Get motivated and inspired by the best decluttering quotes that make you want to take action, declutter and organize your space.
Decluttering Quotes
You know it's time to declutter your space.
Maybe you're about to move.
Maybe you want to downsize.
Or maybe you've just reached the clutter tolerance threshold and you want to do something about all of the extra stuff in your home.
No matter what your reasoning is, these decluttering quotes will motivate and inspire you to take action.
The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.”
-Joshua Becker
Decluttering can be difficult, but it's definitely worth it. Getting rid of the things you no longer need or want makes space for you to begin creating the life you've been dreaming of with more time and less stress.
Live simply so that others may simply live.”
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Try to declutter your life by removing things that aren't essential. Then extend this logic to your shopping habits. Instead of buying items packaged in plastic, choose reusable containers.
These simple actions can help you avoid clutter and reduce your carbon footprint. In this way, decluttering your life and living simply can actually help save the planet for future generations.
Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out.”
― Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
It's important to have a place for everything and put everything in its designated place. But what if that place doesn't make sense? If an item doesn't have storage that makes sense, you'll find it's often left out.
Choosing storage solutions that are easy to use and make sense for your space will help you avoid the clutter that comes with not putting items away.
Ready to declutter? Grab this free decluttering checklist!
Owning less is better than organizing more.”
― Joshua Becker, Clutterfree with Kids
It can be difficult to let go of things. We develop emotional attachments to stuff, we tell ourselves we need things that we could do without, and we convince ourselves that keeping things is better than facing the “what ifs” that might happen after we get rid of things.
However, when you finally do let go of things, you'll find you don't really miss it. Even better than that, you'll find that you have lots of extra time to do things you truly care about and enjoy. The time spent cleaning and organizing items you don't truly need is reduced drastically when you no longer own all those non-essential items.
Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.”
― Barbara Hemphill
Have you ever kept something simply because it felt too hard to deal with it at the moment? Oftentimes we keep items we know we don't need, things we no longer use, meaningless things. Why? Because we don't want to spend the time and energy needed to decide what to do with it.
Related: Decluttering Motivation: How to Begin
Our memories are not in our things. Our memories are in us.”
― The Minimalists
It's often very difficult to part with items we no longer have a use for because they have “sentimental value.” Did you know your brain can even register physical pain when parting with these items? Our connection to stuff is sometimes that strong!
If we want to be free from the clutter in our lives, we must learn to separate our memories and feelings from physical objects. It's important to give yourself permission to let the physical objects go with the understanding that the memories will last forever.
Make room for things that matter by removing everything that doesn't.”
Brian Gardner
Decluttering your home, your mind, and your life can be really hard. It takes time and great effort, and it can be very emotional. However, the end result is completely worth it. By removing the things we no longer need, use, or want; we create space in our lives and our homes for things that are important to us now, things we want in our lives now.
We don't buy things with money. We buy them with hours from our life.”
Joshua Becker
If you think about this each time you consider a new purchase, you'll be less likely to bring unnecessary objects or clutter into your home carelessly.
When we bring new things into our lives, we are committing to taking care of those objects: cleaning them, putting them away, finding space for them, etc. In the end, we are truly spending time on these items that we could be doing things we actually want to do. (Not to mention all the hours you worked to earn the money for the item in the first place.)
The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.”
Marie Kondo
When you declutter your home, eliminating all the objects you don't truly need, you'll be able to see clearly what it is you really do need. You might be surprised to find you don't need 12 coffee cups, 1/2 the clothes in your closet, or 4 sets of sheets.
Once you begin to eliminating clutter, you'll be able to more carefully and affectively evaluate the remaining items. In this way, decluttering gets easier and easier each time you do it.
Your home is living space, not storage space.”
Francine Jay
How many of us have a closet or entire room in our homes dedicated to storage? Somehow, over time, it becomes easy to slowly give over a larger and larger portion of your home to housing clutter and storing items you don't regularly use.
