6 Decluttering Tips That Home Experts Are Recommending for 2025

We’re half way through the decade, and you still haven’t gotten around to looking in that drawer you were supposed to organise pre-lockdown. Don’t stress! There are millions of people who feel exactly the same way.

If the ghost of projects started and never finished haunt your home while the number of piles are growing by the day, it might be time to take action.

We enrolled the expertise of Anna Horgan and Charlie Evans, the home organising specialists at Perth’s Well Organised and Susanne Thiebe from Sydney professional organising business, Less Mess to tell us what works and what doesn’t when tidying your home.

Susanne identifies the main hindrances to decluttering as, “Thinking too much about it, procrastination, perfectionism, fear of change, the rest of the family not supporting your efforts and thinking ‘I can't do it’. If any of these resonate with you, read on. As Susanne reminds us, “Organising is a skill everyone can learn. It doesn't have to be perfect, it needs to be done.”

1. Don’t try to tackle your clutter all at once

Picture that drawer you need to sort. Maybe your mind is drifting to the cupboard beside it that could do with a clear-out. Now to the bag of clothing for donation that you were supposed to go through. Which leads to the closet, and then the mess under the bed. Okay, stop – and go back to that first spot. An all-or-nothing mentality can morph into procrastination and stop us from starting altogether, especially when we think about the seemingly neverending list of areas to declutter. Instead, a step-by-step approach will allow you to confront tasks incrementally.

According to Anna and Charlie, “It’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of streamlining or decluttering your belongings. Our advice is to resist the urge to rush in, tackling everything in one go. Instead, take the time to consider which areas and spaces are causing most frustration and prioritise these. Ensure you have set time aside for decluttering, remembering it often takes longer than anticipated, and work on one space at a time. We suggest picking one drawer or cupboard initially, then decluttering and organising it to completion before moving on. Completing one space will give you the confidence and help build momentum to continue the process. A checklist can help to keep you on track and motivated throughout.”

Susanne echoes this, commenting on the importance of just diving in, “Start now, like 10 minutes after reading this. Start small: even if you are very motivated, the whole garage is not the place to start. What about the second drawer – the utensils one – in the kitchen. That is a smallish project that has all the ingredients for success. Start easy: stay away from emotionally hard stuff until you’ve got the hang of this decluttering skill.”

2. Create a system and stick to it

While everyone might have a method that works best for them, there are some tried and tested ways of consolidating your space. Anna and Charlie suggest that when in doubt, stick to a system that’s been proven to be effective, “Home organisation involves decluttering your unwanted items, giving everything a designated home and creating systems to keep your items in order. Each home and its occupants are unique and there is no one approach that suits everyone. However, we find following these steps in the correct order, and not deviating from them, are a highly effective:

1. Plan – ensure you know which space you are working on and you have adequate time.

2. Edit and Sort – categorise items, identifying any that can be discarded – this is the decluttering stage.

3. Contain and Store – find a home for each category taking into account how you use your space and use storage containers if appropriate.

4. Label – labelling helps all household members locate items and maintain systems.

5. Clean Up and Maintain – deal with your discarded items straight away and set aside time to maintain the space, making adjustments as necessary.”

3. Be honest with yourself

One of the most challenging aspects of taking on the task of tidying is the prospect of having to get real with yourself. Whether it’s admitting that you’re never going to read those magazines from 2006, or coming to terms with the fact that you’ll likely never again wear that dress you loved a decade ago, you’ll need to employ some brutal honesty. In her work, Susanne sees a few things in particular coming up time and time again as perceived obstacles to getting started, “Most people think [the main obstacle] is time – and it is true, decluttering and organising is very time consuming. But even having the time does not necessarily mean one starts doing it. During the COVID lockdown when everyone (without little kids) had more time than ever, people realised that time is just an excuse, and they just did not know how to start.” She continues, “Also, money: but de-cluttering and organising does not have to cost anything. Most people have enough boxes and containers.”

Anna and Charlie add that another common mistake people make when getting started is to invest in equipment and storage rather than jumping right in, “Avoid deciding where items will be stored and buying storage containers until you have completed decluttering the space. Only once you have finished decluttering will you know all of the items you need to find homes for and can make an informed decision on what storage containers may work best.”

4. Find a method that works for you

We all love trying a new trend, and this is still the case when it comes to decluttering. Popular new fads can be helpful for energising us and getting us enthusiastic about tidying, but it’s best to try a few and see what works. According to Anna and Charlie, “Trying out a new product hack from TikTok or organising books in rainbow colour order can be lots of fun and get people excited about organising their home, but generally the approach and principles of home organising remain the same. New tools and methods clients have seen on TV or social media can be incorporated into their home organisation project so that resonates with them and hopefully makes it something they can maintain.”

5. Work your way up to sentimental items

It can’t be overstated that decluttering is mostly a mental and emotional process. One of the main reasons for this is that there’s often items that have been hidden away that have nostalgic or personal significance. Susanne suggest that you should “Think of your sentimental items like a museum curator. If you have too much and display too much, no one will cherish and value the individual item. Try to find out why you collect so much sentimental stuff. Be gentle to yourself and possibly leave it till you have mourned a person or an event.”

Your oldest and most treasured items might not be the first ones to sort through when working through your belongings. Anna and Charlie explain, “Decluttering can be challenging for many people as it is an emotional and confronting process at times. We suggest beginning the decluttering process in spaces with items that you have little emotional attachment to, for example the kitchen & laundry. Sentimental items and other areas you may want to take time over should be left to the end of the decluttering process. If you come across any of these items earlier in the process simply store them together to be dealt with later.”

6. Consider hiring a professional

With jobs that we can technically do ourselves, it can be hard to justify hiring someone to help. But remember, there’s a reason why you could have done something by now, but you haven’t. If you have the means to do so, maybe you need some extra support to get started. “All methods work for someone, but no method works for everyone,” says Susanne. “That’s where hiring a professional comes in. We develop de-cluttering methods with and for our clients. Even after 18 years in the business no client is the same as the last one, no family has the same dynamics. Everyone deserves their own solutions.”