In 2021, only 8.4% of Americans moved. It is less than half the move rate since the Census Bureau started tracking it in 1948. It's a fact that people are staying in their homes longer than ever before. But are they keeping their homes clutter-free? Probably not. Many homeowners rent space in a storage facility to get rid of unwanted items, which can lead to excess spending, clutter, and stress. Visit this post about the stats on clutter. It's an eye-opener.
Know this: you can stay in your existing home and be clutter-free. This week, we're discussing how to downsize your home without moving. Yes, that's right, WITHOUT MOVING.
Downsizing is not just for older individuals. It is a process for anyone sick and tired of not enjoying their home. Think of downsizing as lightening up the load in your home and heart. Doesn't that sound more uplifting? I propose that you consider the process of downsizing as "enlightening" to lighten up your life. Now, let's begin the process of enlightening without moving.
Jump to:
- Key Takeaways
- Signs It's Time to Downsize
- 11 Surprising Signs Your Garage Needs Purging
- 14 Signs You Need to Declutter the Kitchen
- 20 Signs A Closet Needs To Be Purged
- How Long Does This Actually Take?
- First, schedule your time to declutter.
- Then, determine the trigger that stops you from finishing the job.
- 12 Things to Do to Reduce the Clutter in Your Home Right Now
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Frequently Asked Questions
Key Takeaways
- Many Americans struggle with clutter but can downsize the home without moving.
- Recognize signs that it's time to downsize, like feeling overwhelmed by clutter or avoiding certain rooms.
- Downsizing takes time-typically 9 months to a year-working consistently in small chunks.
- Focus on one area at a time to prevent burnout and make steady progress.
- Avoid common mistakes like rushing the process or starting with sentimental items.
Signs It's Time to Downsize
With our busy lives, we tend not to know when it is time to downsize. Below are some signs that it's time to downsize in your home.
- You're avoiding certain rooms or closets because of the clutter
- You own duplicates of things you already have
- Cleaning feels overwhelming because there's just too much "stuff" in the way
- You're paying for storage outside your home
- You dread guests seeing certain areas of your house
If any of these sound familiar, you don't have to move to fix it - just start working through the list below.
Before you start downsizing, you may wonder where you should begin. Get a free copy of our FREE How to Awaken from Clutter Blindness step-by-step guide to help you see the clutter you are forgetting about. This printable ebook and the three-post series will help you understand the areas to focus on when decluttering and downsizing your home.
Below are some additional signs for specific rooms in your home.
11 Surprising Signs Your Garage Needs Purging
With all the things stored in various areas of the garage, it's no wonder we have a heck of a time organizing this space. Instead of waiting until the garage gets unruly, why not start organizing it when you see the signs?
14 Signs You Need to Declutter the Kitchen
While walking into my kitchen the other day, I realized I hadn't had time to declutter and open up the area a bit. In 2014, we remodeled our kitchen, and during the remodel, I purged and cleared out a lot of stuff.
20 Signs A Closet Needs To Be Purged
We may not know when to clean our closet until it gets so out of hand that we get overwhelmed looking at it. The piles and piles of stuff can make anyone have palpitations just looking at the mess.
How Long Does This Actually Take?
Downsizing without moving isn't a weekend project, and it shouldn't be. Most people see real results in 9 months to a year, working through it in small chunks, about 4 hours a week. Keep in mind that 4 hours is plenty of time to help you stay focused and not rush to a decision.
Trying to rush it leads to burnout (and stuff creeping back in). Pick one area a week, stay consistent, and the progress adds up faster than you'd think.
First, schedule your time to declutter.
Pick a time during the week when you consistently have nothing to do. Maybe it's when you are watching a movie or napping. It can be on the weekends or during the week - whichever works best for you.
Some of the best times may be:
- From 6 PM to 8 PM
- From 5 AM to 7 AM
- From 12 noon to 2 PM
Ensure a 2-hour block to complete a decluttering session and devote yourself to the downsizing process. In my experience, two hours will get you halfway through decluttering, at which point you can purge items you no longer want. However, depending on the room's size and layout, reorganizing the remaining items may take an additional 2 hours.
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Then, determine the trigger that stops you from finishing the job.
These triggers or blocks are things like memorabilia that remind you of loss or an expensive item that reminds you how much you spent on it - anything that gives you a pause to take action and make a decision.