Decluttering offers us the chance to reclaim this storage space and turn it into an actual living space for our family, our passions, and ourselves.
When you declutter – whether it’s on your home, your head, or your heart – it is astounding what will flow into that space that will enrich you, your life, and your family.”
Peter Walsh, Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight: The Six-Week Total Life Slimdown
Clearing out clutter frees up space for more important things. Suddenly, you'll find you have the time to discover a new hobby, the space to pursue a new passion, or the energy to go and do things you didn't feel capable of before.
If someone doesn’t live with you, neither should their stuff.”
Monika Kristofferson
If you're still housing stuff for family members who have moved on, it's definitely time to declutter. Items that have been abandoned at your residence are probably long forgotten. You aren't required to act as a storage facility for family or friends. If people's things have started to cause a burden or discord in your home, ask others to remove them!
I often ask myself, Will anyone I know be happier if I save this?”
Margareta Magnusson, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning
Are you keeping gifts or cast offs out of a sense of obligation? Sometimes we receive items we don't really want or have space for, but we keep them out of a sense of duty. However, will our friends and family really be upset if we let do of these items?
Our loved ones give us things to show they care. Most of the time, they'd be alarmed to know we were keeping something that was creating clutter or stressing us out. Asking yourself how your loved one would feel if you let something go or keep it can help you determine whether or not you truly need to save it.
It’s better to have extra time on your hands and extra money in your pocket than extra stuff in your closet.”
Joshua Becker
It's so true! We never seem to have enough time, yet we are often more willing to spend our time and energy on acquiring more things. We lament not having enough money to do the things we truly enjoy, yet we freely throw money into objects to clutter our lives and fill up our closets.
Just think, if we spent less time and money on “stuff,” we could have more time and money for the things that matter and less “stuff” to stress over.
Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
William Morris
It's really important to have spaces that make sense to store our items, but it's even more important that our items themselves make sense in our lives.
One way to declutter is to never “clutter” our lives to begin with. Carefully choosing items that are useful, necessary, and beautiful will ensure that the items in your home aren't just taking up space and creating clutter. Keep the beautiful things and create more harmony in your home.
Clutter is the physical manifestation of unmade decisions fueled by procrastination.”
Christina Scalise, Organize Your Life and More
That's a hard one isn't it? If we are keeping things we no longer use or items we don't have space for, it's true. The decisions and actions we are avoiding can quite literally be causing clutter, even if we have good intentions. Getting rid of the things you've been unsure about can give you a sense of peace.
Tidying is the act of confronting yourself.”
Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
If you look at tidying the way Kondo does, you can quickly begin to see how this could be true. As you declutter, you're determining what to keep and what to let go. These decisions are often fueled by emotion and they require inspecting your thoughts, feelings, and memories. Getting rid of the things you've wanted to do something about for a long time can relieve a lot of mental clutter.
Outer order contributes to inner calm.”
Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness
Lack of peace caused by clutter? Decluttering can be challenging, but it's definitely worth it. We can all agree that a tidy, clutter-free space is preferable to clutter. However, what might surprise you about the decluttering process is how good you will feel inside when it's done. Clutter creates stress, so when it's gone you will feel calmer and more relaxed.
The more things you own, the more they own you.”
Chuck Palahniuk
Are you protesting? I certainly did the first time I read this quote. How could my stuff possibly own me? It turns out, that there were lots of ways I was letting things “own” my time, thoughts, and energy.
Decluttering is a form of self-care. You can create a calm life and experience more tranquility when your home is less cluttered.
If you're spending lots of time caring for items you don't use, thinking about stuff you need to let go, and managing clutter, well… are you beginning to see it? Thinking about clutter in this way can be just the motivation you need to let it go.
Keeping baggage from the past will leave no room for happiness in the future.”
Wayne L. Misner
When we hold on to items from the past out of a sense of duty, we are actually taking up space that we could use for things we truly care about today. It's okay to give yourself permission to let go of excess stuff that was once important but doesn't hold the same sentimental value for you now.
