7 ways our home is clutter free

We’ve always tried to keep our belongings to a minimum, live a simple lifestyle and not overcrowd ourselves with things. It’s definitely become harder since having kids, not impossible, just takes a bit more thought and intentional choices.

Here are seven ways we continue to live as clutter free as we can.

1. Don’t Shop. We don’t shop. For real. It’s very rare for us to just go shopping to shop (or at all in all honesty). Majority of the buying we do is intentional and online so we aren’t tempted to just pick up more things here and there simply because we’re in a store.

2. One in, one out rule. When we do need something it’s typically to replace something worn out. When we bring new things into the house we make sure to get rid of whatever we’re replacing. Which usually sends me into a spiral of a full purge so it’s a win win.

3. Purge regularly. It’s always ongoing in our house. I keep a donate box in the garage at all times where I toss items to donate and then drop the box to donate once full. It’s amazing how much you can accumulate over time owning a home and having children. Or how many products sit never used in your kitchen, office, etc. Purge!

4. Multipurpose items. We focus on products and items that serve more than one purpose. We bought an instant pot because our crock pot died and the instant pot serves many useful purposes. We use mason jars for everything – actual canning, food storage, random item storage, literally everything. We use baking soda, vinegar and coconut oil for so many more things than cooking, eliminating the need for cleaners, lotions, etc. We multipurpose wherever/whenever we can.

5. Borrow or rent. We borrow or rent things like baby items, tools, luggage and books (we love the library!). We try to exhaust our resources for borrowing items before deciding to rent them or ultimately purchase.

6. Pack things away. We have very limited storage space in our small home so we also need to be intentional about what we are storing. But instead of leaving out toys that Louie has outgrown to sit around and clutter our space I have a small basket in a closet where I toss toys he’s no longer interested in. I’ll bring them back out when they are age appropriate for the new bambino but for now they have no place in our living space.

7. Set expectations for kid gifts. When people ask what Louie wants for gifts we’re sure to give very specific suggestions. We try to give a few suggestions so the gift givers can still choose what they want to give. We don’t have space to house loads of toys, nor do we want to, so we focus on things we know he’ll love or needs.

For us this is a choice, we are fulfilled with less and we do work hard at it. It’s easy to just buy what you need, 2 day Prime it, etc. but most of that stuff we ultimately don’t need. Not only do we save space in our home and feel freer in our space, but we also save a lot of money with these methods too!