We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
In an ideal world, I reshuffle my plan for taking care of household responsibilities before the kids are home all day every day once school’s out in the summer. But I had no chance at all to do that this year. Instead, I found myself barely staying above water when it came to routine tasks like cooking, laundry, and keeping the living room presentable (read: not making me break out in hives from the rumpled pillows and strewn-around socks).
And I’m not one of those people who can completely let everything go and stay content because there are more important things to do than keeping the kitchen floor spotless. For me, in order to be present and enjoy the summertime with my kids, I need our surroundings to be picked-up and peaceful. So I needed a workable solution, and fast, before “Overwhelmed Mom” showed up to spoil our carefree summer days. Then I came across the 3-30 rule on Instagram, shared by Rylie Jasmine, and I knew it could be the answer I was looking for.
The 3-30 rule entails completing household tasks in three sets of 30 minutes throughout the day. The key to the method is its prescriptiveness: Unlike the 5×5 method, which is super effective when you need to wrest order back into a house that’s gotten out of hand, the 3-30 rule calls for three distinct times every day dedicated to housework. However, the amount of time spent on chores is finite.
Thirty-minute blocks ensure both that the time pressure makes you efficient and that you aren’t compelled to let household tasks bleed into time that should be spent on what matters most (which I feel most poignantly during fleeting summer days).
I decided to implement the method immediately — and it went even better than expected. Within a few days, I felt like I’d been able to catch up on spaces that had been neglected (like the coat closet and the garage that had become hotspots for summer clutter like sunscreen, goggles, and towels). Additionally, I was surprised by how much I could get done in each 30-minute chunk of time. But the real beauty of the method, one which I couldn’t have anticipated until trying it out myself, was how useful it was to not be told exactly what I needed to do during my housework times.
Now, normally, I would rather know what I was supposed to do. Having a routine or a checklist cuts down drastically on decision fatigue, leaving plenty of energy left over for actually accomplishing the tasks. But in this case, when our days are topsy-turvy, throwing myself into whatever needs to be done in the moment is perfect.
For instance, one day I spent a 30-minute block re-setting our garage workout space so the older kids would be more inclined to use it (and I was rewarded with a text from my teen son saying he “loved the garage.”) Another day, I watered my plants during one of my housework times and then straightened up our bedroom after a whirlwind of packing. The flexibility of the 3-30 rule works so much in my favor during this season.
I also discovered how much I can get done around the house in a total of an hour and a half every day. Not only was I able to keep up with most of my daily chores, but I was also able to address some small projects around the house, such as decluttering our laundry room items and deep cleaning everyone’s water bottles. Overall, the 3-30 rule has been a resounding success. It’s an approach I’m personally likely to put into practice anytime our days are unpredictable, but it’s also a solid choice as a permanent household routine.
Hand’s up if you’ve been asking yourself how to declutter your home this spring! There’s something about spring that stirs up the urge for a refresh. The light changes and we can open the windows a little wider to let fresh air circulate. But we also begin to notice the things that have quietly piled up during winter—cluttered surfaces, overflowing drawers, the hallway that seems to collect everything from school bags to boots. Spring is the time we start to feel the need for a clear out, to make more space, so we can breathe a little easier in our homes.
While the idea of spring decluttering sounds uplifting, the reality often feels overwhelming. I don’t know about you but my life is pretty busy. Even the thought of devoting a whole weekend (or more) to decluttering my home from top to bottom can often be enough to make me quietly close that overstuffed cupboard and walk away, pretending I don’t see it.
This is where a gentler approach is needed. Decluttering doesn’t have to be dramatic or done all at once. It can be slow, steady, and thoughtful—a process that unfolds over time. With a few simple decluttering tips and a mindset shift, we can start to let go of the things that are no longer serving us, and begin to shape a space that feels calmer, lighter and more aligned with how we want to live.
So here are some tips on how to declutter your home without the stress. Whether you’re dipping your toe in with a drawer or two, or ready to embrace a full spring refresh, these spring decluttering tips will help you take that first gentle step.
