Clutter creeps in, seemingly on its own, and sets up camp in your living room. You navigate around it, trip over it, but finally accept its intrusion, “for now.” Pretty soon, you stop noticing that it moved in at all. You don’t use the living room anymore and forget what it was like to entertain guests in your home.

Loss of functionality is the true tragedy of a cluttered home.

Surroundings shape our lifestyles perhaps more than we realize. Ever vacationed in a place surrounded by comfortable walking trails, stacks of books, or a covered deck with a jacuzzi? Chances are, you walked, read, or relaxed outdoors more than you otherwise would have.

What activities do you want your home to support? Would you like to have friends over for dinner, create a home library, turn your spare room into a sewing room? Begin by removing the clutter that holds you back, but don’t stop there.

Taking one room at a time, brainstorm how you could use each area to support the lifestyle of your dreams. Consider how you and your family already use this room and also how you would like to use it. If there’s always a pile of school books by the front door, for example, maybe you should install storage for them in your entry. However, if you want a more formal entrance to your home, the kids might be more willing to carry their books to an area set up as a study area for them. It’s often easier to support established habits than to change them, but nothing needs to be set in stone.

Negotiating use of living spaces with family members requires give-and-take.

My Family’s Home Decluttering Plan

After my husband and I married, we combined two independent households, with the resultant clutter. Moving into a home with room for two of everything gave us space to downsize. We made some progress, but then the blossoming of my writing career and changes at my husband’s work blindsided our schedules. Clutter followed clutter by some sort of mystical attraction, and our large home started shrinking.

Well, no more. This is the year my family will declutter and organize our home so that it can fully support our lifestyle. It will take us a year because our schedules are so tight we need to work this in slowly. We’re also interested in developing an ongoing system for maintaining our home, so focusing on one room or area per month fits the bill.

How about you? Do you remove clutter from your home in marathons or by a slower plan?