Home Decor
9 Decluttering Secrets From Small-Space Homeowners
Thinking about tidying up while you’re staying home? Here’s what I learned from writing a book on living small.
Photo by Weston Wells from 'The Little Book of Living Small'
It's here: Our game-changing guide to everyone's favorite room in the house. Your Do-Anything Kitchen gathers the smartest ideas and savviest tricks—from our community, test kitchen, and cooks we love—to help transform your space into its best self.
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14 Comments
Deb H.
December 7, 2020
My favorite hint for keeping a clutter-free home and life--"don't put it down, put it away." The coat you toss on the chair and just have to hang up later? hang it up when you get home, and you don't have to touch it (or think about it) again, or at least till you need to wear it. Our home isn't the most spotless on Earth (yeah, I need to mop the kitchen floor tomorrow morning to get rid of the evidence that yours truly wasn't very careful while moving a carton of eggnog to get to the eggs while making sourdough pumpkin bread for Sunday breakfast yesterday. Sploosh! It's amazing what a sticky, nasty mess even a little bit of eggnog can make. Or maybe, not so amazing...), but a non-cluttered but not always spotless interior will always beat one that is dusted, mopped, vacuumed, but still cluttered with lots of unnecessary stuff.
Cindy H.
July 30, 2020
My situation is a bit different than the most people's.
I am disabled with a very rare Neuro disease. I am always exhausted and I'm getting "Frontal Temoral Lobe Dementia". I am rapidly losing my oranizational skills, developing ADHD among other symptoms.
I am expiermenting on myself. Trying a form of "muscle memory"- for my brain.
I am playing the music I used to listen to, while cleaning house and keeping things organized. I hope the music will "remind" my brain (and body), how I used to clean and organize when I had a very busy life. It does seem to help my focus but it's too early to say it works.
I also have flat bins, one labled for each room. Kitchen, bedroom, bath, etc. They are actually dollar store cat litter boxes, big enough for a coat and they stack.) As I clean a room, I use them like restraunts bus tables. Things that belong in other rooms, go in the bin for that room.
When I get to a room, I put away the contents in the bin for that room, before I start cleaning.
I also changed where I started weekly cleaning. I found as this disease progressed I was running out of energy before I had finished. The last room was not as clean. Now one week I start at the living room, the next cleaning day, I start in the master bedroom, before I run out of energy.
I keep reinventing and adapting.
I especially hope these ideas are useful for disabled readers.
I am disabled with a very rare Neuro disease. I am always exhausted and I'm getting "Frontal Temoral Lobe Dementia". I am rapidly losing my oranizational skills, developing ADHD among other symptoms.
I am expiermenting on myself. Trying a form of "muscle memory"- for my brain.
I am playing the music I used to listen to, while cleaning house and keeping things organized. I hope the music will "remind" my brain (and body), how I used to clean and organize when I had a very busy life. It does seem to help my focus but it's too early to say it works.
I also have flat bins, one labled for each room. Kitchen, bedroom, bath, etc. They are actually dollar store cat litter boxes, big enough for a coat and they stack.) As I clean a room, I use them like restraunts bus tables. Things that belong in other rooms, go in the bin for that room.
When I get to a room, I put away the contents in the bin for that room, before I start cleaning.
I also changed where I started weekly cleaning. I found as this disease progressed I was running out of energy before I had finished. The last room was not as clean. Now one week I start at the living room, the next cleaning day, I start in the master bedroom, before I run out of energy.
I keep reinventing and adapting.
I especially hope these ideas are useful for disabled readers.
Laura F.
July 30, 2020
Thank you for your ideas, Cindy! Rotating which room you start cleaning in is a smart idea for anyone. Wishing you strength!
C F.
October 17, 2020
Cindy, Really love the "change the room you start cleaning in!"
Have mobility issues myself, as well as chronic fatigue, so I'm definitely using this tip.
And, just in general -- if you want to know how to "work smarter, not harder" ask someone with a disability, we're always re-evaluating how to do things to make them easier on us but with still achieving the results we want.
Have mobility issues myself, as well as chronic fatigue, so I'm definitely using this tip.
And, just in general -- if you want to know how to "work smarter, not harder" ask someone with a disability, we're always re-evaluating how to do things to make them easier on us but with still achieving the results we want.
Monica G.
July 24, 2020
I love these ideas and will try to implement what I can, but it’s really difficult when you’re married to a borderline hoarder. I have come to the sad conclusion that the only way I can live in a clutter free home is to be either widowed or divorced. The best I can hope for is to keep it from getting too out of control.
Laura F.
July 30, 2020
One of my friends struggles with a hoarder-y spouse, and her solution has been to give him an ample amount of closed/concealed storage and to place strict rules on the shared/public living spaces. And if you get really desperate: My father-in-law's wife used to outright lie and say she'd put his things in their "offsite storage."
Anne
June 24, 2020
Another retiree who downsized from an 1800 sf home to a 575 sf apartment: while we had many lovely things - both furniture and decorative arts - it became clear that we couldn’t bring everything. The technique that helped me was to decide what items / sizes of furniture I needed to furnish the apartment (# small tables, dining table, couch, single chairs, chests that had storage, etc.). By identifying what items were needed to furnish living/dining room and bedroom and THEN looking at what we already owned, it became easier to identify what items were crucial and which ones were “tertiary.” Furniture that could do “double-duty” got higher priority. After that, small items were parsed by which items we truly loved vs items that were simply “nice.” Needless to say, we had many items to dispose of, and used four vehicles: high level auction, lower level auction (slightly above flea market), online auction, and donations to community groups assisting people in need. Took us 6 weeks, from start to finish, to pare down and move - a process both eye-opening and freeing!
OldGrayMare
April 14, 2020
Moving from a 3500 sf house to a 1360 sf condo was an experience! Liberating, but still an eye opener. Our kitchen is small so almost everything does double duty. We are retired, so no need for an Instant Pot...the all day crockpot is just fine. One small skillet nestles into a larger one, into a still larger one. Only one dutch oven, one 9x12 baking pan, one large sheetpan...you get my drift.
Laura F.
April 15, 2020
Yes, that's the spirit! When we moved into an apartment with a smaller kitchen I did a real pruning of our cooking stuff and kept only the hardworking things. I also borrow things I don't have like special cake pans and the like!
Dee
April 2, 2020
I live in 600 square foot home and there is very little storage . So it is the day to day things like the mop bucket the mop and pet supplies and the blobb also known as mail and receipts I have problems with. I have one storage idea to pass on. If you have old drawers or find furniture that is not so great with drawers . You can get small caster wheels on Amazon to put on drawers for more storage under a bed or anywhere they might fit.
Laura F.
April 3, 2020
Dee, I love this tip! Self-adhesive felt pads also work for drawers, if adding casters feels too big a DIY. One way we've tackled the quotidien things like mops and buckets is to invest in ones that we don't mind looking at every day. And mail! This is a constant battle in every home. Beyond keeping it under control with a dedicated home and actively recycling things the minute you receive them, I am a big proponent of unsubscribing from mailing lists: I am constantly calling catalog companies, non-profits, and the like to ask to be taken off their lists. DMAchoice.thedma.org and Optoutprescreen.com can make a huge difference in the volume you receive.
Arati M.
April 1, 2020
Laura, the #15minwin is going to be my decluttering motto from here on. These are invaluable tips!!
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