Before you reach for the storage baskets or begin piling items into charity shop bags, pause for a moment. Decluttering isn’t just about getting rid of things. It’s about making space for what matters. So before you begin, ask yourself: why do I want to declutter?
Maybe you want a home that feels calmer at the end of a long day. Maybe you’re craving more usable space at home for family life, creativity, or simply the ability to breathe a little more easily when you walk through the door. For some, decluttering is about reducing mental load. For others, it’s about creating room to grow into a new season of life.
Taking time to connect with your reason helps the process feel less like a task and more like an act of care. It also makes the decision-making easier when you’re sorting through your things. If you know what you’re creating space for, it becomes clearer what no longer needs to stay.
This simple step of anchoring yourself in why can turn the act of decluttering your home into something far more meaningful than a spring clean. When you start with intention, how to declutter your home becomes less about getting rid of things and more about making space for the life you want to live.
Decluttering your home doesn’t have to mean turning your weekend upside down or emptying every cupboard in a frenzy of decision-making. In fact, the most lasting change often comes from small, steady shifts rather than dramatic overhauls. If the idea of a big spring clear-out feels overwhelming, start smaller and slower.
Begin by choosing just one area to focus on. That could be a single drawer, a kitchen shelf, or the pile of unopened post by the front door. Setting manageable goals is one of the most effective decluttering tips, especially if time is limited or energy is low. You might even find it helpful to set a timer—ten or fifteen minutes is often enough to make a visible difference, and short sessions help you avoid burnout.
Another gentle approach is to move through your home room by room over the course of a week or a month. Keep a basket or box nearby for anything you’re unsure about, so the decision doesn’t hold up your momentum. And don’t forget the power of a reset ritual—opening a window, playing music, or lighting a candle as you begin can help mark this time as something intentional and positive.
These spring decluttering tips aren’t about how fast you can go—they’re about discovering how to declutter your home in a way that feels calm and sustainable.
Once you’ve made a gentle plan, the next step is finding ways to fit decluttering into the rhythm of your everyday life. Because let’s be honest—very few of us have hours to spare, and even fewer have the energy to tackle the entire house in one go.
Instead of waiting for the “perfect” time, try anchoring your decluttering into moments that already exist. Ten minutes while dinner cooks. A quick sweep of the bathroom shelf before your morning shower. Sorting a drawer while catching up on your favourite podcast. These small windows of time are often overlooked, but they’re where real change can begin.
One of the simplest decluttering tips is to keep a donation bag or box out in the open—somewhere visible, easy to reach, and ready for anything you no longer need. This one act makes it easier to let go in the moment rather than putting it off for later.
You don’t need to do everything at once. In fact, the most lasting progress often comes in quiet, consistent steps. This is how to declutter your home without overloading your schedule—one habit, one drawer, one shelf at a time.
A few years ago, a friend introduced me to the Marie Kondo, a professional organiser and declutterer, and I still think about her every time I attempt to declutter my own home. Her approach starts with asking if items spark joy. If not, we should thank them for the joy they once brought and then let them go. If they still spark joy, they can stay. I really like this philosophy of gratitude. Rather than treating decluttering as an exercise in guilt or waste, she invites us to celebrate each item for its contribution. There’s something beautiful about that. It softens the process. It gives you permission to part with things that no longer serve you, without the heaviness of shame.
I have mostly used her approach to organising my clothing, especially the art of folding and storing garments vertically so you can see everything at a glance. This approach completely changed how I use my storage. It’s such a simple shift, but it makes daily life easier: no more digging to find what you need, no more forgotten items crumpled at the bottom of the drawer.
The Maris Kondo method is a mindset that turns decluttering your home into something deeper—a quiet ritual of release, grounded in appreciation. And it can apply to more than just clothes. That gift you never used, the book you didn’t finish, the things you’ve outgrown but feel guilty letting go of—they all played a role. And now, you get to choose what stays.
