The average household contains thousands of items, so it’s no wonder that clutter can feel overwhelming for many of us.

That feeling of overwhelm can be the biggest barrier to tackling the problem; we are held back by misconceptions that make the process seem impossible. But there are simple tools and tricks you can use to move past these decluttering myths, reset your mindset and reclaim your space.

Rediscover the joy of decluttering and its potential to transform your home, with the help of these expert-let tips. Click or scroll for more...

This is the biggest myth about decluttering, and probably the most harmful one. It is fuelled partly by reality TV shows where drastic, whole-house decluttering operations are undertaken within a dizzying timespan of only a few days.

Extreme decluttering requires a team of professionals and does not work for most people who try to declutter their own homes. Trying to declutter your whole house in one day is a recipe for burnout. Instead, do only what you can with the time you have. And no, you’re not a failure if decluttering your home takes you several weeks, months or even years. Prioritise your wellbeing and only do as much as you can, working with the time and energy you have available.

Professional organiser Marie Kondo recommends focusing on one category at a time in the following order: clothes, books, papers, 'komono' (miscellaneous items) and then sentimental items. You don't have to follow Kondo's categories to the letter; instead, you can use her method as a guide for creating your own.

Start small, like decluttering a single kitchen drawer, to build momentum. Our favourite starting point is the underwear or sock drawer in your bedroom. There’s something so satisfying about sorting through and folding smaller items. Once you’ve done the underwear drawer, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and be more willing to declutter a larger area, like your wardrobe.

How do you visualise the result of a successful decluttering session? If what comes to mind is a full rubbish bin (or skip!), then you may be hesitant even to begin. It can feel wasteful to just be throwing things away, especially when they’re still technically usable.

Sometimes, throwing things away is necessary, especially in situations where the clutter threatens someone’s ability to use their home safely or where the items are broken or dangerous. For most of us, though, decluttering needn't be anywhere near as dramatic. Getting rid of things you no longer need doesn’t have to mean filling up bags and bags of rubbish.

Tey the 'four-box method.' Start by looking for four empty (big) boxes that you can label as 'discard', 'donate', 'keep' and a last one for 'relocate'. This also stops piles from toppling and getting mixed up when dealing with a large volume of items. The discard pile can be sorted then into what can be recycled and what will have to go in the bin.

Many items can find a new life through donations, online marketplaces or specialist recycling programmes for textiles and beauty products, for example. That extra coffee maker could be donated to a local shelter, while old clothes in good condition can be taken to a charity shop.

Sometimes, decluttering gets conflated with a certain kind of lifestyle – the kind where you can spend unlimited amounts of money on cute hand-woven baskets and linen-lined storage boxes. Good-looking storage is nice to have but it's not essential for achieving a tidy home. If you are design-conscious and have the budget, enjoy this aspect of decluttering. But if the idea of spending a lot of money on storage is putting you off, know that you don’t need to spend hundreds on matching bins and labels to get organised.

Storage is for items you love and use – not for hiding clutter. Declutter first, then decide if new storage is necessary. Start with what you already have, like shoe boxes or mason jars. You will be surprised by how much storage is already in your house from cardboard boxes left over from a move to an old IKEA bag. Even old suitcases can come in useful.

If you do need to buy storage, make sure it's going to fit into the designated space for it. Choose the storage solution according to where it's going and what it will contain such as plastic containers that will help keep your stuff moisture- and pest-free for garages.

You’ll read all kinds of cautionary tales online about ‘decluttering regret’. The narrative goes like this: someone started decluttering and ended up with no clothes/cookware. Some people even claim they ended up re-buying the same things.

The reality is that regret is rare when you’re thoughtful about what to keep and let go. The only scenario where you’d end up regretting your decluttering strategy is if you went all-in, all at once, which we’ve learned is unproductive and best avoided.

If you’re uncomfortable making sweeping decluttering decisions, your feelings are completely normal. It can be daunting to throw away things that have served you well for years. Ease yourself into the decision over some time. Try the 'box method' – pack away items you’re unsure about for 30 days, or longer if you need to. If you don’t miss them, it’s time to let go.

A reader once shared how they boxed up their unworn clothes and didn’t open it for a year. Letting go was easier after realising they didn't miss anything.

