How Often Should you be Decluttering your Home?

As rent prices increase and more people downsize their homes, there is a greater demand for a minimalist approach. And, of course, decluttering is the first step of every guide to minimalism.

Decluttering your home means sifting through all your belongings and deciding which ones “spark joy”, according to Marie Kondo. You don’t need ten different white T-shirts, but you do need the ones that you wear all the time and provide joy. This joy could be emotional, aesthetic, or monetary.

How often does the average person declutter?

Hammonds Furniture surveyed 2,000 UK adults to find out more about our decluttering habits. They found that three in ten declutter their homes once a month, and one in twenty declutter once a week. For some people, this may sound a little excessive, especially if you have kids, a full-time job and a social life to consider. For others, decluttering is part of the routine, and it keeps stress levels to a minimum.

Hammonds concluded that the most popular time to declutter was once every six months. That’s a little more manageable for decluttering newbies. Interestingly, Hammonds also found the younger generation is far more likely to declutter.

Frequency factors

Your decluttering habits are determined by a few different factors, such as:

#1 Lifestyle

If you have a very busy lifestyle, you will have less time to declutter every week or month. This can lead to clutter accumulation, which may increase your stress levels over time. The key is to find a happy medium between decluttering and mess. Try decluttering once every three months, and if you find there’s too much mess, declutter once a month instead.

#2 Space size

Larger homes absorb clutter. You can push all the clutter into your walk-in wardrobe or spare cupboard and never look at it again. But with smaller homes, there is less storage and space. You need to utilise every piece of space you have, and that means clutter has nowhere to go. For smaller homes, you will need to declutter more often to keep your home calm and spacious.

#3 Family size

More family members means more people to add to the clutter. Larger families will need to declutter more often because they typically have more belongings. If you have older kids in the house, you can get them involved with the decluttering process and lessen the burden on yourself.

#4 Personal tendencies

Some people like a cluttered space. It feels more homely. Others can’t bear clutter and need clear surfaces to clear their mind. It all depends on your individual preferences.

Decluttering should be a part of your household cleaning schedule. It’s a good way to manage your possessions and ensure you’re not buying too many items.