For most of us, creating a visually tidy space is a constant work in progress. Striking the right balance between decorated on the one hand, and tidy on the other, is always a challenge. But over time, I’ve learned a few basic tricks to minimise the visual clutter in our most-used spaces. In the following post, I’m sharing my top 17 simple ways to reduce visual clutter and create a more functional, livable space.
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VISUAL CLUTTER: WHAT IS IT & WHY REDUCE IT?
Visual clutter is very much in the eye of the beholder. But, in general, it refers to anything that appears to clutter up your home.
This may include:
• unnecessary items left on counters or floors that have not been put away (papers, toys, etc)
• an overabundance of knick-knacks or wall decor that leaves you feeling exhausted
• overstuffed corners, closets, and drawers
In short, visual clutter is anything in your home that causes it to feel busy, chaotic, and disorganised.
Although you may think there’s nothing you can do about it, I can tell you from experience that it really doesn’t take much to begin reducing the clutter.
WHERE TO START?
Begin by taking a fresh look at your walls, surfaces, and floors and identify the things that,
a) don’t need to be there, or
b) make your home feel disorganised or ‘busy’ in some way
Since everyone’s definition of ‘cluttered’ will vary, depending on your decorating style – minimalist or maximalist – only you can judge when your space feels less cluttered and more peaceful.
To help you in this process, the following are some of my best tidy home tips to help you reduce your home’s visual clutter.
17 SIMPLE WAYS TO REDUCE VISUAL CLUTTER
1. Create a Drop Zone in Your Entryway
If you don’t have an area to drop your keys, letters, sunglasses, or other items upon entering your home, then create one.
Otherwise, the floor, kitchen table or other random surface will become a defacto drop zone and increase the feeling of clutter.
If you don’t have a proper entryway table then use what you have. I have an old kitchen buffet table with drawers as our drop zone.
It’s perfect for hiding most of what I need. The drawers hold my sunglasses, umbrellas, gum, miscellaneous papers and grab-and-go items.
But what if you don’t have a proper entryway that can fit a slim console or table with drawers?
You can create a wall-mounted drop zone like this one, this one, or this one, instead.
If all else fails, place one or two baskets (especially ones with compartments like this one or this one) on a nearby table where you can drop your keys, mail, and other miscellaneous items.
This way, even if your kitchen must be your defacto drop zone, you can still keep things tidy.
2. Make It Easy To Put Away Shoes
Shoes can easily clutter up an entryway or mudroom.
It’s even harder when the family can’t be bothered to keep them neat and tidy!
If you have a hallway closet, as we do, set up a simple shoe rack (like this one or this one). (If worse comes to worse, they can at least toss them in and shut the door!)
If you don’t have a closet in your entry, find a slim closed storage shoe cabinet like this one from IKEA (a classic) or this one or this one. It will keep your shoes out of sight and entryway clutter-free.
If your budget is really tight, try a pretty basket with a deep base like this one or this 2-pack. Simply throw your shoes into your designated basket, keeping your entryway tidier and more organised.
3. Let’s Talk Working Surfaces (Kitchen & Bathroom)
We all need to access items in our kitchens and bathrooms on a regular basis.
But when we start leaving most of these items on surfaces those spaces can feel cluttered.
And while there are always going to be things we want to leave out, like a few small appliances or toiletries, there are probably more hidden storage options to access your everyday items than you may realise.
My personal favourite is to add storage towers with pull-out drawers under the sink.
Unlike rigid, stackable baskets that need to be disassembled each time you need something, drawer systems make it easy to access everyday items.
There are plenty of options on Amazon and Walmart, for example, to keep your surfaces that much more tidy.
4. Organise Refrigerator Papers and Art
The fridge is one of the largest, most visible appliances in your kitchen.
If your refrigerator is covered in paper, artwork, and calendars, it is contributing to the visual clutter in your home.
Instead of putting all of those items on the front, choose one or two (or none at all) and organise the rest along the side, as I did here using these magnetic file pockets.
You can find similar magnetic file systems like this 3-pack or this cool metalic one here.
Alternatively, you can create a wall-mounted command center like this one (great for an entryway, too).
5. Clear Out The Kitchen Sink (and dirty dishes on the counter)
Staying on top of the dishes is a challenge for all of us. Loading the dishwasher each night and clearing out the kitchen sink and surrounding counter space goes a long way in reducing visual clutter.
If you live in an open concept space (as I do), then this is especially important.
Creating a daily routine for this is incredibly helpful. I try to load our dishwasher each night and tidy the counters (along with hand washing our cat bowls and setting the timer on our coffee maker).
It’s my way of winding down for the night and getting ready for sleep.
A clear kitchen sink makes for a clear mind, or at least I think so!
6. Decor Clutter: Swap Out Knick-Knacks for a Few Larger Pieces
As much as I love decor, it can be tricky creating style without increasing clutter. This is especially true if you display lots of small knick-knacks.
