{"id":19187,"date":"2026-03-11T07:16:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:16:04","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-05-31T21:01:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T01:01:01","slug":"every-decluttering-tip-you-need-to-clean-out-your-house-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guideposts.org\/articles\/positive-living\/every-decluttering-tip-you-need-to-clean-out-your-house-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Every Decluttering Tip You Need to Clean Out Your House Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sheltering at home can be stressful, but it also provides lots of time and opportunity for home projects you\u2019ve been putting off. To help you, we\u2019ve created a collection of all the best, expert-approved decluttering tips on Guideposts.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n

1. Start small<\/strong>
\nGuideposts <\/em>blogger Holly Lebowitz Rossi recommends starting your clutter clearing with a small task. She calls it a \u201crearranging project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA rearranging project is something that can be done in 15 minutes or less, and it will leave a single corner, surface, drawer or shelf in your home looking noticeably clean and orderly,\u201d Rossi writes.<\/p>\n

2. Follow the 60 percent rule<\/strong>
\nBecause cleaning can be so overwhelming, decluttering expert Kathi Lipp created the 60 percent rule. This rule suggests that you\u2019re allowed to take a cleaning break, when you\u2019ve gotten rid of 60 percent of the clutter. Lipp says this will help you avoid burnout and leave mental energy for you to move on to other spaces.<\/p>\n

Read Lipp\u2019s tips for decluttering every room in your house. <\/a><\/p>\n

3. Donate your giveaway pile<\/strong>
\nJoshua Becker, author of The Minimalist Home<\/em>, says one simple way to keep yourself motivated is to not <\/em>try to selling the things you\u2019re decluttering. \u201cTrying to sell everything you\u2019re getting rid of just adds time, stress and usually frustration to the process,\u201d Becker says.<\/p>\n

As an alternative, he recommends donating your cast offs instead. \u201cYou can\u2019t change the past, you can only learn from it,\u201d Becker says. \u201cJust because you made a mistake by buying things that you\u2019re not using doesn\u2019t mean you have to carry [them] into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t donate immediately, at least take the time to label and pack up your donation boxes, so you can take them as soon as you are able.<\/p>\n

Read six more decluttering tips from Becker. <\/a><\/p>\n

4. Use the container concept<\/strong>
\nDana K. White is a decluttering expert whose life changed when she gave up organizing and started getting rid of things instead.<\/p>\n

One of her secrets to clearing out a space is called the container concept. This simple idea states that the size of your storage spaces determines how many items you can keep.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have as many socks as will fit in your sock drawer,\u201d White says. \u201cLet that be the deciding factor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read White\u2019s tips for cleaning out your closet in seven simple steps.<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Think about what clothes you actually wear<\/strong>
\nWhen clearing out closets, Colleen Ashe, the founder of Ashe Organizing Solutions, suggests remembering that most people wear 20 percent of their clothing 80 percent of the time. That means most of us can get rid of a lot of clothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you haven\u2019t worn it in over a year\u2014maybe it has a stain, maybe it is missing a button or maybe you never liked the color\u2014it\u2019s probably time to give it away,\u201d Ashe says.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

6. Ask one question<\/strong>
\nHappiness expert Gretchen Rubin recognizes that decluttering can cause decision fatigue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you can avoid the decision fatigue,\u201d Rubin says. \u201cBut you can manage it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help her make hard decisions, Rubin asks one question to determine whether or not she keeps an item: \u201cDoes it energize me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Rubin\u2019s six practical decluttering tips.<\/a><\/p>\n

7. Consolidate<\/strong>
\nAnother one of Dana K. White\u2019s tips is to get rid of any duplicate items.<\/p>\n

\u201cPut \u2018like\u2019 things together,\u201d White says. Doing this will allow you to see how many of each item you own. Then, using the container concept, figure out how many of that item will fit in your space and keep only that number.<\/p>\n

Read White\u2019s five tips to declutter your kitchen.<\/a>
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\n8. Organize by category\u2014not location<\/strong>
\nMarie Kondo, star of the Netflix show <\/a>Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, <\/em>says most people mistakenly declutter by room instead of by the category of an item.<\/p>\n

Instead of organizing your bedroom and then your front hall closet, Kondo\u2019s method prescribes a specific way to go through your belongings:<\/p>\n