These spring decluttering tips aren’t just about what you organise. They’re about how you feel while doing it—and what energy you carry forward into your newly cleared space.
Once you’ve cleared space and chosen what stays, the next step is making it easy to keep things tidy. The best storage doesn’t just hide clutter—it supports the way you live, making everyday routines simpler and smoother.
Start by thinking about what you reach for regularly. Could it live somewhere more accessible? Are there items you love but rarely see because they’re packed away? Storage should feel intuitive, not like a puzzle. Open baskets, shallow drawers, and clear containers can help you see what you have at a glance, so nothing gets forgotten.
If space is limited, look up and look under to maximise storage space. Vertical storage is a quiet game-changer—wall hooks by the door, floating shelves above a desk, or even hanging rails inside cupboards can free up valuable surface space. Under-bed boxes, ottomans with hidden compartments, and multi-purpose furniture like ottoman beds are also brilliant options when square footage is tight.
And don’t be afraid to get a little creative. An old wooden crate can become a shoe rack. A ceramic bowl might hold keys, receipts or loose bits that tend to wander. Sometimes the most satisfying storage solutions are the ones you already have.
And if you do find there are things you want or need to keep, maybe for sentimental reasons or because you are sure you will need them in the future but you don’t need them taking up space in your home right now. You can consider hiring a storage unit where they can stay safe until needed. Self-storage is a great way to free up space at home without losing your belongings. But don’t use it as an excuse not to do the hard work!
Decluttering your home isn’t just about clearing what’s there—it’s about reshaping the space so it supports you going forward. When you find storage that suits your needs and your style, it becomes easier to stay organised, even when life gets busy.
When your storage supports your habits, it becomes easier to stay organised—and knowing how to declutter your home in a way that suits your lifestyle makes it far more likely to last.
Create Gentle Habits for a Clutter-Free Home
The beauty of a decluttered space isn’t just how it looks—it’s how it feels to live in. But once the initial momentum wears off, it’s easy for clutter to quietly creep back in. Life happens. Clutter piles up. Surfaces become landing zones. The key to maintaining a calm, tidy home is building habits that support it—gently, and without perfection.
Start small. A five-minute evening tidy-up can make all the difference, especially in high-traffic areas like the kitchen or hallway. Create a home for the things that tend to roam—keys, chargers, unread post—and reset them each day. If it helps, tie your habits to something you already do: clear the table before your morning coffee, or straighten the cushions after your favourite evening show.
You could also try the “one in, one out” method—each time something new enters your home, let go of something else. It’s a quiet way to keep things balanced, especially when it comes to clothing, books, or children’s toys.
These aren’t strict rules—they’re gentle rhythms. The kind that support a clutter-free space not through discipline, but through kindness and consistency. Because decluttering your home isn’t a one-off event—it’s an ongoing relationship with the space you’re creating.
A Home That Holds Space for You
Decluttering your home isn’t just about clearing out physical things—it’s about making space for something deeper. A sense of calm. A little more breathing room. The feeling of walking into a space that reflects who you are and how you want to live. A home you love living in.
This process doesn’t need to be fast, flawless or all-consuming. It can be slow. Quiet. Thoughtful. It can happen one drawer at a time, in between the busyness of everyday life. With a few gentle habits and a mindset rooted in intention, learning how to declutter your home becomes less of a one-time task and more of a supportive, lifelong rhythm.
Spring invites us to refresh. So take it one gentle step at a time. You don’t have to do everything. You just have to begin.
I live in a really small home. It’s a small two-bedroom flat and with two tween daughters, we really have to make the most of every square inch. It’s not easy at all and it is getting more difficult with every year that passes as the kids accumulate more stuff. Progress upgrading our flat has been snail-slow because my husband and I have been busy building multiple businesses. But we have learnt a lot along the way. Because most British homes tend to be on the smaller side we need a lot of creativity when it comes to small home ideas. So today, I want to share some advice to help you make impactful upgrades to your small home.
