If you’ve been with me for any length of time, you know I swear by my morning routine. That’s because they work!

Schedule time in the morning for a morning routine.

It can be comprised of various activities including exercise, reading, meditating/praying, reviewing your schedule for the day, journaling, etc.

As little as 15-20 minutes is all you need, depending on what your morning routine entails.

The purpose of a morning routine is to provide clarity and mentally help you get ready for the day ahead. When you wake up a little earlier to engage in your morning routine, you start the day on a positive note and avoid feeling rushed and irritable.

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Declutter your goals.

It can be overwhelming to the brain to set multiple large goals at once.

I’m a big believer in setting “baby goals,” which are monthly goals that contribute toward a larger goal.

Recently, I did this with my freelance writing. Instead of setting a goal for the full year or even several months for the amount of money I wanted to make from freelance writing, I just focused on one month at a time. And it worked-I met my goals on time because the smaller time-frame provided focus and clarity for me.

Let’s say you want to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year. That is awesome, but what are you going to do this month, this week, and today to work toward this goal? Looking at a yearly perspective can feel overwhelming, but when you break it down into smaller time increments, you gain clarity and focus, which leads to real progress.

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Before You Go

As you can see, decluttering your life is a lot more than just decluttering your home. It’s about decluttering your mind, your schedule, and even your relationships.

A clutter-free life allows you the clarity and focus you need to live a life of purpose, fulfillment, and joy.

What are your best tips for decluttering your life? I read and reply to every comment I get, so drop me a comment below! 😉

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Lisa

Hi! I'm Lisa. I help women live purposeful, fulfilling and joyful lives. I'm happily married and a fur mom to two boxers and two rabbits. I love Jesus, freelance writing, fitness, personal development, reading books, football, cross-stitching, and video games.