The 3 areas to declutter when you don’t know where to start

January 11, 2022

Decluttering for the first time can be super overwhelming, especially if you have a lot of stuff and your space is packed to the brim.

The same goes for decluttering again after taking a long break!

So where do you start? How do you decide what area to declutter first when tackling your cluttered home?

The answer is easier than you think!

3 best areas to declutter when you don't know where to start

What area to declutter first?

Start with the area that causes you the most grief. 

I know, that may sound a bit easier said than done! When an entire house is full of clutter, or you're just too overwhelmed, it can be hard to focus on that first area to tackle.

When in doubt, we suggest the following:

Area #1: The Kitchen

Sarah generally recommends starting with the kitchen, and for good reason! The kitchen is the heart of the home, as well as:

  • a highly used space by all members of the family
  • a space that is typically seen by visitors and guests in the home
  • an area of the home where mess is common and requires better organization to avoid bigger messes
  • a room where random, non-kitchen items tend to get left behind (think school bookbags and junk mail)

Decluttering your kitchen first will help you set the vibe for the rest of your home and decluttering journey. It will make a huge improvement to the functionality and efficiency of your daily life right off the bat.

Area #2: The Bedroom Closet

If a person has clutter in the home, chances are their closet is a place that gets a lot of the excess - not just with clothes, but even with other belongings as well!

Those extra shelves and doors to hide it away from prying eyes make it an enticing place to store things like countless boxes of family photos, important household documents, and mementos and collectibles that you may have long forgotten about.

Just like the kitchen, having a decluttered closet will make a big impact on the functionality of your daily life - making it a top area to declutter first.

When your wardrobe is minimized and the closet organized, it:

  • saves you time getting dressed and ready in the morning
  • helps you find what you're looking for (so you don't spend money on things you already have... somewhere)
  • helps you maintain a tidier home and bedroom since it's easier to actually put things away

Getting this [probably] huge task out of the way will have you moving steadily along on your decluttering project.

What if neither option sounds possible?

Sometimes getting started with decluttering can simply feel too overwhelming. Or, the kitchen and the closet are areas that stop you in your tracks due to the immense amount of clutter or size of the space.

If that's the case, we have another tactic to decide the area of your house to declutter first.

Area #3: Start with the bathroom!

Bathrooms tend to be small rooms of the house with a bit less clutter inside. You will find that the stuff here isn't really stuff that you've grown sentimental attachments to over the years.

Getting rid of the clutter will be way easier in the bathroom, giving you the quick win you need to keep on decluttering!

The 3 areas to tackle decluttering first when you don't know where to start: kitchen, bedroom closet, bathroom (for a really quick win!)

How to motivate yourself to declutter your home

What is the best way to start decluttering when you have no motivation?

Start small.

As mentioned above, start with the bathroom. You can pick an even smaller quick-win area in the kitchen or bedroom closet - such as a junk drawer or a single shelf.

Once you're able to do that first task, you will find that continuing to move with that momentum is so much easier.

You can also try out a few of these 10 unusual ways to get unstuck.

What area of your home are you going to declutter first?

About the author 

Sarah Mueller

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