12 Serious Signs You Need to Declutter Your Home

Sure, you might have a few extra things here and there. But do you really need to declutter?

Sometimes the signs are obvious, like when you walk into a room and see piles and piles of stuff everywhere. But sometimes, the signs are more subtle.

Often, clutter slowly creeps into the home without you realizing it.

It trickles in little by little, and then one day you start to wonder where all this stuff came from. And is it truly a problem? Maybe you just need to organize more? How can you really tell?

Here are some serious signs it’s time to declutter!

1. You buy things you already own because you can’t find them.

This is incredibly common, and unfortunately a double-edged sword. In fact, Americans collectively spend an estimated $2.7 billion every year on replacing things they can’t find!

When you buy stuff you already own because you can’t find it, you:

1. Waste money buying something you didn’t need to buy.
2. Waste time & resources (going to the store/finding & buying the item) or if you order it online, waste shipping resources like packaging & fuel.
3. Create more clutter (by bringing duplicate items into your home).

When you declutter your home, you get rid of the things you don’t really need and use, which means it’s easier to find the things you do need when you need them.

Decluttering is also helpful because your things will be better organized, and you’ll know exactly what items you have and where you put them.

2. There are messes everywhere you look.

If your counters and surfaces are covered in stuff, your floors are covered in piles of clutter, and everywhere you look there’s more clutter laying around, that’s a good sign it’s time to declutter.

When you declutter your home, your counters and surfaces will be cleared from junk and you’ll actually be able to use them.

You won’t have to waste time moving piles of clutter around or trying to find spaces to fit everything. Everything will have a spot where it belongs, and you might even have extra space in your home!

3. You can never find what you’re looking for.

Did you know the average person spends about 2.5 days a year searching for lost stuff? That’s entirely too much time to spend searching for things in our home!

Know what makes it even harder to find the stuff you’re looking for? Wading through piles of clutter and junk. Rifling and overturning stuff, all because you’re in a hurry trying to find that lost item. Making even more of a mess, and growing more frustrated by the second.

When you declutter your home, there’s less stuff you have to worry about. It’s easier to organize the stuff in your home, because there’s less of it, which makes it easier to find the things you need when you need them.

DECLUTTERING CARDS

4. You can’t close drawers, cabinets, & closets all the way.

If you’ve got overflowing drawers, stuff peeking out from under beds, and closet doors that just won’t shut, that’s a sign there’s simply too much stuff in your home.

You don’t need a bigger house or larger organizer, you simply need less stuff in your home.

When you declutter your home, you get rid of all the things you don’t really need, which gives you a lot more room in your home. You’ll have extra space, and maybe even *empty* cabinets and drawers!

5. You feel like you’ve outgrown your home & need to move to a bigger one.

Over the past 40 years, the size of the average American home has increased by more than 1,000 square feet. Meanwhile the average family size has actually decreased!

So how is it that larger families lived in much smaller homes just a few decades ago? And we’re overflowing out of our homes that are almost twice the size?

It all comes down to too much stuff! It’s very rarely the case that you truly need a bigger home… what’s more likely is that you need less stuff.

When you declutter your home, it’s amazing how much more space you have. It actually gives your home room to breathe. You’ll have more space, and chances are you might even find that your home is the perfect size for your family!

6. You spend way too much time cleaning.

Did you know that getting rid of your clutter can get rid of an estimated 40% of the housework? That’s huge!

If you feel like all you do all day is clean up messes in your home, cleaning is just a band aid. Those messes will be back tomorrow. You need to fix the root of the problem, which is clutter!

The average American spends almost 6 hours a week cleaning their home. If you declutter your home, you can reduce that by 40%!

Which means you can save yourself an extra 2.5 hours a week. That’s valuable time you can spend doing something much more enjoyable than cleaning!

So, what will you do with your newfound time?

7. You feel like you need more storage space.

If you’re constantly searching for creative ways to organize and store your stuff, the true answer isn’t that you need more or better storage. The answer is that you need less stuff!

