To create a clutter-free living room, make careful choices and choose high-quality furnishings and decor. By identifying what sparks joy in each room, you can transform it into a beautiful, comfortable space. This series explores ways to clear clutter and create a clutter-free haven.
There are various ways to organize and reclaim your space, including clever furniture arrangements and space-saving hacks. Understanding the difference between eclectic and minimalist styles, as well as the significance of color palettes and textures, is essential for creating a welcoming environment that ennvelops you with warmth and affection.
The term “creating space” is an alternative to decluttering, as it doesn’t want to unintentionally invite clutter in. Strong matches, such as crowded, messy, or piled scattered, can help create a clean and organized space. Another term for clutter is gallimaufry salmagundi, olio shuffle, ragout mess, confusion mélange, and melange tangle.
Cluttercore, popularized by Gen Z as an extension of cottagecore, is all about filling your space with things that make you happy, even if it’s not always neat. By focusing on making careful choices and choosing the best quality furnishings and decor, you can turn any room into a beautiful, peaceful oasis without clutter.
📹 10 Mistakes Making Your Home Look Cluttered(*how to fix/visual clutter tips)
Visual clutter tips! Visual clutter is ruining your home. Here are 10 common mistakes that are making your home look cluttered.
📹 13 COZY MINIMALIST HOME DECOR TIPS 🕯 | How To Make Your Home Cozy (But Not Cluttered)
Want to create a cozy and inviting home that still feels minimal and clutter-free? ✨ In this video, I’m sharing 13 tips on how to …
So many comments about my attic door and table!! 😂 For those who don’t know, I am filming in my attic, which I am in the process of decluttering so my “set” is in progress. That door leads to a small storage area and the ottoman isn’t usually in front of it – I was moving items around up there and didn’t put it back before filming!!
Re cable management: It’s possible to drill a big round hole in the back of a bookcase, cabinet, etc. (Use a large circular drill bit.) You can then place the bookcase or whatever against a wall with an outlet, thread a power strip through the hole, and have a nice, discreet spot to recharge your stuff.
I have word art…always gives visitors a chuckle😅 Front porch….”Please remove your choos”…….that refers Jimmy Choo(shoes) Flip-flops welcome!…..( I live in them) Kitchen….”The only reason i have a kitchen is because it came with the house ” ( I only cook because i have to!) Utility room….” What if the hokey cokey really is what its all about?” “I may not have lost all my marbles yet,but there’s a small hole in the bag somewhere” And if i find any more that amuse me…I’m buying😅
I live in a small (672 ft2) house. It’s easy for it to look cluttered! One thing that helped on the open shelving was the canvas storage boxes. They hide the contents and act as a container to organize them. Paper clutter gets me: I’m a teacher, so I have a lot of books, always have papers, and struggle with writing projects. Having a home for the paper is absolutely key. I’m still working on cord clutter. You brought up some good ideas. My house is small and older, so there aren’t many outlets in a given room. I’ll see if some of your cable management ideas can help me. My goal is to have one of those robotic vacuums.
I HATE CORDS! Everything should be cordless. Or why do they put a black or brown cord on a beautiful lamp with brass? Why not a gold cord and gold plug? Im sure it’s more costly. I do not like dusting, as well. Whoever invented the swifter duster is a genius, in my opinion. And the long one for high areas? Awesome. I finally put my papers, etc. on the side of the frig, also. Great idea. Love your articles!
Love this article. Just discovered you and subscribed. Truth here. I am a hoarder. Working on my problem. It is something I have to fix at my pace. I am maybe 70% better than 2 years ago. What you said about taking a photo of a room and being able to actually SEE the clutter has really helped me.. When I look back at old photo’s I realized how bad it was. Thanks for this article!!!!
You are so right in so many ways. But think outside of North America if you could, and realize that some countries do not build closets into homes. The only place we have for our vacuum cleaner, toilet paper, grocery bags, mop, soda crates, and recycling is in our stairway. Thankfully we don’t use our stairway often, but it’s stuffed. When the chimney sweep comes (by law every 6 months) I have to move a bunch of soda and water crates out of the way for him to get upstairs. Why don’t older European homes have closets? No idea. However we don’t have the problem of a big metal fridge with magnets and papers – our fridges are mostly built into the cupboards so no magnet will stick to them anyway lol
I do admit I love busy patterns. Usually because of how loud they are they make me get rid of even more items around them. This way they look gorgeous and I don’t need nothing else to distract attention. My living room with white walls looked cleaned but incredibly boring. Nothing seemed soft, bright or inviting even with comfortable chairs and sofas. Now with yellow walls everything always looks energized, warm, comfy with literally everything being the exact same.