Many of us indeed lead busy lifestyles that leave us with the constant feeling that there isn’t enough time to do anything outside of work and other essential responsibilities but truthfully decluttering doesn’t require days and days to make a difference. 

Often what we lack isn’t time but attention. Redirecting our attention away from those things that don't serve us can help get things done. As LSE Professor and author of Happiness by Design Paul Dolan puts it: ‘‘We are what we pay attention to.

Use short bursts of time to make a difference – like organising your work desk during a lunch break. Professional organiser Amy Clark Scheren recommends challenging yourself "to turn off the phone, the computer, the iPad, and the television for one hour each day". It won’t be easy at first, it might even feel "kind of like ripping off a band-aid, but it’s amazing what can be accomplished when you aren’t checking Facebook or replying to email," advises Scheren. 

Once you've decluttered, adopt the 'One In, One Out' rule – every time you bring a new item into your home, remove an old one. This habit prevents clutter from building up.

Some people feel an aversion to decluttering simply because they associate it with images of bare interiors where nothing is out of place which can leave lots of people feeling cold. Moreover, it can feel as if decluttering means adopting a minimalist lifestyle and giving up your beloved possessions.

Of course, that is nothing more than a myth. Decluttering isn’t about owning 30 items or living in a monochrome house. It’s about creating a space that is functional while still 'you', whether that’s cosy and eclectic or sleek and modern. It's about ridding your home of things you don't use. not everything you love.

Don’t worry about changing your decorating style to achieve a tidy home. Instead, focus on an area that you think will benefit from being decluttered, without necessarily changing the look and feel of the space.

A busy family might focus on decluttering to make mornings less stressful, while a hobbyist might clear space for their craft supplies. Another great place to start is your home library or reading nook: no matter the style, it will benefit from a quick tidy-up, especially if you tend to leave items lying around.

Decluttering can be very emotionally challenging when you live in a house filled with family heirlooms and precious keepsakes. The challenge for many of us is how to honour our memories while creating a more liveable space for the present and future.

In truth, it’s possible to cherish the most important objects without keeping every physical item. It isn’t a betrayal of loved ones if you do end up getting rid of a few things that you will never use or that simply don’t fit in with your current lifestyle.

Digitising old photos or creating a memory box with a few key items can preserve what matters most. Larger items like furniture can be donated to relatives who like them more or even auctioned if they are valuable.

Use the Marie Kondo approach. Ask yourself, “Does this item bring me joy, or is it just taking up space?” Keep what truly matters and let go of the rest. Take time to thank the things you aren't keeping for once being important to someone. That way you can let them go without guilt.

The prospect of decluttering fills some of us with dread, or at the very least threatens boredom. Especially if it’s bleak midwinter and you don’t feel motivated to do anything, let alone tidy up your house. But, guess what? Chances are you won’t feel any different come February or next July.

Some tasks just have to be done whether we feel like it or not – and this is especially true when we don’t perceive them as enjoyable. In the words of entrepreneur and author Rober J. McKain: "Action precedes motivation." If you get started, the desire to complete the project will follow. It's a simple mantra that applies to many areas of our lives, including transforming our homes.

This doesn’t mean that you should just bite the bullet and spend the next month decluttering. The action in question can be modest. Taking one small step, like decluttering your bedside table, can inspire you to keep going. The key is consistency: doing a small tidying task regularly. Eventually, you will accomplish your decluttering goals.

If you are really struggling to get started try the 'Pomodoro' technique. Set a timer for 10 minutes and challenge yourself to clear as much as possible. You don't need a special device: your kitchen timer will do or use your phone. You might be surprised at how much you accomplish. The small wins will lead to bigger ones over time.

Decluttering is often presented as a mental health aid or even referred to as therapeutic. Understandably, people who embark on decluttering hoping that it will help them emotionally often end up feeling let down, or like they’ve missed a trick. In reality, decluttering isn’t really a form of therapy or a panacea for your problems but it might create a bit of welcome space in your home and your mind.

Clutter and mess are sometimes the symptoms of deeper problems, but they're usually not the cause. Think of it as one tool in your self-care toolbox. Decluttering can create a calmer and more organised environment, but it won’t fix deeper issues like stress which should be tackled with a mental health professional. 