Now, decide on the best way to combat that obstacle. You need to have the strength to get through these areas. Making up a saying or phrase to remind you that you can get rid of stuff is just one way of dealing with your obstacles. Feel free to visit our 18 POSITIVE MANTRA SAYINGS TO KEEP YOU ON THE DECLUTTERING PATH or 13 SIMPLE WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF TO CLEAR THE CLUTTER for affirmations (affiliate) or statement examples.
If you are stuck on what to do with your items but are 90% sure you want to get rid of them, try taking a picture of the things you treasure but no longer want. Keeping a digital folder called "Stuff I enjoyed" to store these photos will help, too.
Below are additional tips that will help you downsize the home right now.
12 Things to Do to Reduce the Clutter in Your Home Right Now
Now, let's go through the nitty-gritty of the decluttering process! Below are additional tips to help you eliminate the clutter in your home without moving.
First, Reminder: Commit to giving away or eliminating one item when you bring in one item.
If you don't, you become a collector, not a minimalist. To remind yourself to do this, hang a sign, write a note, and read it whenever you bring something into the home. The one-in-one-out rule is vital to keep the clutter at bay.
1. Clear out the closets.
The closets are a place we all store stuff we don't use. So, clearing these areas of clutter will eliminate your things in the home. We have many posts about clearing the closets; visit them here.
2. Teach the kids to give away toys they no longer use or want.
Read this post, "Explaining Needing and Wanting to Kids," for tips on how to show your kids the difference between needs and wants. Toys that are not used should be given away so that they can be used and enjoyed by others. Keeping them for too long will result in them no longer being in demand and may just have to be thrown away.
3. Books are dust collectors.
Only keep the ones you usually reference. If you love your books, commit to taking care of them. Dust them each week. The more you have, the more time it will take to care for them. I have several popular posts on book decluttering and organization if you want to check them out.
5 WAYS TO ORGANIZE BOOKS ON BOOKSHELVES
EXTENSIVE LIST OF USED BOOK DONATION PLACES AND TIPS
7 BOOK STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL SPACES
4. Have a giveaway box in the garage for items you're not sure you want to give away right now.
Place the items in a cardboard box (affiliate) and revisit them in six months. If you don't need it within the six-month timeframe, you can probably get rid of it without regret.
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5. Clear the kitchen clutter.
Leave out the pans you regularly use for one week for kitchen supplies. Anything left in the cabinet can be reviewed and donated. I love a well-organized kitchen. For help with this area, visit all my kitchen organizing posts.
6. Make shredding old documents an evening event while watching TV or streaming.
Pull out boxes (affiliate) older than 3 years (7 years if you were audited) from your basement or closet, then start shredding and purging. Be sure to shred sensitive documents. Visit the IRS page called "How long should I keep records?" for more information.
Getting a good-quality, heavy-duty shredder (affiliate) will make the shredding process much more manageable. Below is one I found on Amazon (affiliate) (affiliate).
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7. Assign clearing out various seasonal areas.
For areas that tend to collect items over the seasons, like the shed (affiliate), visit them at the end of each season to clean them out. These areas could be three-season rooms and the garage (affiliate) as well. Below are some outdoor organizing posts to help give you tips.
8. Get rid of old unused furniture that may be cluttering up rooms.
You may not need more than one table in your home. You may have two sofas and only use one because the other is on the floor you no longer visit. These areas can be reduced to only the things you need to free up space.
I love doing upcycling projects where I update old pieces of furniture (affiliate), and I give them away as gifts. Check out my DIY furniture makeover projects with step-by-step instructions below.
9. Reduce the clothes to only the ones you wear.
If you want a minimalist wardrobe, visit this post, "The Minimalist Wardrobe: How to Love All Your Clothes." I recently decided to create outfits with all my clothing to see what I didn't want or need. To do this, I pulled out all my items and created days of the week hooks for each outfit. These days-of-the-week labels (affiliate) can be made by hand. See the posts below to make your own and use them to create your outfits.
HOW TO MAKE CHALK PAINT DAYS OF THE WEEK CLOTHING ORGANIZER
HOW TO MAKE REPURPOSED DIY DAY OF THE WEEK CLOSET DIVIDERS
DIY AFFORDABLE WEEK DAY CLOTHING ORGANIZER
HOW TO MAKE MASCULINE DAYS OF THE WEEK CLOTHING ORGANIZER
10. Paint your interior walls.
This one sounds funny, but we recently had our entire first floor painted. We had to remove EVERYTHING from this main living open-plan area. So we went together to decide how we would use the item, and it was still helpful. By the time we were finished and the painters were done, it had been a week or two. This process gave us more time to ponder the objects we couldn't decide on as we moved them out of the room. As we removed things, the main living area started appearing larger and larger. I was so glad we didn't rush this process, because we could get rid of about 20% of the items we had and repurpose them in the space more effectively.