To avoid the clutter that comes with using an overabundance of smaller decor, reduce their number and add back just one or two larger accessories instead.
This will create a more relaxing space and strike a better visual balance between small and large decor.
And remember, not every surface needs to be covered in decor. Keep some surfaces clean and decor-free, like a TV console or side table.
Or choose just one small area to decorate and leave the rest free of decor.
This will allow your other pieces a chance to shine, while giving your eyes a place to rest.
The one exception to consider: If you have a collection of small items, this can be quite striking when displayed as a whole.
If you have more than one of these kinds of collections, consider limiting them by displaying one collection per room (unless you have an exceptionally large space or open-concept home).
This will help reduce the clutter and give your collection the attention it deserves.
7. Gallery Walls: Messy Menagerie or Artfully Stylish?
That is the question!
Gallery walls are very popular these days, but let’s be honest. Some gallery walls can add visual clutter in your home.
If you love the look of a gallery wall (as I do), then be selective when creating them.
Depending on the size of your room, you may want to limit a gallery wall to one per room (or two if you have an exceptionally large, open concept space).
I have a few gallery walls, for example, but each occupies a separate room in the house.
If you are creating a gallery wall for the first time, here are my best (and entirely personal) tips to create one that is clutter-free:
DON’T
• use an overabundance of small and mismatched frames and prints to fill a large wall. Save this for smaller wall spaces instead. Otherwise, a large wall filled with lots of teeny, tiny pieces can make your home feel busy, chaotic, and cluttered.
DO
• find prints or artwork that feel cohesive when placed together. This can be done through a basic grid pattern or a curated and collected gallery wall that creates a harmonious look using colour repetition, subject repetition or similar frame styles (all minimal or all chunky, for example).
If you need some more help creating a gallery wall, I’ve shared some basic guidelines for creating a Modern, Minimalist Gallery Wall Guide for Beginners as well as another guide to creating a Picture Ledge Gallery Wall for Beginners (includes video tutorial).
If the entire concept of a gallery wall is intimidating, you cannot go wrong with one large statement piece, a large pair of prints hung side-by-side, or even a triptych, each of which will feel cohesive and visually clean.
8. Simplify Your Wall Decor
Not every wall needs to be filled up with things.
Some negative (i.e. empty) wall space will give your eyes a chance to rest when looking around your home.
And when you do add wall decor, it does not need to be traditional artwork or framed photographs. Try simplifying your wall decor with one large item.
This may include a long simple tapestry between doorframes.
Or an oversized mirror in a room with high ceilings.
The basic shape and simplicity of a mirror or tapestry, for example, will be less visually stimulating and far more calming in your space.
(If you are a crafty person and wish to learn all about the art of wall tapestry, check out my Weaving Basics Video Course).
9. Declutter Your Floors
We all have those items that have been sitting on our floors for so long that we learn to zone them out.
But anyone coming into your home for the first time will definitely notice the visual noise.
So look around – REALLY look around – and begin to relocate items that don’t belong on the floor.
Remove those toys, magazines, or random objects and find or create a home for them.
Whether that’s a storage basket with a lid, a stylish magazine rack, storage ottoman or closed storage bench, closed cabinet or other hidden storage, you’ll be grateful for the serenity you’re creating by clearing off your floor space.
10. Choose Complementary Rugs
If you use rugs throughout your home, choose rugs that complement the colour palette of your home.
This will keep your home from feeling too busy, visually speaking.
If you’ve chosen to use a statement rug, for example, then make sure to create visual harmony in your space by sprinkling a few of the colours found in that rug through the use of accessories.
Whether you use bold colours or neutral hues, pillows, throw blankets, books, bowls, florals, or art are a great way to repeat those colours in a room.
Regardless of the colours you choose, a visually cohesive colour palette will go a long way towards creating a harmonious space.
11. Keeping Your Rugs In Place
Many rugs do not come with an anti-slip pad underneath. But without one, they can end up moving around, bunching up and, worse still, causing accidents.
One product that I’ve used for YEARS is this rubber, mesh Rug Gripper.
You can find them in a wide variety of sizes. Simply cut with a regular pair of scissors to fit the rug size you need and place underneath any rug in your home.
The mesh grips to all surfaces (including carpet) and keeps your rugs in place.
That said, if you’ve placed a rug directly on a carpet like mine, you may find it bunch up or shift each time you step on it.
Try using this double-sided rug tape – which can be used on all surfaces, including carpets.
12. Hide Working Wires and Cords
Loose and hanging wires and cords are a nuisance and create loads of clutter everywhere.
Because they don’t always lend themselves to easy solutions – each area of the home has its own unique area for cord clutter – it’s an ongoing project for me (and a personal pet peeve).
Luckily, there are a lot of different cord organisers on the market. Let me share two that I have found to be useful in our home.
