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One survey in the UK revealed that 90% of people say they have too much clutter in their homes. Only about 7% of them said they don’t have a clutter issue. 

So, how do we know when we have too much stuff? 

In this article, I am sharing with you 11 signs that you may have too much stuff in your house, and it might be time for a declutter.

Feel free to keep reading below or watch the video:

1. You dread going into your house

I have recently watched an episode of “Sort Your Life Out” on BBC. It’s a show where they take people’s entire cluttered homes, put all their belongings into a warehouse, and help them declutter and sort their house out. It’s an amazing show.

What I learned from it is that many people dread going back to their homes at the end of the day. They come home from work or whatever it might be, and they sit in their cars for 20-30 minutes trying to summon up the strength, and the courage to go into their own houses. Their homes simply feel so overwhelming and suffocating that they dread going inside. 

And at the end of the day, our homes should be our sanctuary, right? 

The place where we go to have relief and a calm place where we can finally wind down and relax after a busy day.

2. You panic when you get the message “Can I pop over in 15 minutes?” 

If that kind of text message stresses the heck out of you, then it might be time for a declutter. 

Having a clutter-free space does not mean my house is tidy all the time. There’s always going to be mess around because we have a busy household with two children. 

The difference from before having a clutter-free space is that when I do tidy up, it only takes 5-10 minutes. Even if my kids took out a whole bunch of toys, it never takes too long to tidy. 

So now, if I get that text message, I’m not panicking. Yes, I might go around and straighten things up a bit, but even if they showed up unannounced, I would not feel that dread. And for me, that is a priceless feeling.

3. You bicker a lot over the clutter or housework with your partner or family

A research conducted on 2,000 adults in a relationship showed that 40% argue on a weekly basis over the clutter in their home. 

You know the clutter in your home is becoming more and more of an issue when it’s starting to affect your relationship with your spouse, partner, family members, or children. This is a really good sign that clutter is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. 

Having a massive declutter of your house is going to really improve both your relationships and your life in general. 

The same research showed that one in six adults considered breaking up with their partner over stuff in their home, clutter, bickering, and household chores. 

So decluttering is not just about creating a pretty house; it’s way deeper than that.

4. You don’t have clear surfaces for your children to do their homework or to have dinner

Do you have to move stuff around off the table or dining area or create a little nook for your kids amongst the chaos for them to be able to do their homework? If so, it might be a good idea to start clearing up those surfaces and creating better systems to make your household work a bit better.

There have been multiple studies that show that children growing up in hoarded or very cluttered homes have higher levels of anxiety, depression, and mental health issues. 

Having a household with children doesn’t mean it’s always going to be tidy, it doesn’t mean there’s never going to be toys out, or drawings, or clothes. But it’s easy to tidy at the end of the day.

In our house, I make it a priority for us to have a clear surface to have tea time together, for my son to be able to do his homework, and for us to be able to play a board game together on a big clear surface. 

Of course, children are not going to be consciously particular about having a clear surface or a tidy house, but they will feel the benefits of having a tidy environment.

5. You lose items a lot (can’t find your keys or wallet when you leave the house)

If you’re leaving the house and you can’t find your keys, wallet, purse, bag or umbrella (I’ve been there myself), then that’s a good sign you might have too much stuff in your house. 

It’s also a good sign that you might need a few more systems to help you out. I have a separate article in which I share exactly how I created systems for a better-functioning home. 

The National Association of Professional Organizers says we spend one year of our lives looking for lost items.

Think about how much time you would save if you had one little basket where you always drop your keys or wallet. A place you know they go to when you come in and you know where to find them when you head out. 

6. You repurchased an item you couldn’t find, only to then discover it behind the clutter

This has actually happened to me. 

At some point, I knew my son had watercolour paints somewhere in the house, but I couldn’t find them. So I went out to the shop and bought another one. Then, a few weeks later, I found the old watercolour paint behind a whole bunch of things that we had in our under-stairs cupboard. 

That’s one example of money we waste replacing items we lost in the clutter. 