What we do know is that clutter contributes to our high daily stress levels. Researchers from UCLA even measured cortisol levels in the saliva of mothers who lived in self-described cluttered and chaotic homes, as part of a landmark study of modern 'clutter culture'. Research even shows that sleeping in an untidy bedroom contributes to people's stress levels.

A less chaotic environment should help with your overall wellbeing. Start by clearly defining to yourself, in writing if you like, how you would like to feel in your own home. This will help you align your decluttering goals with your mental health goals.

It can be tempting to expect that once you’ve decluttered your whole house, preferably quickly, that’ll be it forever. Major decluttering projects often fail this way: you hope that if you can just get it all done, and quickly, you’ll never need to do it again. The thought of actually getting it done is daunting, though, so you give up. Or you succeed but find that only a year later your house is just as cluttered as before.

That’s because you’ve done the physical job of decluttering without shifting the mental habit of accumulating things and leaving them around. Maintaining a clutter-free home requires regular effort to change our mental attitudes, as well as the literal effort of tidying up regularly.

Keeping your home clutter-free in the longer term requires building new habits over time. A good place to start is putting items back after use (known as the 'one-touch method') or scheduling seasonal decluttering sessions. Try to make the habits easier to form by setting yourself reminders and allocating time well in advance. That way, it’ll just be a task you don’t have to think about too much.

Also, forming new behaviours is much easier when you do it with others so don’t be shy to enlist your loved ones; it can even become an enjoyable activity you all do together. One family made it a tradition to declutter before every holiday season, making space for new gifts and decorations.

Decluttering can be discouraging if the goal is achieving a pristine and perfect home where every detail is impeccable. Images on social media showing other people’s seemingly flawless homes don’t help. The idea is to make your life a little easier and your home tidier. Its purpose isn’t for you to shame or punish yourself for having a naturally eclectic way of organising your home.

You also shouldn't worry about not being able to fold your socks 'the right way', or not always putting away every single thing. "Decluttering isn’t about perfection; it’s about progress," says organisational coach Cassandra Aarssen.

Instead of worrying about perfection, try setting clear goals for your decluttering project. What would you, personally, like to achieve? Is it to move more easily through a narrow hallway? Or maybe it’s to begin using a cluttered guest room as a music room? When decluttering is goal-oriented it is no longer about judging yourself.

Try to avoid making comparisons. As Amy Clark Scheren puts it: "Keep in mind that what someone else’s home looks like does not matter."

Decluttering and cleaning are often presented as two distinct activities, each with its set of rules and techniques. Because the end goal of decluttering is neat rather than ‘clean’, there is the assumption that decluttering always happens in an already clean house, while cleaning is the 'dirty' work.

Actually, one of the best times to declutter is while you’re cleaning. You already will be moving things around and picking things up, so think of it as killing two birds with one stone.

Plan your next decluttering session to coincide with your next spring clean. Make a plan for which areas will make sense to declutter as you clean. For example, It could be a spice cabinet or pantry: as you’re wiping it clean, you could also throw away foods and spices that have expired. 

Dusting shelves is a great opportunity to get rid of unwanted knick-knacks or whittle down your book collection, set aside 10 minutes after you've taken everything off the shelf to look at what you might not want to put back on display. And cleaning a bathroom is a good time to audit your toiletries and makeup. 

There are so many decluttering methods out there, each vying for people’s attention and claiming to be revolutionary and the most effective. 

But truthfully there isn’t just one ‘correct’ way. Instead, there is a wide range of strategies and techniques to suit different lifestyles and personality types. For some people, getting to the point of order requires dumping everything in the middle of the room so they can see what they're dealing with. Others will prefer careful decluttering bit-by-bit, with labels and categories.

The only way to find out which decluttering approach will work for you is to try out a few of them. This can be a fun room-by-room project. You could try the 'four-box method' in your garage, for example, but switch it up and Kon-Mari your bathroom, then try the 'chaos method' in your bedroom, where you put absolutely everything in the middle of the room to see exactly what you have. 

You may even find that what works best for one area of your home won't work in another, so you'll keep switching between them as you go. It’s all about finding what works for you personally. Happy decluttering!

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