A cluttered mind can be reflected in a cluttered home. Keep in mind, I didn’t say “a dirty home.” There’s a difference between dirty and cluttered.

Clutter involves a collection of random items throughout one’s space. The items are necessarily dirty, they’re just taking up space…and not just physical space.

You see, the items in our physical space are representations of what’s going on in our emotional (mental) space.

When you walk into someone’s home, you can learn a lot about them in just the first few rooms. If there are a lot of clothes lying around – on the couch, kitchen table, hanging over the treadmill…you can probably assume they either don’t enjoy doing laundry or they simply don’t view laundry as a priority in their lives. Because, let’s be honest…we all have the same 24 hours in a day to get things done. What things we choose to get done is up to us.

Also, in most cases, at least seventy percent of the clutter items in our homes have no sentimental (or otherwise) value to us. We simply chose them based on what we were thinking (or more likely “feeling”) at the time.

Spring is here, and many of us will be doing some spring cleaning in hopes of getting our homes back in order and functioning more smoothly.

If that’s you, then you’ll probably find value in the list I’m about to share.

If you focus on setting your home up into these 7 zones, rather than simply “rooms,” you will find yourself getting rid of some clutter and clearing space for things you actually use and enjoy. Doing this will also create more mental space and clarity because you won’t be stressing over these physical spaces in your home anymore. They will become much more manageable.

Go through and declutter these zones every 3 months to keep your home clutter free:

1. Kitchen: This includes the spice cabinet, the dishes/pots and pans cabinet, and the sink. These are where the most clutter arises in the kitchen. Therefore, I encourage you to go through your cups first – get rid of any extra sports bottles or coffee mugs you don’t use every day or that don’t have sentimental value to you. Next, go through your pots and pans and dishes. Get rid of any tossable storage dishes, especially ones that have no lids. Toss them! Also get rid of any pots that are broken.
2. Laundry room/Mud room: This room can quickly become the catch-all room in the home. Shoes: only keep outside shoes in here – work boots, rain boots, etc. (no need to keep any other shoes in this area. They belong in bedroom closets. Cleaning supplies: only keep the ones you use on a regular basis. Get rid of any excess cleaners, rags, tools, etc. This area is also where plastic (grocery) bags are often kept – stored in a bigger bag or under a cabinet. Invest in a bag holder that mounts to the wall. Fill that up and toss the rest of the bags. You ARE going to go grocery shopping again soon, and you can refill that bag holder as needed.
3. Catch-all Spaces: These are usually a desk or table by the door, a kitchen bar, or a media center. I would encourage you to stay on top of these more than anything else in your home. Clean them off at least once per WEEK, or they can pile up quickly. Throw away the junk mail. File the coupons. Pay the bills and file the receipts. Keep all the incoming mail in a box or tray, and go through it once per week or at the very least once every two weeks.
4. Bathroom cabinets and closets: Toss out any towels or wash cloths that are raggedy or heavily stained. Organize hair and beauty products in clear, shallow totes without lids so you can get to the contents easily, or you can use a clear rolling cart with drawers. Get rid of any empty boxes or bottles you haven’t thrown away yet.
5. Media Center: This is typically found in the livingroom or den and can house anything from CDs and DVDs to cords to chargers to, you name it. Use buckets or bins to organize these items. Just because you can’t see the stuff behind those cabinets doesn’t mean you don’t know it’s there. And whether you realize it or not, your subconscious mind is stressed by the chaos behind those doors. These things are taking up mental real estate in your mind.
6. Closets: Closets become a catch-all space for things like shoes, coats, umbrellas, rain boots, brooms, mops, vacuum cleaners, and more. Designate each closet for one or two specific purposes. Perhaps one closet can hold your extra pillows, blankets, and sheets, and towels. Another closet can house your shoes and outdoor necessites, like umbrellas and rain boots. A third closet can be used to store all your cleaning tools: vacuums, mop, broom, etc. If you’re limited on space, consider using things like Space Bags, underbed storage bins, and wall storage (hooks, baskets, etc.) When you don’t have floor space to work with, use the vertical space in the room.
7. Garage/Basement/Attic: These three spaces are probably the hardest ones to keep decluttered, mostly because they are places we walk through or visit occasionally rather than all throughout the day. However, if we make it a point to visit them with the intention of decluttering at least once every three or four months, we can stay on top of the clutter. With garages, we can do a weekly tidy by throwing away boxes (yes, all those Amazon boxes you forgot about), straigtening up pantry shelves, and taking any shoes/coats inside that don’t belong out there. Organizing things on shelves and in totes helps a lot in spaces like these. 

The key to keeping a clutter-free home truly is about awareness and intention. It’s much easier to maintain your home than it is to deep clean or deep de-clutter. 

When you get ready to declutter, create three boxes or piles: keep, donate, trash. Go through the zone, item by item, and designate a place for that item. Everything has a place!

Also, one rule I always stick to is: something in, something out. I’m the most anti-clutter person in my entire family. They all love “stuff” and I feel suffocated by it. I never have moments of shopping where I say, “Oh, this is nice. I’ll find something to go with it.” If I don’t already have a use for it, I don’t buy it. But if I do buy something, I get rid of something as well. 

What are the spaces in your home that you find become cluttered the quickest?