When you declutter your home, you get rid of a lot of stuff you don’t truly need. And a bonus of owning less stuff is that you won’t need to store and organize as much.

The less stuff you have, the less stuff you’ll need to organize and care for. In fact, you might even find you have the perfect amount of storage space in your home!

8. You can’t use your kitchen counters, dining table, or other surfaces.

One of the most common places clutter tends to accumulate is counters and surfaces. It’s all too easy to set something down on a flat surface and walk away.

Then it sits there, and before you know it that one thing you set down has grown into a pile of 20 things! Now when you need to use your kitchen counters to cook something, you can’t because they’re covered in clutter.

You should be able to USE the surfaces in your home. You should be able to sit down at your dining table and enjoy a meal without pushing aside clutter.

You should be able to use your kitchen and bathroom counters. You should be able to use any desks or other tables for their intended uses. If you can’t use them because they’re covered in clutter, that’s a problem!

When you declutter your home, you will notice a marked decrease in the amount of clutter piles on countertops and surfaces. Get that clutter out of your home so that you can actually use your counters and tables!

9. You avoid inviting guests over.

This is a big one! It can be embarrassing to invite someone into your home when it’s full of clutter. Maybe you’ve wanted to invite a friend to your home spur of the moment, but found an excuse not to so they wouldn’t see all the mess.

Maybe you’ve avoided hosting something or put off having relatives visit just because you didn’t want them to see all the clutter.

When you declutter your home, there’s so much less stuff to worry about that you’ll be able to invite people over. Yes, even spur of the moment!

You won’t need to worry about what they might think and you won’t need to run around shoving stuff in closets and under beds 10 minutes before they arrive.

10. You feel stressed out & depressed by all the stuff in your home.

Clutter creates visual chaos, which means when you look around your home, instead of feeling at peace, you feel more stressed out by the stuff you see everywhere.

Studies show that a cluttered home can increase cortisol levels (aka stress hormones), which directly affects your health. This manifests itself differently in everyone.

For some, it may cause or worsen anxiety and depression, for others it may create unhealthy coping patterns such as overeating.

Get control of the stuff in your home, get rid of the clutter, and start feeling better about yourself and your home. Decluttering your home isn’t just good for your home, it’s good for your mental health as well!

DECLUTTERING AFFIRMATIONS

11. Your stuff is overflowing out of your home.

Maybe you have a storage unit, or maybe you’re using your garage. Whatever the case may be, you have so much stuff that it’s officially overflowing out of your home.

But you should be able to park your car in your garage. And you shouldn’t pay money to store your clutter!

You might have a special reason for needing a storage unit, but the truth is there’s very rarely a reason for needing a storage unit, especially long term. Chances are, you don’t truly need that extra storage.

Get rid of some stuff and you’ll be able to comfortably store your belongings in your own home.

12. You feel depressed & overwhelmed when you walk through your front door.

When you walk into your home and clutter is the first thing that you see, it can be incredibly depressing. In some cases, it can make you not even want to be in your own home.

But your home should be your haven. It should be a place where you can find peace in the midst of a crazy world. It shouldn’t cause you stress.

When you declutter your home, you’ll no longer be greeted by piles of clutter and messes. Instead, you’ll be able to walk through your front door and breathe a sigh of relief.

How to Get Started Decluttering

Have you decided that you need to declutter your home? The hardest part of decluttering is getting started, especially if you’re overwhelmed.

Here are two of my most popular resources to help you start decluttering:

FREE DECLUTTERING CHECKLISTS

These checklists features 100+ things you can get rid of guilt free! They’re divided by room so you’ll know exactly what to focus on in each area.

THE ULTIMATE DECLUTTERING CHEAT SHEETS

These beautifully designed cheat sheets are a powerful decluttering shortcut in a small package! They feature bite-sized decluttering instructions and guidance in an easy-to-read format, so that you can get started decluttering right away!

When you declutter your home, you free yourself from the burden of having to constantly clean, organize, tidy, and take care of more stuff. In exchange, you give yourself the gift of time, space, and freedom! That’s pretty much the greatest gift of all.