Later is the best friend of clutter.”
Peter Walsh
Procrastinating about getting rid of clutter is really easy to do, but it won't help solve the problem. Every time we say “I'll deal with it later,” clutter cheers. Be the boss of clutter and have a calm heart by getting rid of the less important stuff.
Get rid of clutter and you may just find it was blocking the door you’ve been looking for.”
Katrina Mayer
Do you wish you had space for something? Maybe you're dreaming of a home gym or craft room. Maybe you wish there was more room in your kitchen to store an air fryer or new stand mixer.
Sometimes clutter can be a physical manifestation of fear. By clearing out yesterday's junk you can break free from the influence of clutter and have a calm house.
Decluttering can create space you never knew you had! When you finally tackle the clutter, you'll discover there's more space in your kitchen for those new things you've been wanting.
Clutter is not just physical stuff, it’s old ideas, toxic relationships and bad habits.”
Eleanor Brown
It's important to know that simply clearing away the clutter isn't enough.
It will come back, with lots of new stuff if you don't change your mindset.
Decluttering can be cathartic and it creates the space to relax and let go of past anxiety and stress.
Addressing the past feelings and ideas that led to the clutter can help you avoid more clutter in the future.
Also, dealing with these thoughts and feelings will create space in your heart and mind for positive changes.
You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday's junk.
Louise Smith
It's important to give yourself permission to let go of yesterday. You can be thankful for things from the past and you should definitely hold onto the memories, but the physical manifestations of those memories might not be items you want to keep.
After all, you're going to need more and more space to house years and years of memories as you get older. Is that really feasible? Most of the time it's not. Even when we have the physical space, we must remember that the mental space stuff takes up can leave little room for new things and experiences.
Whether you want to clear out your junk drawers or the whole rest of the house, decluttering can help you make space to work towards a better self.
Happiness is a place between too little and too much.”
Finnish Proverb
Have you ever thought you would be happy if you had more things? We often think we will be happier if we just have… whatever item we are dreaming of. The problem is that if we continue to think that way we quickly discover that having too much makes us just as unhappy as having too little.
My riches consist, not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.”
J. Brotherton
It's a concept advertisers hope we never discover, but it's true. Happiness doesn't come from things. We are truly happy when we are without want. Possessing more items won't erase want, it will only create new wants. And the extra cost of having to store them.
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
Hans Hoffman
Getting rid of the clutter in our lives gives us space to enjoy our lives. When we aren't consumed with managing clutter or ignoring clutter, we are free to participate fully in our lives.
Clutter robs us of life. It robs us socially, when we're too embarrassed to have people over. It robs us spiritually, because we can't be at peace in a cluttered home. And it robs us psychologically, by stealing our ability to feel motivated in our space.”
Peter Walsh
It's true that clutter can do all these things. Once we realize it, we can begin the process of decluttering our lives. We can begin regaining our motivation as well as our physical and mental health in the process.
Instead of thinking I am losing something when I clear clutter, I dwell on what I might gain.”
Lisa J. Shultz, Lighter Living: Declutter. Organize. Simplify.
Because decluttering can be a challenging and emotional process, it's often helpful to remind yourself of the benefits. Remind yourself of all the things you'll gain by decluttering when it's hard and you'll soon be free from the clutter and on to better things.
Out of clutter, find simplicity.”
Albert Einstein
When the clutter is clear, you can begin to live a simpler life with more intention, less stress, and more joy.
Once I recognized how much clutter complicates my life, I was able to see how building a simple life was exactly what I needed.
Just because something belongs to you doesn't mean you should keep it for the rest of your life. Things are meant to be transitory.”
Susan Wright
Recognizing that stuff doesn't last forever and isn't meant to can give you the freedom to let things go and create space for new ideas, adventures, and even new items to enjoy.
More Decluttering and Organizing Inspiration
- Organizing Quotes to Get You Motivated!
- Your Home is Living Space, Not Storage Space – get inspired by this famous quote!
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