Can you give me tips on avoiding clutter?

516maria
by 516maria

Moving to a new home. Much bigger than the one I,m in now. How do I prevent myself from cluttering with knickknacks etc. I have accumulated 37 years of photos. Do I just not put any up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’ve gotten rid of a lot of stuff already and I’m having a garage sale, but pictures are tough especially family members that are No longer here. I definitely feel better when the house is less cluttered. And it’s easier to keep clean.

  13 answers
  • Rich Calkin Rich Calkin on Aug 18, 2019

    wine barrel with light in backyard


  • Tinyshoes Tinyshoes on Aug 18, 2019

    Maria....I have removed a lot of my older pictures and fixed a album with many of them. I understand about maybe not displaying all but an older family album is really nice and it can be displayed on a coffee table or a place where it can be seen. Of course, you can still use the older frames for other pictures and they can be easily be spray painted if necessary.

  • Put the photos in albums. Or rotate the photos you have on display. That way you don't need to have them all out at once. Over the years I have cut down on decor and display pieces to make it easier to clean. I switch out for season or holiday. That way you never get bored, keeps it fresh and easy for day to day cleaning.

  • The Inspired Workshop The Inspired Workshop on Aug 18, 2019

    Hey Maria! I think Tinyshoes has a great idea with removing the old photos and putting them into photo albums, they can still be enjoyed but don't take up so much space as in a frame! Then the photos of your loved ones are still available! Also, have you ever watched Marie Kondo on Netflix or read her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up? I resisted for quite a while and then gave in and watched a few episodes! It works so well! I was surprised, but her method of holding each item to see if it brings you joy and then either keeping it or thanking it for whatever it did for you and getting rid of it really helped me. I can have hoarder tendances at times, but this really helped me to clean out a ton of stuff that I wouldn't have otherwise! Hope this helps!

  • Shore grandmom Shore grandmom on Aug 18, 2019

    Scrapbooks are a great place to put special pictures.

  • T R T R on Aug 19, 2019

    Good luck!!! There are some ideas on getting rid of clutter on Hometalk - try scrolling through some of these, or search for a more specific subset: https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=clutter.

  • This is one of my favorite articles on cleaning, organizing and decluttering. It really breaks down the steps of the process, and even includes an interview with TV show Hoarders star Matt Paxton. Hope this helps! Hugs, Holly

    https://pinkfortitude.com/hoarder/

    PS - We have a FREE eBook with recipes for all of my homemade and all-natural cleaners. You can download it here --> https://pinkfortitude.com/thank#GreenClean

  • Rymea Rymea on Aug 19, 2019

    You can display a few of the framed family photos that you want to keep out in your bedroom and the rest in albums. Use the rule of three for knick knacks, that is no more than three things per surface or shelf. Usually a large a small and a medium piece works well. Some surfaces might only have one.

  • Deb K Deb K on Feb 09, 2020

    Hello 516maria, have you thought of getting cube storage? I like the 9 cube shelving and you know you can hide the baskets by using the fabric cube baskets, I swear by them, they give you tons of storage but take small space. When they start to get full, it's time to sort and purge again, also you can put containers in the cubes so you can keep like items together!


  • Homeroad Homeroad on Feb 13, 2020

    I would put all the photos in an album and leave it out where people can see it. Too many photos in frames gets very cluttered.

  • Libbie B Libbie B on Jan 30, 2021

    I believe in the bring something home take something out rule of thumb! Helps with being overwhelmed with stuff.

  • GrandmasHouseDIY GrandmasHouseDIY on May 28, 2021

    Hi Maria, a great option nowadays is to make a large canvas print collage that would include all of your favorite photos but still look nice on the wall. I know Vistaprint has a lot of different ideas and options for that kind of thing!

  • Homeroad Homeroad on Jan 11, 2022

    I put all my old photos in a plastic bin. They are there to keep them safe and dry and are easy to go through if I'm looking for something. You can use plastic shoe boxes to further organize by year or family members then put those boxes into a big bin.