4 Types Of Clutter You Need To Prioritize

We ALL have clutter in our homes. Some clutter just needs to be cleaned up and put away. Other clutter needs to be purged, thrown out, and gotten rid of. What this means is some types of clutter are fairly easy to deal with other types of clutter require some immediate attention. 

The Main Categories of Clutter

There are 3 main categories of clutter

There is emotional clutter

Emotional clutter tends to involve various emotions we have not dealt with that and tends to impact our lives in many ways.

This tends to be things like hurt feelings, unforgiveness, worry, regret, fear, and guilt.

The next category is mental clutter

Mental clutter is anything that takes up too much space in our minds. It prevents us from thinking clearly. 

Mental clutter appears when we have overbooked schedules or when we are constantly multi-tasking. This clutter is brought in by overstimulation with little downtime.

Third is physical clutter

This is all the physical stuff in our home. The thing about physical clutter is that it also impacts our emotional and mental state. Which is one reason it is important to deal with. This is the category of clutter we are going to deal with today. 

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The Different Types of Clutter

When we talk about physical clutter — that is all the excess stuff in our homes, there are different types of clutter that fall within this category.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list but is representative of the most common types of clutter that exist in our home. 

1. Clutter that is really trash
2. Things you never use
3. Items that have no place to live
4. Unnecessary duplicates
5. Supplies for hobbies you never started
6. Sentimental clutter
7. Gift clutter
8. Expensive items you neither use nor love
9. Bargain items purchased just because they were on sale
10. Inherited items
11. Paper clutter

Within this there’s kitchen clutter, bathroom clutter, linens, towels, bedding, clothing, paper, the list could go on.

When you have a lot of clutter in your home, it’s hard to know which types of clutter you need to prioritize.

4 types of clutter you need to prioritize

Not all clutter is created equal. While yes, getting rid of any type of clutter will bring immediate benefits, prioritizing these 4 types of clutter will have a dramatic impact on the feel of your home and simplify your life!

1. Clutter that Creates Other Problems

“Clutter” is defined as — “a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass”. In plain terms that means piles everywhere. The more piles we collect around our home means the better chance we have of misplacing important papers and other items.

If you find yourself having to search for your keys or glasses before you can leave the house, that’s a problem. Or if you can’t locate that important document when you need it, that may be an even bigger problem. Not being able to find these items when you need them may end up costing you a lot of lost time and even large late fees.

As a result, you need to prioritize this type of clutter.

Start eliminating those piles.

If you have a good amount of paper clutter begin clearing out those piles. Even simply throwing out all papers that are not absolutely necessary can make a huge difference. Create a simple filing system for the papers you need to keep. An even better idea is to scan those papers to your computer and get rid of the paper copies.

Look at other piles around your home that are creating problems. Work on having a clean and clutter-free space for your keys and glasses to land when you come home. This will prevent you from wasting time searching for these items.

Whatever clutter you have in your home that is creating problems in other areas of your life, that is the type of clutter you should prioritize!

2. Clutter that Frustrates You

If I’m being honest, all clutter frustrates me on some level. But at the same time, there are definitely issues with clutter that are more frustrating than others.

Before I decluttered my home, one big area I remember being frustrated by was not being able to close my dresser drawers. There were so many clothes they were overflowing.  I had to literally shove and push down all the clothing as I jimmied the drawer closed. Of course, this made trying to find a particular item I wanted to wear a full-on chore.

Another big type of clutter that was always frustrating to deal with was the kitchen clutter. At one point I had to take out 5 pots and pans just to get to the one I wanted to use. It was crazy trying to just put the dishes away.

Do you have overflowing closets or cabinets you use regularly? Prioritize these and clear out what don’t use, need, or love. This will help you make room for the stuff you do use and love.

Begin by clearing out the area completely, take everything out. Now start going through each item and make three to four piles. Things that are broken, stained, or not worth repairing go into the trash pile. Have another pile of things you don’t use or love, these are the things you will donate. The third pile should be only those things that are useful to you or that you love. If you have several items that you are just not sure of go ahead and make the fourth pile.

Now take the trash items and throw them out. Box up the donation pile and bring the box straight to the car for drop off the next time you are out. Put the items in the keep pile away and enjoy your decluttered space.

Finally, if you made a fourth pile of unsure items, box those up and place them in the garage or basement. If after a few months you have not needed anything in that box take it to the donation center.

3. Prioritize Clutter That Makes Your Home Look Messy

Having a neat and tidy home is important. You don’t need to be a clean freak with nothing out of place, I’m certainly not, but if your home regularly feels messy it’s going to interfere with your ability to relax and enjoy your home.

More importantly, the state of your home is a reflection of the state of your life. A regularly messy and disorganized home will bleed into the other areas of your life. This is why it’s important to have a basic handle on keeping a tidy home.

Clutter is the number one reason we struggle with maintaining a neat and tidy home. Therefore, one of the types of clutter you need to prioritize is clutter that makes your home look messy. It’s one of the best things you can do to take back your home.

When it comes to determining what things are making your home look messy consider whether you have piles of laundry or clothing tossed on the back of various chairs or dresser tops? What about mugs and glasses scattered around, or is the sink filled with dishes that need to be washed? Perhaps it’s paper piles and other items covering your dining room table or other flat surfaces?

If you can answer yes to any of these areas, it’s time to prioritize letting go of all the stuff that’s making your house look messy.

Look for ways to get a handle on the laundry, Brook at Happy Simple Mom has an excellent article with some brilliant laundry tips. Start decluttering the Kitchen one cabinet at a time or work on eliminating some of those paper piles.

Before you know it you’ll keep a tidy home in just minutes a day!

4. Clutter Without a Storage Space

Sometimes clutter isn’t necessarily things you need to get rid of, it may just be things you regularly use that don’t have a place to live when you’re not using it.

There’s an old saying  “A place for everything, and everything in its place”. Everything in your home needs to have a place to live!

When it comes to items in your home that don’t have a place to live, this is one of the types of clutter you need to prioritize. However, this type of clutter will also take a little more time to deal with because you are going to have to find a place for it to go.

Before you can put everything away you need to create some storage space. This may entail having to clear out closets and drawers to make room for the stuff you use.

If this is too much at this time, consider investing in a few baskets or bins. Because I live in a small home, we do not have much extra storage. To solve this problem we invested in cute baskets and storage ottomans.

Baskets are the easiest option as they are fairly inexpensive and add to the decor of your home. Something like this basket can easily store extra throw blankets or even the kids’ toys. At the same time, it still looks nice in your living room.

I have a few of these baskets and they are perfect for the top of a tall cabinet or bookshelf. They even work for the top of the fridge to store Costco bulk items.

The point is to focus on creating a specific space for everything in your home to live.

Focusing on these 4 types of clutter

If you have these four types of clutter you need to prioritize you know where to start decluttering! Focus on all the clutter that creates other problems, frustrates you, makes your home look messy, or doesn’t have a place to live.

Use these tips to focus on the specific types of clutter that are having the biggest impact. As you do, you’ll be well on your way to loving your home!

Which of these types of clutter will you be focusing on today?