10 Warning Signs You Need To Declutter Your Home

What are the signs you need to declutter your home? That’s a question I hear on repeat.

Well, to be totally honest with you, dealing with clutter is an ongoing process. It doesn’t matter if you’re a full-fledged minimalist, or you’ve been working on simplifying your life or whether you’ve never fully decluttered your home, at some point clutter will creep in.

Everyone has to deal with clutter from time to time. The question is what are the signs you need to declutter your home. Are there warning signs that clutter is accumulating in your home?

Some situations are obvious, you walk into a home you and there’s stuff everywhere. The need to declutter is staring you in the face.

However, for most of us, it’s much more subtle. Clutter has a way of creeping into our lives without us realizing it’s happening.

But yes, there are warning signs you need to declutter your home.  Pay attention to them you’ll know when it’s time to stop and do some decluttering. Heeding these warning signs will help you keep on top of your clutter as you accumulate new things. Look for these signs and your clutter won’t get out of control!

1. You Can’t Find Things

How much time do you spend each day looking for your keys? Can you easily find a pair of scissors when you need them? Wonder what happened to the hairbrush you just put down?

Regularly misplacing everyday items or spending time looking for them is one of the warning signs you need to declutter your home.

You see a home that is primarily clutter-free and organized has a place for everything and everything in its place. People who have clutter free homes know exactly where things are because it’s easy to return items back where they belong.

Alternatively, when we have excess clutter in our home we tend to just put things down where we finished using them rather than putting them away. Because of the clutter, we don’t notice the items out of place.

So if you’ve been spending time looking for things, it’s time to declutter.

2. Drawers and Cabinets Won’t Easily Close

True confessions here, before simplifying I clearly remember having to literally shove clothes into drawers.  I had to push them down while trying to shut the drawer. And it wasn’t just clothing. The Kitchen cabinet that held pots and pans would only close if the pot handles were turned and placed in a specific way. There was a whole trick to it. The bathroom and hall closets weren’t much better.

NO ONE should have to go to this kind of effort to put their belongings away.

In fairness, it’s super easy to allow these areas to get cluttered because we don’t see inside the drawers and cabinets all the time. We forget what we have and just add more.

But when it gets to the point that you feel like you’re performing an acrobatic trick to close a cabinet or drawer, well, take that as a clear warning sign you need to declutter your home.

3. Piles of Papers Begin to Form

I struggle with this one all the time. But without a doubt, paper piles grow taller as clutter begins to accumulate in my home. When things are piled up around your house it’s so much easier to just toss the paper on the table rather than dealing with it right away.

However, the opposite is also true. When your surfaces are clear you’re significantly more likely to deal with the incoming papers right away.

So if you find piles of paper begin to form around your home take it as a sign that it’s time to do some decluttering.

Stop paper piles from reforming by signing up for paperless billing. Also make sure to toss all junk mail immediately, don’t even put it down. For more tips on how to finally conquer your paper clutter, read this one!

4. Flat Surfaces Have No Clear Space

Keeping flat surfaces clear is the number one way I maintain a clutter-free home. The reason this works is that flat surfaces are serious clutter collectors.

When you have too much stuff in your home, chances are your flat surfaces will be the first thing to fill up. If you find your flat surfaces being taken over by miscellaneous items, you can be sure that is one of the warning signs you need to declutter your home.

For any flat surfaces, think countertops, tables, dresser tops, floor, those surfaces should be kept clear of anything not used daily or a decorative fixture. Everything else on your flat surfaces either needs to be given a home or decluttered.

5. You’re Not Keeping Up With The Dishes

If asked my favorite benefit of having a minimized kitchen, I’d have to say it’s that there are so many fewer dishes to do.

As humans, we naturally take the path of least resistance. Given the choice of washing out a glass or dish, versus reaching into the cupboard for one that’s already clean, well you can guess which one we’re most likely to go for. This is what causes dishes to pile up.

By appropriately limiting the number of dishes we have, there’s no way they can get completely out of control. If you find the dishes piling up in the sink, that’s a pretty darn clear sign you have too many dishes.