Declutter Your Small Home
When thinking about the upgrades you want to make to your small home that can make the biggest impact and help your home feel more spacious, the best place to start is with a really thorough declutter. Nothing else you do will make much of a difference if you are still trying to cram too much stuff into your small home. It’s time to get ruthless. Get rid of everything you haven’t used in a while and are unlikely to use again. Sell belongings, take the rest to the charity shop and anything that needs binning can go to the local recycling centre. If you find you have a lot of stuff to get rid of, consider hiring a skip to save yourself a lot of hassle. One drop-off, one pick-up, and you’re done. I am dreaming of doing this at the moment. I would love to have a thorough clearout and only hang on to the essentials and things that bring me joy every day!
Maximise Every Inch of Space in Your Small Home
Once you’ve pared everything right back it’s time to look at spacial planning. The layout of your small home will have a huge impact on how spacious it feels. It is totally possible to live in a tiny home that doesn’t feel tiny at all. I had this realisation when my husband and I spent the weekend in a small private spa in North Devon. It was roughly the size of two containers and yet it felt pretty expansive. This was primarily down to the layout, but also the many ways that the owners had used biophilic design in the property. So if your home feels like a collection of tiny, separate boxes, it might be time to rethink the layout.
Old houses love their walls. They divide, they frame, and they hide staircases in weird places. But sometimes, all they do is make life harder. Removing just one wall can open up a space in ways you didn’t expect—turning a kitchen and dining room into a social hub or making a dark hallway disappear into something airy and useful.
Not keen on full demolition? Even switching a traditional door for a pocket version can make a difference and improve the flow in your home by creating more room to move and fewer obstacles.
One thing we have learnt over the years is that it pays to invest in multi-functional furniture. When you live in a small home, everything that you bring in has to work super hard for you to earn its place. Some of the best storage solutions don’t even look like storage. An ottoman bed that lifts to reveal under-bed storage works wonders in our bedroom for storing away bed linen and extra towels as well as spare bags and backpacks. We also have a coffee table in the living room with storage inside for extra blankets and cushions. When it comes to choosing furniture for a small home, multi-functional pieces are well worth the investment.
Use Natural Light to Open up the Space
The internal window in the home office allows natural light to move through this North London terraced house by Cairn Architects | Photography by Peter Landers and Anna Stathaki
One way to make a small home feel larger is to make the most of the natural light that you have available. A dark room shrinks. A bright one expands. Light is magic like that. So make sure that windows are unobstructed. Don’t place furniture that will block natural light from entering the room. Choose window treatments that let the maximum amount of light in during daylight hours and make sure you hang curtains outside of the window frame so that they don’t block out any light when open.
Mirrors can help to bounce natural light around your small home. Place them opposite a window, and all that natural light will be reflected back into the room. They also create the illusion of having another window in the room making it feel double aspect and much more expansive.
Another trick is to switch out solid doors for glass-paned doors and adding in internal windows that let light move throughout your small home uninterrupted. This can allow natural light to illuminate darker, narrower spaces that need brightening.
If your home lacks natural light like mine does, consider how to effectively use artificial light. Layer your lighting by choosing a mixture of overhead lighting, table lamps, wall sconces and LED lighting under shelving and cabinets. This will help your home feel more flexible as you choose the right kind of lighting for a given moment.
Storage is more important than ever in a small home and there are some clever ways to maximise your storage solutions. Having your belongings out on display will only make your small home feel smaller due to the visual clutter. Instead, meticulously curate what you want to have out on show and store everything else away neatly and out of sight.
If you have open shelving units, consider adding small storage boxes so everything is out of sight and streamlined. If you have awkward alcoves, consider creating built-in storage cupboards with doors that keep your belongings out of sight.
If your small floor plan doesn’t leave much room for added storage cabinets, consider using the vertical potential of the walls. The space up near the ceiling is wasted space and can easily be maximised. For example, if you don’t have space for a floor-standing bookcase, install a book shelf about a foot below the ceiling that extends around the room. This keeps your books out of the line of sight but still accessible and makes the most of that unused space.
