How to Get Organized and Clutter Free.

Keeping your Home Organized and Clutter Free

Every day, people glance around their homes and wonder how in the world they could make the place look more organized. Here’s the uncomfortable truth – and the one people hate to hear – you need less stuff. Period. You can’t have a tidy, functional home when every flat surface is buried under decorations, clothes, books, magazines, random mail, and those “just in case” items you haven’t touched since the Bush administration. This guide is packed with home organization from a reformed pack rat who’s been there, done that, and lived to tell the tale.

The whole point of organizing your home is to make it more functional and enjoyable. If your knickknacks are falling off the shelves like they’re trying to escape, or your magazine stacks look like a high-stakes round of periodical Jenga, you’ve got some work to do.

Certified Home Organizing Tips from a Reformed Pack Rat

If you’re a pack rat, there’s a decent chance it’s in your DNA. Think back to your grandmother’s house – every surface covered with twenty tiny trinkets, lace doilies multiplying like rabbits, and a collection of something in every corner: plates, spoons, thimbles, figurines… all carefully arranged but impossible to actually use the furniture for its intended purpose.

Did that space feel neat, orderly, and easy to live in? No? Then it’s time to break the cycle.

I speak from experience. I come from a long line of certified clutter champions, but I’ve reformed. My home is now neat, functional, and blissfully easy to clean. The trick? Staying vigilant and constantly guarding against the slow creep of stuff.

Just Say No to Gadgets

Organizing gadgets can be great… but they can also be enablers for your clutter habit. Magazine organizers are a perfect example. Instead of tearing out the recipe you love and recycling the magazine, you tuck the whole thing away “for later.” Before you know it, your organizer is overflowing – and now you have to organize your organizer. See the problem?

The same goes for “just in case” storage bins, multi-drawer cabinets, or specialty racks. If a gadget’s primary role is letting you postpone a decision about whether to keep something, it’s not helping.

The Mental Shift: Letting Go of Clutter

Here’s the magic cure to pack rat tendencies: let go. Not someday. Not “when you have time.” Now.

Let go of anything you don’t need, don’t use, and won’t miss. Just because you’ve had something forever doesn’t mean it’s a permanent resident in your home. Collections don’t have to be complete to be meaningful, and not every sentimental item needs to live on your shelf to honor a memory.

Your stuff should make you happy. If instead it’s stressing you out, it’s time for a breakup.

Ways to Release the Clutter

Sell Items Online

My grandmother has made thousands selling forgotten basement treasures on eBay – things she didn’t even remember owning. Just beware: eBay can create its own brand of clutter if you start stockpiling packing materials or buying things “to sell later.” Keep your goal front and center: you’re here to get rid of stuff, not just swap one pile for another.

Have a Garage Sale

A successful garage sale is a great way to offload clutter – but only if it actually happens. If “I’m planning a garage sale” has been your excuse for years, it’s time to either set a firm, unchangeable date (and maybe recruit neighbors to join in) or admit it’s not going to happen and donate those items instead.

Trash It

Sometimes the fastest, most freeing option is to grab a trash bag, fill it, seal it, and never look back. Yes, you spent money on these things, but you’ve already gotten whatever enjoyment they brought you. Think of it as paying rent for the time they lived with you – and now the lease is up.

Staying Clutter-Free

Decluttering isn’t a one-and-done job. Once your space is clean, you have to actively defend it.

• Avoid garage sales unless you’re shopping specifically for resale items.
• Ask for clutter-free gifts (experiences, gift cards, consumables) for holidays.
• Follow the “one in, one out” rule: if you bring something home that’s not food or cleaning supplies, something similar must go.
• Don’t let magazines turn into decor – read them, recycle them.
• Keep an eye on “tech clutter”: unused printers, tangled cords, mystery cables… if you don’t know what it’s for, you don’t need it.

The Payoff of Being Organized

An organized home is more than just pretty – it’s peaceful. Everything looks cleaner. You can tidy up in minutes instead of hours. Your family will be more likely to respect the space (and less likely to drop things wherever they feel like). And you’ll finally be able to relax in a home that feels open, functional, and joyful.

From one recovering clutter collector to another, I promise: following these home organization from a reformed pack rat will give you more space, more sanity, and more time to actually enjoy your life.