If you have loose or long cords that need to be hidden, try using these inexpensive clips to attach them to the back of furniture.
Each pack comes with clear clips and adhesive strips.
Simply attach to your wall or on furniture, controlling the direction of your cords. Slip the cords into the clips and you won’t have your cords hanging all over the place.
Not perfect, but far less messy!
If you have a messy outlet area, with cords hanging in every direction, you can clean up the mess with an outlet cover and cord organiser like this one, pictured below (or this dual side-by-side organizer, if needed).
It also comes with a power bar that you can neatly tuck away.
13. Declutter Your Throw Pillows & Blankets
For the design maximalists out there, you may want to close your eyes for this one!
But for the rest of us: If you have been wondering why all those pillows and throw blankets you’ve accumulated aren’t creating that sleek and stylish space promised by the ‘experts,’ here’s why:
Simply put, it’s nearly impossible to keep them all tidy all the time!
If you live in the real world, you know that these items have a way of migrating to the floor, falling over, getting deformed, and looking (and staying) messy most of the time.
For a less cluttered look, pare down your pillows to something that is more manageable for you.
If you like to display your throw blankets, pare back the number you display and place the rest in a basket.
And if you want the ones out on display to look tidy, place them on a blanket ladder.
Or fold them over an armrest, on a chair or the back of your sofa.
Go ahead and try paring down your blankets and pillows and see how much tidier and less cluttered your rooms feel.
14. Repurpose Objects to Hold Small, Everyday Use Items
We’ve all heard of using a tray to coral items on a coffee table, kitchen or bathroom counter, but how do you coral those REALLY TINY, everyday objects?
A large tray just won’t do. So why not use objects you already own in a fun and artful way instead?
These ceramic hands, for example, have moved around my home quite a bit, serving mainly as quirky decor. You can find similar ones here. But eventually they ended up in my foyer where I’ve been using them as a key holder.
This vintage wooden bowl came as part of a kitchen set (similar ones can be found on Etsy). I repurposed it into a matchstick holder on my coffee table.
It needed a striker, which I attached to the bottom, and voila! I’ve got all I need to light the candles in my living room.
This sweet, Dollar Store tealight holder in our guest bathroom also became a little matchstick holder with a striker that I attached, this time, along one side, for ease of use.
There are so many other ways to repurpose small objects in fun and unique ways that can help reduce your smallest home essentials.
15. Small Drawer Utility Storage
A more conventional, but equally useful way of reducing visual clutter, is to use some inexpensive stackable tabletop drawers.
These can be especially useful in an office, bathroom counter, closet space, or garage.
I have been asked about these stackable drawers (under my desk) countless times, for example, and for good reason.
They have been such a great addition to my office space.
I organise all my pens, clips, and odds and ends that just don’t have a storage spot.
These are 3-drawer, stackable plastic units (currently stacked 4 high on both sides of my desk!) and, while a bit wobbly at that height, they serve their purpose.
Use them on or under a desk, in a craft space, closet, under the sink in a kitchen or bathroom, or anywhere you need to store those little bits and pieces that keep getting lost in your home.
(And if you’re wondering how I made these see-through drawers opaque and with labels, you can check out this post on creating Editable Craft Room Organization Labels).
16. Decorative Baskets
I could go on and on about the many benefits of baskets (and I have here and here!).
But when it comes to baskets used as both decor and storage, choose ones that are complementary to your home’s colour palette to continue reducing visual clutter.
Here are just a few of the ways that I’ve used decorative baskets for storage.
Craft Room Area
Here, I recently added these pretty (and plastic!) Dollar Store woven baskets to organize bulkier craft supplies. If you have a lot to organize, use multiples as I did to create visual harmony.
(For more craft room organization ideas, I’ve written extensively on the subject here: Organizing My Craft Room/Office Space here).
Living Room Area
In my living room, I’ve used baskets to contain magazines and blankets.
I’ve used them to hide a small or ugly planter.
I’ve also used them to store additional pillows, extension cords and all kinds of everyday use items.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but you get the idea. There are so many ways to use a pretty basket to organize your home.
17. Invest in Closed Storage Furniture
If you can afford it or are currently looking for furniture, one of the best investments you can make is to purchase closed storage pieces.
Whether it’s a piece that serves double-duty, like a TV console/cabinet, a sideboard, buffet table or even a storage ottoman/bench, these kinds of pieces will become some of the best investments for your home.
If you’d like to learn more on the subject of hidden storage furniture, I’ve written extensively about it and linked up several functional, beautiful pieces online for your living room, bedroom, laundry room, garage, and more.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You don’t need to use all of these suggestions to get the benefits of reducing clutter at home.
But by using just some of these 17 simple ways to reduce visual clutter, you’ll be well on your way towards creating a calm, relaxing home for you and your family.
Got more ideas on reducing visual clutter? Post your suggestions in the comments below.
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