Houses are unfortunately well-equipped to collect things, and more often than not, homeowners find they have many more things than space! This can lead to clutter and a messy house, so one of the ways to make your house cleaner is to get rid of the clutter.

Regular maid services help keep dust, dirt, and germs at bay, but there is more you can do if you’re starting to see clutter creeping into your space. If you aren’t sure where to start, try this:

People often hold onto things without giving it much thought, so as you clean, take a look at your things and start asking yourself questions:

• Why am I keeping this? Is it sentimental? Is it necessary?
• Am I going to use this again in 6 months? A year?

When it comes to sentimental things, it might be a good idea to take a picture of it and start a scrapbook or gallery wall of precious things rather than keeping things you don’t use in boxes around the house—this way, you can display your memories for everyone!

One of the biggest culprits of clutter comes after a good decluttering, when you have boxes or bags of things you plan to donate or sell. It can be easy to say, “I’ll take care of those later,” and put them into a corner where they ultimately become more clutter.

Take care of this quickly by selling and donating the minute you get done cleaning, and then every few months after that.

The best way to do this is to create a “Give Away” box, and whenever you come across something you don’t need, put it in the box. As soon as the box is full, drop it off!

Impulse buying is the enemy of a decluttered house. It’s so easy to justify buying something without thinking through exactly where it will go and how it will be used.

One way to handle this is to limit shopping by using things you already have. For instance, if you are changing the colors in your living room, maybe you can repaint or reupholster one of the chairs you already own to match.

You can also repurpose items: that shoe organizer you don’t use much that’s hanging on your closet door might be better suited for holding craft items at your desk. The bedside table might become an end table, or the vintage chest may become a coffee table or bench—it takes a little bit of imagination and effort, but you can come up with some amazing things!