This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I make a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure here.

If you look around your home, does it feel heavy and cluttered, or is it light and clutter-free? 

It can be so frustrating when you’re constantly organising and tidying, but somehow it never seems to stick. That’s how I felt a couple of years ago before I started my decluttering journey. I used to try really hard to keep a tidy home, but it constantly felt stressful when I looked around. 

I have since been using some tiny one-minute habits that I do around my home that seriously reduce that visual clutter so that it feels a more relaxing space to be in and unwind. And I’m sharing them with you in this article.

Keep reading below or watch the video:

1. Clear your kitchen counter

It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s such a tiny thing I do in my daily routine that just helps me stay on top of things. Clearing the counters makes my kitchen a more relaxing space because I don’t walk in every day and see piles and piles of dishes. 

And it’s those tiny things that we see constantly around our home that add up. They can make our home feel a lot more stressful than necessary. They’re like little reminders of all the things we haven’t done yet but still need to.

This is called the ‘silent to-do list‘, and I read about it in the book Goodbye Things by Fumio Sasaki. So the more we can silence those little messages that make us feel bad about ourselves and stressed around our home, the calmer we will feel and the smoother our days will go. 

2. Wipe your kitchen and dining table

This is a tiny habit, but it really helps me keep on top of things. The flat surfaces don’t become overwhelmingly stuffed.

The table also becomes a much nicer place to sit down—whether I’m putting my laptop there to work or my plate down for lunch. It’s not dirty or cluttered with things, which makes the experience much nicer throughout the day.

So, wipe away those crumbs. Give it a little refresh. It’s one small thing that can make your day just a bit nicer.

3. Handwash your dish/mug or put it in the dishwasher

There are certain things we do throughout the day—like putting a mug down—that don’t actually take much more effort to do differently. Instead of leaving the mug on the counter, you can just pop it in the dishwasher or give it a quick rinse.

It doesn’t take much more time, but it makes a big difference. Things don’t pile up on the counters, and the space feels lighter.

It’s such a tiny habit, but it really does make our days better.

4. Have strategic catch-baskets

What I did was look around my home and ask myself: where do things tend to get tossed on the floor, piled up, or left on a surface? Those are the spots where a small basket, tray, or container that’s like a catchall can make all the difference.

For example, we have a basket by the back door for garden shoes. Before, they’d always end up scattered on the floor, but now they’re contained in one spot. We also have a little basket under the coffee table for remote controls, PlayStation bits, and other little things that would otherwise clutter the table.

The same goes for keys—we’ve given them their own basket. Just noticing where items get thrown around, placing a container there, and letting your family know “this is where these go” can really help keep things tidy.

5. Hang your coat and bag

It can be so easy to get home tired, walk through the front door, and just drop things around on the floor. But it really doesn’t take much more effort to take off the coat and, instead of throwing it on the floor, put it on a hanger or a hook. It’s a one-minute task at most, but it makes such a big difference. And the same goes for bags.

In our house, we have some hooks in the cupboard under our stairs, and that’s where we put all of these items. And the kids have their own hooks, too, at their eye level, so they know where those things go as well.

6. Put your shoes back

I recommend having a little area for your shoes. Whether that’s a shoe unit in the hallway, maybe a little shelf in a cupboard or whatever you might have on hand. Just make sure the shoes have a place to go and that they are put back when you come in the house.

7. Tidy your coffee table

When I first started setting up little systems around the house, I looked at the coffee table and noticed what usually got left there.

Most of the time, it was mugs that really just needed to go back to the kitchen, or things like remotes and PlayStation controllers. Sometimes it’s sticker books that my toddler likes to play with. 

Placing a small basket right under the coffee table has been so helpful—it gives all of those things, like remotes or sticker books, a home instead of letting them pile up on the table.

8. Fold your blanket and place pillows back

One thing that can be a big visual clutter in the living room is blankets and pillows. So, make sure you fold those blankets, put those cushions back, and just give it a bit of a tidy. 

While you’re here, it might be a good time to check if you have too many. “Too many” looks different for everyone—some people love lots of cushions, others prefer just a few, and some don’t want any at all. Personally, I like to keep mine pared down. Cushions often end up on the floor, which can make the room feel messier than it really is. Having fewer makes the space easier to keep tidy and much quicker to reset.