Interestingly, when I talk about decluttering with people, many of them have a fear of regret, “Oh, I’m going to give this item away, and then I’ll really, really want it, and I’ll have to buy it again.” 

The reality is that the chances for that to happen are really low. It’s a lot more common to buy items that you already own because you can’t find them. So in fact getting rid of the clutter is going to save you money in the long run.

7. You have a dumping area that you dread (garage, loft, spare room, shed)

According to a study run in the UK, there are almost 1.5 million rooms that are filled to the brim with clutter. 

A poll that was done on 2,000 homeowners showed that 10% of them had a room that they don’t use because it’s too full of stuff. 

In our case, that area in our home used to be our garage. We don’t have a garage anymore, but when we did, we used it as a dumping ground. 

If we think about it, we pay a fortune to live in our homes. And if we have a garage or a spare room, those are usually areas that we pay a whole lot more money for, be it rent or mortgage, to have them. That’s costing us a lot every single month. 

These spaces are often used as dumping grounds or graveyards, we have no idea what’s in there, and we can’t even find things when we need them. They’re just full of boxes and things that we say we’re going to tackle but we don’t feel like doing it right now. We just stuff things in there. 

At the end of the day, this is a waste of money and resources. 

If you have one of those rooms, then it might be a good idea to start decluttering, bit by bit. I know it can be overwhelming. That’s how it felt like when we started on our garage. But by doing it bit by bit, whenever you get a chance, throwing out those old boxes you don’t need, you’ll make progress here and there. And one year from now, you’ll be surprised at what that space can look like.

8. You’re surrounded by doom piles (paperwork, laundry, and so on)

Doom piles are things that can add so much to our stress levels without us even realizing it. 

When you have these piles around your house constantly, consciously you might think, “Oh, it’s okay, I’m not bothered by that.”

Yet studies have shown that our brains do like order and they perform better when there’s less visual clutter to attract our attention.

So, starting to tackle those piles slowly can make a big difference to your mental health and how your house feels in general.

9. You can go for weeks without doing laundry before you run out of clothes to wear

One of the categories that people have a lot more items than they probably need is clothes. 

Our wardrobes, in general, are full of clothes that we don’t actually wear. It might be because we don’t fit into them or like them anymore. Or clothes that we think, “Oh, maybe I’ll fit into that another day,” or that we save for a special occasion.

When it comes to clothes, we often think we need a lot of options and a lot of clothes so that we have wiggle room to postpone laundry as long as we need to. But that’s what causes the piles and for them to get overwhelming.

If you have fewer clothes, you actually have to wash them regularly. You have to be on top of laundry; otherwise, you’re not going to have anything to wear. And that’s a good thing, especially if you’re not a naturally organized person.

And this way, laundry becomes easier. You do it more often, but when you do it, it’s easier to sort it out and manage it, and your wardrobe is lighter and airy. Opening your wardrobe no longer feels overwhelming every morning. 

10. You can’t access certain wardrobes, cupboards or areas of your home

Is there an area in your home that you can’t really access? Do you have to move a whole bunch of things over so you can open a door? Do you have to shuffle a lot of things over to clean? Do you have to move around about 100 items so you can just simply spray the surface of your dining table or kitchen counters?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above, that’s your sign that you need to declutter. All that clutter is making any chore take a lot longer than it should.

11. You have to shuffle a lot of things in order to clean

What I have learned through minimalism is that when I clear my surfaces of all those knick-knacks and things I don’t really love but just have them there, cleaning my house is actually not that hard or time-consuming.

For example, having less on my bathroom counters or sink means I don’t have to move half of my bathroom over and then fit it back. I can just give it a quick clean and it’s all done.

Decluttering can truly help in so many areas of your life. It can give you back your time as you’re not going to waste much time cleaning, moving stuff around, or looking for lost items. 

It’s also going to save your relationships, whether that’s with your spouse, partner, children, or family. It can truly have a huge impact on your life. 

It’s why I’m so passionate about this as I know what a difference it can make in your life. 

I hope this was helpful, and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, let me know which signs resonated with you most!