11. Visit and Declutter Your Drawers
There are probably a lot of drawers in your home, from your kitchen junk drawer to your garage (affiliate) tool drawer; there can be so many places to clear the clutter. Pick a drawer a day and declutter and reorganize it. Ensuring the area has a purpose will go a long way toward being a decluttered drawer.
12. Revisit the infrequently used closets and basements/attics
Update 2026: These areas are great to revisit first, since you probably have items stored away that you've forgotten about. Clear them out completely and create groups of what needs to go; remember recycle, donate, give away, and trash are a great group starting point.
Feel free to visit our other downsizing posts for more tips and inspiration to downsize your home.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
I want to share with you some mistakes that will derail your decluttering and downsizing at home.
- Trying to do it all in one weekend - pace yourself; don't expect to do it all at once. You will get exhausted and hurt yourself.
- Keeping a "maybe" pile too long without a decision deadline - Create a deadline for your maybe pile. We get so busy we can easily forget about what was in there, resulting in a pile of stuff you have to go through again. But, this time with you judging yourself.
- Starting with sentimental items first (save those for last) - This can be tiring doing it this way. It's best to review items you don't remember you even have. If you start with these items, you may find you are dealing with decision overload and just stop.
- Not involving the whole household - Making decisions is already hard; when it is not your stuff, it is impossible.
- Buying storage bins/organizers before decluttering - wait to buy the bins; no one knows until after they declutter how large (affiliate) a bin to get. You may not even need a bin. Save your money.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on how much you have, but most people see real results in 9 months to a year, working about 4 hours a week. Stay consistent, and you'll get there.
Decluttering is removing what you don't need. Downsizing is doing that with intention - right-sizing your home to fit your life now, whether or not you're moving.
Start with your closets or one junk drawer. Small, contained spaces build momentum fast, and you'll see progress right away.
Take a photo and save it in a digital folder like "Stuff I Enjoyed." You keep the memory without keeping the clutter.
No. Pick one area a week - a drawer, a shelf, a closet - and let it build. Trying to do it all at once is what causes burnout.
Remember that it will take time to declutter your home, especially if you have many areas to sort through. But rest assured, if you stay consistent and work at it each week, you will see a transformation. I've worked with clients who decluttered their entire houses, and it took about 9 months to 1 year, 4 hours each week. It is possible, and it will transform your life.
I hope this inspires you to declutter and downsize, or make the most of your existing home. What is your favorite way to declutter your home? Please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you.
If you need help finding focus in your decluttering process, check out my virtual organizing services. I offer three different types of services to help you get motivated.
Janet Schiesl says
I love the give-away box for items you not sure you need. Putting it in the garage is also good, since it gets these items out of your living space. I also like the stats on clutter link. Great info.
Seana Turner says
I love the idea of talking about downsizing in a context other than moving. We can downsize the clutter, and then stay put! Any space is more pleasant and easier to care for if there is breathing space. We can improve our quality of life simply by reducing the amount of stuff we maintain. It seems so often people declutter and improve their home in order to sell it, but why not do the same and enjoy it?
Linda Samuels says
I don't know about you, but I am fascinated by the tiny house movement. I love looking at tiny houses and watching some of the shows about them. And why? Aside from enjoying the clever storage solutions, I'm amazed by how few things people need. All of the stuff we think we need, we don't. So much of what we own sits being unused, collecting dust, and taking up space. I get that certain things aren't used, but are appreciated- decorative items, photos, artwork, or collections. And I've got lots of those. But there are a host of other things with no meaning or use that can go. I love your idea of downsizing or "enlightening" without moving! It's the idea of right-sizing and clearing your life. More enjoyment. Less stuff.
Diane Quintana says
Great post! I loved the idea of a folder with pictures to hold the memories of things we love but have removed from our home.
Janet Barclay says
Thanks for #7! I tend to go through a few file folders at a time when I have nothing else to do, but it's been a while and is long overdue. Why not bring a few out to the living room to go through while I'm watching a movie (especially one my husband picked that's not to my taste!)?