9. Throw away that piece of paper

Paperwork can accumulate so quickly in our homes and especially on flat surfaces such as coffee tables, side tables, dining tables and kitchen counters. So any piece of paper that’s not needed anymore, any paper your kids have drawn on but it’s actually just a line, pop it straight into the recycling. Clearing those out right away makes a big difference. 

10. Recycle junk mail straight away

Also, when it comes to papers, I recycle junk mail straight away. I do not need to keep a flyer from the latest gutter cleaner—if I ever need one, I can easily look it up online. So any junk mail or unnecessary papers go straight out of my house.

11. Delete junk email straight away

Anything that comes in my Inbox unsolicited is actually junk mail, and I already know I don’t need to read it. I just delete it immediately—no reason to keep it. I don’t even leave it marked as read. 

Hitting delete helps me keep my Inbox close to zero, which makes me feel so much calmer when I start my workday. Instead of staring at a thousand emails, I only have two or three that I actually need to reply to. And it also means staying on top of my emails and any tasks I need to do for my business is a lot easier. 

12. Make your bed

Our mums were right—making our bed in the morning really does make a difference. It boosts our productivity, helps us feel more ready for the day, and often even lifts our mood without us realising it.

Later on, when we walk back into the room and see the bed already made, we won’t get that stressful silent to-do list reminding us that the bedroom looks messy and we need to make the bed. Instead, the space feels calmer, more positive, and easier to be in.

13. Clear your bedside table

The bedside tables can accumulate so many things—from medicine and papers to mugs, napkins, and those random little items in between, like old hand creams we don’t even use anymore.

This is your reminder to take all of those out. Put anything unnecessary in the bin, then give the table a quick wipe, and it will feel so much better.

14. Relocate that random object

We all know those random objects. Maybe it’s a kid’s toy, maybe it’s camera gear, or mugs from the kitchen, maybe it’s just random items in the room that don’t actually belong in there. Take those objects and put them where they belong. It’s going to make your room feel so much better.

15. Put your makeup away after use

Another one-minute habit I find really helpful is putting my makeup away straight after I use it. So, when I do my makeup in the morning, once I’m finished, I put all the bits in the little white container I have, which then goes back in the bathroom cabinet.

It might not seem like much, but it means I won’t have makeup products lying around all the time. It keeps the space tidier, makes cleaning easier, and I can always find what I need because it’s in that little container.

16. Close all wardrobe doors and drawers

This is such a tiny thing, and I know it sometimes sounds silly, but all these little actions really add up. Closing all your wardrobe doors, drawers, and cupboards automatically makes the room look tidier. It’s a small thing you can do throughout the day that really makes a big difference to how your space feels.

17. Get rid of the clothes piles

So, what I try to do is rehang the clothes if they are clean and still good to use. If they’re dirty, they go in the laundry basket. This way, there are no piles on the floor. I’m not saying it’s always perfect, but it really helps to tackle those piles before they get too big and overwhelming.

18. Declutter your home décor and your trinkets

This is something I did once I realised I had so many little décor items and things that I had accumulated over the years—items that I actually didn’t like that much, didn’t have a spot for, or even had stored away.

If they were in storage in my loft or garage, then obviously I didn’t really need them.

We’ve simplified our shelves and don’t keep a lot of these things anymore because it makes life easier. It’s quicker to dust, and it’s also more pleasant on the eye to have less visual clutter.

19. Hide your cables

Another thing that can be really annoying when it comes to visual clutter is cables and cords. We try to hide our cables as much as we can.

For example, TV cables—our house actually has a small hole through the wall behind the TV that goes down to the socket. Obviously, that’s built into the house, so it’s not something you can easily do yourself. But there are little tunnels and cable ties you can use to hide cables and keep them tidy, rather than all over the floors or surfaces.

We also have a charging station in a drawer where we keep all of our devices while they charge, so they’re not scattered around. It just makes the space look much tidier and reduces visual clutter a lot.

20. Use closed storage (when possible)

We also chose to have closed storage instead of open storage as much as possible because, again, it’s just easier on the eye.

When looking around the room, seeing clear surfaces instead of open shelves full of stuff makes the space feel bigger, calmer, and obviously tidier. It’s much nicer to be in, especially in areas meant for unwinding.

Let me know if you have any tiny habits for managing visual clutter—I’d love to hear them.