A good rule of thumb is to keep two sets of dishes, bowls, glasses, and mugs for each person. The extra set will ensure you have enough for any guests that stop by.

6. The Laundry is Piling Up

Much like the dishes, when the laundry baskets begin to overflow it’s a pretty clear warning sign you need to declutter.

The reason is simple, the more clothes you own the more laundry there is to do. Just like grabbing a clean dish wins over washing a cup already in the sink, it’s so much easier to throw on a clean pair of jeans from the closet versus washing, drying, and folding a load of laundry.

But here’s the thing, in the long run trying to keep up with all that laundry, that will need to be done eventually, takes so much more time. The key to preventing laundry from piling up is simple. Own less!

Most of us, myself included, own way more clothing than we need. Heed the warning sign, if the laundry is piling up make a plan for decluttering those closets.

There’s some good basic info on decluttering your closet here. And for tips on creating a capsule wardrobe read How to Love Your Closet.

7. Your Car Won’t Fit in The Garage

I’m not sure where it was in history that Americans decided their garages were storage units rather than a place to park the car. But this was never the intended purpose for garages.

When you’re unable to use something for its intended purpose because you need it for storage of all your extra stuff, well… yes, it’s a warning sign you need to declutter your home.

It’s perfectly acceptable to store some things in your garage, however, the problem comes in when there is so much stuff that your car won’t fit. If your garage is overflowing with unused items, set aside a weekend to declutter.

Start by getting rid of everything you didn’t realize was in there. Next, toss all broken or damaged items. Be, honest with yourself here, if they’re in the garage you’re not going to repair them. Then look at donating all the stuff that you just don’t use.

I realize this is not an easy process. But I assure you, you’ll be so relieved when you do it.  You might even be motivated to keep going!

8. There is No Empty Floor Space

Once you start cluttering up your floor space, your entire home begins to feel cluttered.

Having so many belongings that you need to use virtually every inch of floor space is a clear warning that you have too much stuff.

I live in a pretty small space and I’ve been in that place where I’ve had almost every inch of my floors holding some furniture or storage item. When you live like this it makes it so much harder and time-consuming to clean.

Plus, everything feels crowded. All it takes is for one little thing to be out of place and the whole house looks messy.

So do yourself a favor and declutter the excess that’s cluttering up your floor space. I promise everything will look so much cleaner. As an added benefit, clear areas provide a sense of calm.

9. You’re Spending More Time Cleaning

You often hear minimalist talk about how owning less stuff results in giving you more time for the things that are important. One area where this readily shows itself true is when it comes to the amount of time you spend cleaning and maintaining your possessions.

If you’ve already decluttered and suddenly find that you’re spending more time cleaning than normal, that is one of the warning signs you need to declutter your home. Don’t let things get out of control again, it’s time to do some decluttering.

Likewise, if you find that you need all day cleaning marathons to clean your home that’s a strong sign you have a clutter problem.  This same is true if you feel like you’re constantly cleaning, this is unquestionably telling you it’s time to declutter.

Even spending time organizing lots of little things is a warning sign that you may have too much stuff. How much time you spend cleaning and maintaining your belongings is always a good indicator of how much clutter you have in your home.

Evaluate the amount of time your spending in this area. Look at which area of your home is taking most of your time to clean and maintain and start decluttering there.

10. You Feel Like You Have Too Much Going On

Living in a cluttered space can make you feel like you have too much going on because you’re surrounded by all you need to do. If you’re feeling less focused, like everything is a distraction, these are clear warning signs you need to declutter your home.

The truth is that cluttery environments make for cluttery minds. Usually when I feel myself being a little scattered and unfocused or not knowing what I should be doing, I simply stop and clean. This helps to see the areas where I’m accumulating clutter again.

Pay attention to how you’re feeling, your feelings can be an excellent warning sign that things are starting to get out of control.

Heeding these warning signs will help you keep on top of your clutter as you accumulate new things. Pay attention to these warning signs and your clutter won’t get out of control! You will know exactly when it’s time to declutter.

 

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