Create Depth with Colour and Texture in a Small Home
It is very tempting in a small home to stick with white or other very light colours when you decorate. Wisdom tells us that lighter colours reflect light and darker colours absorb it. Whilst this may be true, no amount of white paint is going to make a particularly small home feel as spacious as you’d like. Instead embrace cosier darker colours and give your home some personality.
Texture can bring your home to life and will make a big impact as it will not only make your small home feel cosier but it will also add layers of visual interest and tactility that will tantilise the senses.
If you are lucky enough to have outdoor space make sure you are maximising its potential. Vertical gardens can turn a bare wall into a lush green feature. A foldaway bistro table and chairs mean you can eat outside, even if it’s just a morning coffee. And if your garden connects to your home, matching indoor and outdoor flooring can blur the boundary, making everything feel bigger. Whether you have a large garden like we do, a small courtyard, a narrow balcony or a tiny strip of grass, there is always a way to upgrade it to benefit your small home.
No matter the size of your small home, there are affordable upgrades you can make that can help you to maximise it’s potential, make it feel more spacious and organised. Remember, the best small homes don’t try to pretend they’re bigger. They just use every inch brilliantly.
If you have any tips to add, please share in the comments.
Traditional decluttering wisdom dictates that you have four options when undertaking an out-with-the-old project: to keep, donate, sell, or trash. But the process of downsizing is so much more emotional than that. No, it’s not practical to save everything that’s ever belonged to you, your children, or your late loved ones. But items like birthday cards, shabby stuffed animals, or photographs provide a tangible attachment to the times in our lives that you want to remember.
What gets tossed, what do you keep, and how do you know if those antiques are actually worth something? Sometimes, a massive haul to a secondhand shop or the dumpster lifts a weight off your shoulders. And other times, a hasty purge can lead to regret if you discard items of high monetary, sentimental, or practical value. And the culture of “consume, discard, and repeat” is not a sustainable practice for the health of our planet.
For more content like this follow
Shara Kay, a Certified Professional Organizer and board member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing (NAPO) Los Angeles chapter, walked me through her process on how to go about downsizing more thoughtfully. She broke down the five instances when you should hold off on kicking your stuff to curb, and how to take a more sustainable approach to decluttering your space. Read on to learn how to get rid of clutter without holding on to regret.
Know the actual worth of so-called collectibles.
If you’ve found yourself in the sensitive position to re-home an entire lifetime’s worth of items from an aging or deceased relative’s estate, you may come across high-value items like fine china, artwork, antiques, jewelry, or collectibles. A professional appraiser can evaluate the items for a fee and suggest an outlet to re-sell, if you’d rather not keep them for yourself. However, Shara says that a free and easy way to begin research on an item’s worth is a search of comparable pieces on eBay or other auction websites.
Make sure sentimental items actually are just that.
Any object that’s passed down from generation to generation can become a family heirloom. Items like jewelry, cookbooks, quilts, journals, and even musical instruments that belonged to your relatives can hold a ton of sentimental value. But not all family members are going to hold these heirlooms in the same regard, and it’s impossible to predict what the younger generations in your family will value. Only keep what has been established as holding family memories.
“You are building a legacy with your belongings, but the more selective you are about what you keep, and the more you share the stories behind the items, the more likely the recipients are going to keep it,” explains Shara.
Give your kids’ old toys a “cooling off” period.
With so much clutter in their playrooms and closets, it can be tempting to chuck anything that your kids haven’t played with in a while. Families might regret tossing too many toys, books, and clothes too soon, though, and children can insist on holding on to toys even if they’re not actively using them. Shara offered her advice on how to minimize all the stress and heartache.
“Place a couple of boxes of old toys out of sight, and if the kids don’t specifically ask for them after three months — or whatever time frame you’ve established — it all gets donated.”