My tip for issue #1 (cable management/clutter)… if you have the ability, either with a new home build or remodel, is to add twice as many power outlets/receptacles as required by code. Too often, builders put in the bare minimum and spacing is terrible because of it. Not having to stretch power cords to farther outlets down a wall will reduce the look of cables and the clutter they produce. I think most code requires 12 foot spacing on outlets on a wall (and no more than 6 feet from a corner), so perhaps go for 8 or even 6 feet between them. Maybe even less for walls you know are going to have lots of electronics. It also eliminates some reliance on power strips because you run out of receptacles and gives you far more options on device placement. (I’m adding twice the number of receptacles to each room I remodel as I go thru my house, just for that reason)
I hate the way your background is arranged, myself. Now, I agree about all the cordage – anything that organizes them is great. I file in my home the exact way I use to in my office. Place for everything. SOME of us like lots of color & patterns! My house is very what is termed ‘cottagecore’ or as I put it, vintage hippy (like me). Also love my throw rugs – I rent & they cover the awful rug. Not going to get rid of my books – I did downside from 3000 to 1000, in order to have a place for my dolls. I must cover my fridge in magnets, etc. Doesn’t bring MY kitchen down! QUIT calling these things MISTAKES!!!! What looks like clutter to you is NOT for all of us!!!!
It is possible that the reason your husband tosses things on the floor all of the time is the fact that you are picking it up all of the time… my ex- husband did this as well…I too believed for a long time that this was some kind of personality or gender difference. You know some people are this way and some other people are this other way. Not so, in my experience people who toss things on the floor do so because somebody is constantly picking that stuff up… and they like it tidy.. they just don’t like tidying. Once I realized that I was heavily contributing to this behavior I exited that relationship. Now I have a much more considerate male partner who actually cares about me.
I disagree about the plants. I don’t think a lot of plants make it look cluttered. could be if there are a lot of small plants and a lot of pots, but if the ratio of plant to pot is mostly plant it looks nice and not cluttered. i don’t walk in a forest and think the plants look cluttered, i don’t think our brain registers greenery that way.
I so agree about the word art with all the sayings love live life. It rubs me wrong like there’s no tomorrow papers on the fridge. rub me wrong too many pillows on a couch. Rub me wrong because you can’t sit down. You gotta put them on the floor decorate in threes and fives odd numbers, OK I got this off my chest. It feels better thank you.😜
If you live with other humans and have open shelving in the kitchen, it WILL collect clutter — crayons, small tools, car keys, mail, staplers, flashlights, small plastic toys, old light bulbs, owners manuals — and you can spend you time screaming at husbands/children/roommates to get their garbage off your shelves — OR you can have cabinets and have a peaceful environment. Open shelving is only for magazines and single people.
Visual clutter tips! Visual clutter is ruining your home. Here are 10 common mistakes that are making your home look cluttered. And of course, how to easily fix it! #declutteringandorganizing #minimalism #decluttering Click here for a clean & tidy home!  / @tarynmaria_ Items mentioned: Cable management box: amzn.to/3YGnbEK (similar to mine) Cord hider kit: amzn.to/4cn0LeA Join my mailing list for emails that will make your life easier! eepurl.com/iB2aE2
This person doesn’t practice what she preaches. Bland walls, something infront of what looks to be a door. I don’t agree with what she says about the arrangement of photos. They are cherished moments of family past and present and look lovely in a mixture of frames on a table. Remember this is YOUR home – not a property dressed for sale!
Some great tips here, but I have to ask about the mail. I see it in every decluttering article and wonder if it’s an American thing? I find things in my mailbox once, maybe twice a week, and it’s only flippers trying to buy every living space possible and Kaufland – the only store that still brings leaflets (other stores luckily stopped doing that). I throw them out right away. All the bills and bank stuff are sent by e-mail. And that’s it. What do you get by mail in the US that it’s so much paper clutter? Genuine question.
I always say decorate how you like. If you enjoy the space, then it really doesn’t matter how it’s decorated. I personally hate the “all beige” look that everyone seems to love. I don’t like bright colors, but I do like color. I love mismatched furniture pieces. I love organised clutter, like lots of books on a shelf, etc.
Oh I agree with you so much, but I will never have an uncluttered home because my husband refuses to unclutter his stuff; it’s everywhere. It stresses me out so much, but all I can do is try to keep the clutter down to a bearable (barely) level because it will not get better. I will try and figure out how to get my husband to try some of these ideas.
I really like you so me to you I’m so sorry u csout me off hard did not want to see some so fast quick as I did please bait with me . I like your ides. A really lot and would like to help improve my and me .thank you so much for. Your time .I do have a problem trying so not to what I want to do .I’m holding you are a opened minded person coolcat dan
But some people like the things you hate. Some people feel comfy with lots of color or lots of things they have been given. I have had friends that have white or these dirty type tans and almost nothing on the walls or on the mantle, etc. I feel so cold in these houses. But of course they love it. Some people love to dust and move their things around, it warms them because they remember and associate the memories that go with them.
I feel sorry for people who feel so terribly stress if their home isn’t the latest color, or the latest trend of everything. They are constantly getting rid of stuff, getting all new bedding, accessories, changing the colors of everything including pots/pans, dishes, walls, drapes, even if they like it — just because it’s not this year’s most favored trend. I want things that are those which have been given to me, or are family heirlooms, that I bought that mean something to me. I don’t have family photos except a couple. I have lots of framed prints, etc but not people. Other people cover their walls with family picture, that makes them happy. I think people should do what makes them happy and to heck with all this trend stuff. The rules change if preparing to sell your home.
