A big lesson I’ve had to learn when it comes to household management, is to keep things simple. This seems to go against my very nature as a pack rack, but learning how to declutter and keep a simpler household is an essential ingredient in staying on top of my house during these busy years as a young mom.

Welcome to the next part of our online book study of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. It’s not too late to jump in and join the fun! You can read the introduction and see the full schedule of topics for the next 10 weeks. Or jump in with today’s discussion!

Before we moved into our first house, we were living in less than 800 sq ft for the four of us. We had just moved to a new area and were thankful to have found a place to rent that was allowing us to save money! But we felt like we were living in the midst of clutter piles. No matter how often I cleaned, kept up on the laundry, and did the dishes, it felt like we were living in filth.

Why? We had way too much stuff for that space. In hind sight, we should have put more of our stuff in storage and just lived off of the necessities but we didn’t know how long we would stay in that house. Then we moved into our first house and didn’t have enough furniture to furnish it all (what a huge difference)!

But now that we’ve lived in our new house for over six months, I’m beginning to see clutter piles pop up again. It’s a funny thing, if you have space, you fill it!!

But the more stuff we bring into the house, the more I have to keep up on it. The more toys the twins have, the more time I have to spend every day cleaning it all up. The more clothes we all have, the more time we have to spend doing laundry and hanging it all up (and picking it up off the ground again and again when I forget to hang it up and it sits in the clean laundry basket for a week). Not that that ever happens…

Minimizing Clutter

Now, I’m not a minimalist by any stretch of the imagination. I am a thrift store shopper who loves to find a new tea set for 50% off, an adorable dress for $3, and a full sand box with a lid for $12. I love bargains, DIY thrift store projects, and vintage kitchen items.

My habits tend to lean more towards a pack rack than a minimalist. And I think that’s why this lesson is so hard for me to learn. I have a hard time passing up a good deal and almost never buy things brand new (except for books. I love books). But if I’m going to learn how to stay on top of housework during this phase of my life with little kids, I need to learn how to declutter and throw things out! 

“You know one surefire way to add more time and order to your life? Get rid of excess stuff…I truly believe that the less you have, the less time you spend on upkeep, maintenance, and cleaning. Either you control the clutter or the clutter will control you”. – Crystal Paine, page 143

Tackle One Thing at a Time

I’m a busy mom who doesn’t have time to take large chunks of my day or week to overhaul my entire house and declutter it. Before I had kids, I could have set aside some time to do a few large projects. But now, I have to work with the time I have. A half hour here or there. A nap time. Some time in the evening.

So in my effort to declutter my home, I’m taking it slow and going one room at a time. My main priority to start was my living room/kitchen/dining room (as this is open and really just one big room). I’ve worked on getting things into their proper place, emptying junk drawers, and getting rid of extra cups, utensils and other things that create clutter in this main room.

This has really helped! Now everything has a place. It’s so much easier to put things away when everything has a place. Then there isn’t a chance for clutter to pile up! A Slob Comes Clean container concept has really helped me be able to do this!

Has it Been Used in the Last 3 Months?

The wonderful thing about moving twice within six months and having a lot of your “extra” stuff in storage – you realize how much junk you have!! As we moved into our new house, I started bringing all my boxes in from storage and unpacking them. As I came across kitchen box after kitchen box, I realized how many coffee mugs, cups, spatulas and other extra stuff that I had in storage that I hadn’t missed in nearly six months.

This helped give me better clarity as to what I really need, the stuff that isn’t a necessity but that I love (like fancy tea cups), and what is really and truly just clutter! 

I challenge you to go through all your cupboards (starting in your kitchen) and pull out everything! Get it all out and start putting away those things that are necessities first. The things you use and reach for everyday. Then start putting away the things that you simply love (even if you don’t use them as often).

Then take a hard look at what is left over. Do you really need any of it? If not, then take heart that you can donate it to a thrift store or hospice. As a thrifty pack rat, I have a really hard time throwing things away because one day we might need it and I’m far too thrifty to throw things out! So take advantage of your local thrift stores and know that someone else might need the exact thing you are giving away!

Since I am NOT an expert on this topic (and am really learning how to declutter my life) here are some fabulous resources to help you:

• Filing Up the Donate Box – A Slob Comes Clean
• Subconsciously Decluttering – A Slob Comes Clean
• The Container Concept: Decluttering something I know I love – A Slob Comes Clean
• Decluttering my Kitchen Utensil Drawer – A Slob Comes Clean

Read More In This Series:

• The 10 Week Schedule for our Online Book Study 
• Taking the First Step in Gaining Control of Your Home
• Taking on Too Much – Learning To Say NO in Your Homemaking
• Creating a Personal Priorities List – For your Life and Homemaking
• Determining How You Should Spend  Your Time as a Homemaker 
• Creating a Manageable Routine & Schedule as a Homemaker
• Setting Goals in your Home so you can Stay on Task & Focused!
• How to Turn Your Homemaking Goals into a Reality
• Learning Self-Discipline Must First Start with Christ
• Learning the art of Self-Discipline In Your Home
• Being Intentional With Your Bank Account – Setting Goals
• Keeping it Simple – Lessons in Household Management
• Simple Steps to Decluttering Your Home {you are here}

5 Keys to Planning a Successful Day 

Free PDF Guide & Training Video! 

If you want to take this concept further and jump into how you can plan for a successful day (and what that even means), then I want to invite you to sign up for my FREE video and PDF guide 5 Keys to Planning a Successful Day. 

Sign up and you can start going through it right away! Join me to chat about how, with a few simple tips, we can start living with more intention. It might seem overwhelming to work on being more intentional and purposeful in your schedules and to-do list. But in reality, it takes just a few minutes to begin transforming your routines with 5 simple steps…

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