51 Tasks to Declutter the House

I don’t know about you, but I fall into the Not Naturally Organized category. I’d love to fix that, but first I need to get a baseline established, which means a massive declutter of the entire house!

Working full time, this is a pretty intimidating task. On a recent day off work, I grabbed a Starbucks treat and sat down at the kitchen table for a mental walk-through of the house. Going from one area of the house to the next, I created a list of small tasks to slowly get our house tidy. I tried to keep them to thirty minutes or less, but the nature of the beast for some is bigger than that.

All the photos in this post are taken without staging, cleaning, or any preparation. This is the raw reality of my small home right now. I’d like to blame months of illness and general busy-ness, but this is our natural state. I’m hoping to be able to share an “after” video with everything shiny and clean (and keep it that way!) by the end of the year.

Front Entrance Task List

We live in a rear-detatched home, and, as much as I would love to keep the front door for guests, our garage is a mess so we park on the street. Which means the front door is where everything coming in is dumped, and everything going out rests until it leaves.

1. Tidy the bag bins
2. Get everything off the floor & pony wall
3. Purge the shelf over the coats
4. Reorganize the hat & mitt & helmet shelves in the closet
5. Go through the coats

Living & Dining Room Tidying Task List

These two rooms can seem out of hand SO quickly, but it would only take me a couple hours and they’d be in the pristine state I dream of. We currently have the added bonus of a hole in the dining room ceiling due to some condensation on the stack for the main bathroom. Isn’t home ownership glorious?!

6. Tidy the book cases
7. Clean up behind and under the couch
8. Tidy the piano
9. Sort & purge the toys
10. Price and list my baby carriers
11. Clean up the top of the china cabinet
12. Clear out the bottom drawer of the china cabinet (full of fish tank supplies — we haven’t had a fish tank in three years!)
13. re-organize and purge the remaining drawers of the china cabinet
14. Tidy the kids craft supplies in the broom closet (again)
15. Reorganize and purge the home stuff in the broom closet

Kitchen Organization Task List

I’ve already been making some serious progress in the kitchen, so there isn’t as much to do in here. Saying that, there’s still a long list! I broke it down by individual cupboard.

16. Plate cupboard – purge baby items, possibly reorganize
17. Over the stove – organize
18. Upper corner – tidy, sort, and purge, purge, purge!
19. Over the fridge – tidy, sort, and purge, purge, purge!
20. Baking cupboard – organize and purge
21. Pantry. Save me.
22. Counter – clear off as much as possible

Back Door Decluttering Task List

For a space that we rarely use, this is such a mess! It regularly ends up as the dumping ground for recycling (our pick-up is in the alley), stuff to go out to the garage, off season items, and who knows what else.

23. Shoes!
24. Purge
25. Organize and move things around

Kids Bedrooms Task List

Until I started looking at my photos, I wasn’t too worried about the kids’ rooms. I try to keep on top of them and do a little bit each night at bedtime or when I’m putting away laundry. But I’ll be honest that most of my efforts are focused on the floor. Obviously I need to look up (where I put stuff so they can’t get into it!) more often. There are still a few areas that could use some improvement.

26. KonMarie fold the kids clothes
27. Purge clothes that are too small and move stuff that’s too big back into storage
28. Tidy the top shelf of their closets
29. Organize stuffies and dolls
30. Tidy books and bookcases
31. Clear off dressers
32. Organize the top bunk

Upstairs Hallway Task List

For under 40 square feet, this space sure finds its way to being a clutter catcher!

33. Linen closet – purge and organize
34. Pony wall over stairs and shelf above the stairs – clear them off
35. Any random stuff sitting out – put it away

Kids Bathroom Uncluttering Task List

This is another spot that I try to keep on top of when the kids are having a bath, but we still have a few spots I need to go through.

36. Under the sink – organize & purge
37. Eldest’s hair stuff – organize & purge
38. Bath toys – purge

Master Bathroom Cleaning Task List

I’ve recently made some progress here, but it needs another pass. Hubby is certainly contributing his share here.

39. Medicine cabinet
40. Under the sink
41. Items on the floor
42. Counter clutter

Master Bedroom Chaos Rangling List

Of the areas I’m “responsible” for, this is, by far, in the worst shape. Why do our personal spaces always seem to come in last place?

43. Top of the ANTONIUS – remove extra items
44. RASKOG – tidy and put things away properly
45. Chair – finish mending currently sitting on & under it
46. Floor – organize and put away all the little piles
47. Desk – find a home for everything
48. Storage containers under bed – clean & purge
49. Bedside tables – tidy & purge
50. Closet – redesign & purge
51. Laundry – stop leaving the drying rack out all week!

Hubby’s Zones Are His… For Now

There are a few spaces in the home that are primarily Hub’s domain. The basement and garage have become his areas, and I’ve done my best to stay out of them. I know I have stuff in both that I could help organize, but the rest of this list will likely keep me busy for most of the year!

Plan Of Attack

Now that I have a solid uncluttering task list, I plan to work on one or two spots at a time. I’ll take before and after (and maybe some during) photos to share, and link up to those posts from here so you can follow along.

Share your thoughts!

Has this sparked any ideas of places you should go tidy? Is there a cupboard you could clean up in under thirty minutes? What would it take for you to get your house HOUZZ tour ready, or is it always like that?