My bedroom is the only room that is cluttered. My closet is two and a half feet wide. Not everything fits. I had to add a closet bar to a wall. There wasn’t an armour big enough for my wardrobe. Plus, I have a bureau set to store folded items. I need clothes for work, play, outtings and storage isn’t an option. I hate things on the floor, even under the bed.
Cheap hint: I repurposed a shoe box. Covered it in brown paper and cut a small hole in each end. It has the bulky bits and excess lengths of all those TV etc. cables in it, and the cables go in and out. And I bought packets of clear cable clips off eBay for barely anything to keep the exposed cables in order. Everything looks neat and tidy now where there was once utter disaster. Next: tackling my home-office cabling!
Re: Cable/power cord management. Someone tell me if you know where to find one of these– an extension cord that lets you plug in your item in a direct, in-line, straight-line manner, instead of those 3-fers that, even when you’re only plugging one item in, make a right angle in your line. Is this clear? I would like an extension cord into which to plug a single device or appliance, in which i plug right into the end of the ext. cord, not at an angle. Funny thing is, the three-prong extension cords are like this– because they only want you to plug one item in. So it’s straight into the ext. cord. But the ones for 2-prong plug-ins allow three items to plug in at once (usually 2 on one side and 1 on the other) and NONE of them plug straight into the end of the ext. cord. What i want is sleek, trim, smooth, straight-line tidiness!
I have set up a noticeboard inside the boiler cabinet door in my kitchen. I used self adhesive cork tiles and pins. The front of the boiler is metal so I use a magnetic hook to hang our calendar. I have a pen pot with a magnet on the back which lives there too. Under the boiler we have room for a shoe storage system. We live in a cottage where the front door opens straight into the kitchen and there is no hallway.
I had to laugh at this, Taryn. My husband perpetrates all the don’ts, which I’m constantly trying to correct. For instance, he just doesn’t see the cables and cords, until the clutter get to the point where I lose it (we now have cable management boxes). He also uses the floor for storage. True story: when I moved in with him (back when shiny leggings and headbands were a thing), there was nothing in his closets or drawers or cabinets. Everything was on the floor! I moved my stuff into the empty storage spaces, and have been trying ever since to train him to use them, too. And don’t get me started on the way he drops things any old where and never puts anything away. We’ve made some progress over the years, but it’s been a challenge. Fortunately, he’s full of other wonderful qualities, so I can laugh at his “housekeeping”, or at least shake my head, because it’s just so extreme!
Minimalist decorating is definitely a plus. We have traditional taste and have honed down our accessories since our initial home decorating 33 years ago. Easier to keep everything cleaned and organized quickly. There’s a better flow to the rooms visually and a peace and calmness. Our home still has a comfortable and cozy vibe, but without the distraction of excess decor.
Chanel also said “elegance is refusal, ” which could practically be the minimalist’s credo. 🙂 Thanks for this article, Ashlynne. I am an arch-minimalist but even for me an all-white empty space can be a bit TOO minimalist lol, and your tips are a very nice summation of COMMON SENSE minimalism, of what to do to create a minimalist vibe yet still make your spaces cozy, warm and comfortable. ANY style can be “minimalized” (well, except of maximalism, I suppose lol) by following your tips or, conversely, a super-minimalist style can be “de-minimalized” by following your tips as well. An excellent article!
When we moved to Kentucky, i chose a color palette that reminded my hubby & I of a favorite area – nortwest coastal (oregon & Washington state). So we went with three varying shades of a bluish grey for the walls, soft white for ceilings & some accent pieces of furniture/cabinets (especially the bathrooms). Then using dark navy blue, burgundy (and lavender / rosy pinks in my craft room) with richer tones of wood (cherry, fruitwood or mahogany) with brushed nickel metals makes our place cool, simple but comfortable also.
Hi, Ashlynne. Content on this website is always so spot on w what I need to do. For some reason I have to work pretty hard, though, to catch & hear what u are saying. Can’t quite put my finger on if it’s a sound thing or something else. I’m going to keep coming back, because u are SUCH a lovely person, & info here is the absolute best!
When you bring in your ideas from prior articles and add your new ideas, your article stays true to your personal brand that has drawn me in as one of your subscribers. For example I notice that you love a nicely styled bookcase and also using your own art pieces to decorate a wall space. You showed these after bringing in a lot of new design ideas and I did like that.
Thanks for a real inspirational article ❤. I always love to put flowers in my house. They make me feel happy. As my appartment doesn’t really have much natural light plants are a bit difficult, but whereever real plants are possible I will start to put them. I do have some fake plants in the places where there is absolutely no natural light. I’m not a real minimalist but I still love to have rest and peace around me so I will certainly implement the colourschemes you showed 😊
Amazing article! I subscribed!! I do have a question You spoke of practical designs right However I always notice, the beds have around 5 or 7 pillows to give a cozy comforting effect Also several layering of blankets n sheets People realistically sleep on such beds? Or remove pillows during the night How is it practical if you have to keep removing though ?? Anyway amazing article❤