Bonus tip: Shara says this is a great trick for adults as well. Leave the items you’re not sure about in a garage or spare room for a designated “cooling off” period. If you find yourself missing your things, keep them. If you feel lighter living without them, toss!
If it’s broken, see about fixing it.
Did you know that thrift stores are so overwhelmed with donations, only a fraction of donated items end up on their sales floors? Our discarded stuff has also piled up in landfills and on beaches, and microplastics are now part of the ocean’s ecosystems. As people become more interested in sustainability, Shara encourages her clients to reconsider discarding items with small flaws.
Look at those wardrobe pieces you are ready to ditch with a more critical eye: What can go to the tailor or the shoemaker? Would you wear that jacket again if you replaced the broken zipper? This applies to interiors, too. “We bring in the steam cleaners to shampoo upholstery and carpets,” she says. “Suddenly everything looks new again and the clients are so excited about their refreshed space.”
Take stock of what conjures the best memories.
A “memory item” is something that doesn’t have practical value, like a pair of gently worn shoes or a small appliance, but it can’t be replaced. These can be photos, school awards, or the wedding dress you’ll never wear again. Shara advises picking one representative item from each category of personal memorabilia. Instead of holding on to all your school awards, keep the one that was most important to you.
Rather than saving all of your grandfather’s coins or hoarding your grandmother’s scarves, save the one that brings about the best memory. Boxes of old photos can be downsized if you remove the ones that are blurry or faded beyond recognition. Another great space-saver that keeps old memories alive? Bring them to a photo digitizer!
This 20-minute method might help if you feel similarly averse to making so many decisions at one time.
For more content like this follow
Step 1: Choose a space and set your goal
Choosing the space is the easy part: just make it small and manageable. For instance, choose one drawer, not the whole set of drawers. Setting your goal takes more introspection. You must be kind to yourself and acknowledge your limitations. Some possible goal ideas include:
Step 2: Remove everything
This sounds easy because it really is. Take a few disposable shopping bags or used shipping boxes and put everything into the bags (or boxes). Do not overfill the bags. You can remove the items by category if you are feeling extra sharp. Use separate bags for different categories of items. For example: from a pantry shelf, put all the baking goods in bags, then put all the canned goods in a bag. Continue this process until you’ve cleared everything out of your small space.
You’ll have miscellaneous items and that’s fine. Remove them anyway and put them in a “random” bag. The point is to achieve a clean slate. If you have a short attention span, removing items by category is probably not going to work for you. That’s okay, my friend. Remove things without categorizing. Place the bags or boxes on the floor of your area somewhere they are easy to access, but out of the way of your daily activity.
Now you are essentially done with the decluttering part. It’s time to go live your life and see what you need from the bags on the floor in the coming week (or two). When you need something, go shopping from the bags. This method works for a lot of people because it focuses on acquiring instead of letting go. Humans love to get new things which is what got us into the cluttered mess to begin with, but I digress. By shopping your bags of stuff, you only bring things back into your space as you need them and put them back together with like items.
To help yourself stay on track in the first week or so, write your goal or a reminder on a sticky note and mount it where you’ll see it over and over in the decluttered area. “Only things I use every day” or “Would I buy it again if I lost it?” After a few weeks, get rid of the shopping bags and whatever remains in them. Donate the bags or put them out by the curb and move on. Yes, throwing out these bags can feel irresponsible, but taking care of yourself and your mental health is equally important. If finding the exact right place to donate or recycle is keeping you stressed out and living with clutter, just throw it away. Good enough is perfect.
Trust that if you need something, you’ve gotten it out already. Focus on how nice your newly cleared area looks. Maybe find some containers to organize what’s left in your space. You deserve to live in a comfortable space without being stressed out by disorganized clutter!
Give this method a try and be kind to yourself. Be curious about the whole experiment. Wonder about what you’ll go shopping for in your bags and boxes on the floor. I’m guessing you won’t miss much of it at all!
