How to start uncluttering your family home

In the previous posts about saving money by living simpler and the benefits of uncluttering were discussed and how it can make you happier and live more free…but how does one actually go about this uncluttering business? You might feel like it will be very exhausting to try and sell all your unnecessary possessions. Not to mention, you will actually have to go through everything, sort it, bin it, box it, and clean the things you cannot part with. And then organize everything from the top down. Granted, this is very daunting, but taking small steps and seeing it as an on-going project to a better life is the key.

If you live with a family, getting them to help you will take some motivation. Luckily, once your other family members see how much better it feels to live in a house that is free from clutter, where everything is easy to find and clean, most of them will come around and help with the next room you sort through. For some, the fear of losing something of value that they could have sold is enough to make them help you sort the stuff. Don’t be scared to help them throw away something you know they’ll never use and listen to your family members when they tell you you’ve only used that foot spa once. When you’re all in it together it makes things much easier.

An uncluttered family room can still be comfortable, image by Posh Living, LLC

The same goes for keeping your home uncluttered: once your family values the new, open space they will be less likely to add new possessions or to allow others to bring in clutter. This may cause a few tiffs, but think of it this way: you won’t be fighting about losing stuff in your home as the fewer possessions you have, the less likely you will be to lose something and blame each other for not helping in the search for the car keys, the tog bag or the dog’s lead. Cleaning and tidying will also be much less of a hassle.

If you have kids, take the toys at the bottom of their toy pile and put those toys away where they can’t find them. If they don’t ask for the toy within the next month, they will forget about it. You can keep sneaking toys they don’t play with to the “missing toys” box in a cupboard they won’t look or the garage. Do this every few weeks. If your child gets bored with the toys that are left and asks for new ones, take some from the “missing toys” box and put the ones they are currently tired of in there again. Not only will they find toys exciting again after they were missing for months, making you smile because you don’t have to buy new ones all the time, but there will be fewer toys to lie around the house and clutter up their rooms.

Remember that it is an on-going project, that you have to tackle one area at a time and that it will take a change in your old habits and spending patterns. Kids will still nag for new toys if you go to the shops, so avoid taking them to the mall or toy shops. Not to mention, shopping will go much quicker and easier when you can focus on what you need to buy and you will spend less on things the kids want to eat. Normally, the things that your children want you to buy will be sweets or food with lots of colorants and sugar in them such as breakfast cereals and cool drinks that are expensive and have little nutritional value.

Not taking your kids to the shops will save you money or the guilt of buying them toys and “kids’” food when you know you are on your way to becoming over indebted. There are also much more productive ways for kids to spend their time: seeing friends, exploring new places, having picnics, doing crafts or starting a hobby will be of value to them in the long run. 

Where to start living with less

There’s so much to do!

Uncluttering can be daunting, but taking it step by step, room by room will motivate you. You will experience the freedom you feel when you have a minimalistic space.

Magazines, junk mail and books you have no interest in are major sources of clutter and easy enough to sort through, so start there. What you cannot donate, recycle. This is easy once you get the hang of it. Instead of putting junk mail or post on a table after reading it, throw it in the recycling or clip it on a board in the office space that says “to do” or “to pay”. Not only will you keep up with your bills and errands, but you won’t have newspapers, catalogues and letters piling up. Uncluttering makes life easier and saves you time in the long run.

Going through your cupboards is an important part of living with less. Not only will you be able to find things easier, but expired products won’t lurk in the back of your pantry and bathroom cupboards. When you know what is going on in your cupboards, you are much less likely to buy duplicate items and far more likely to notice when you run out of something. This will save you money and the frustration of wanting to bake a cake but there’s no flour.

A Japanese kitchen. The Japanese know the value of an uncluttered home
Image by Wootang01

Kitchen cupboards can be organized by only keeping the tubs that have lids and lids that have tubs, selling appliances you never use (waffle makers and potato shredders are nice, but do you really use yours?), throwing out the broken ones and putting the remaining things in containers that can be easily taken out and looked through. Sort things by type: you can even label your containers “bowls”, “large containers”, “lunch boxes”, “utensils” and so forth.

Once you have gone through located places, you can tackle the furniture in your home and sell furniture that no one ever uses. Keeping things off the floor is also an important rule: this will keep you from cluttering in the future and once you have no more piles sitting around, things will look and feel much cleaner and literally be easier to clean. Try keeping surfaces clear as well. Only have the necessary appliances in your kitchen and keep utensils in drawers or in containers in your cupboards where they stay dust free. We usually have way too many decorations in our homes of which most are rather unsightly. If you cannot bear to part with decorations, put them away and swop them around when you get tired of the ones currently on display. If you go back to them and you haven’t missed them, it’s time to sell or donate.

A minimalist home is not something you can organize and expect to keep if you don’t change your habits. Before buying something, think about how tidy your home is with few possessions, think about the debt you are trying to repay and think about what you are trying to achieve by making the purchase. Will you really be happier with a new TV or teacup set? Or are you trying to better your quality of living by accumulating things? As described in previous posts, life doesn’t work that way and owning less will mean less worries and more time to relax.