Six steps to being on your way to a life that feels free and clear of things that weigh you down.
We have a lot of practical posts on getting your home to look organized and clean quickly.
This post on A Welcome, Neat Home in Minutes includes some tips on whipping up a house into shape quickly. There’s more great tips in the posts on “What is a House Mullet?,” or How to Get the House Clean Fast on Motzei Shabbos, and perhaps our favorite One Little Trick for Speed Cleaning Your Home. The last one features a really a simple concept that you intellectually know but after reading the post you will put it into practice and remember it!
We also have tips on owning less things, which makes a house easier to maintain. When there’s less stuff, there’s less things to organize and keep neat. Would You Like to Be a Minimalist?, or Yes, You Can Be a Minimalist with a Baby!, and a post we wrote on our favorite organizing/ minimalist self help book The Life Changing Magic of Marie Kondo all help towards achieving that mindset.
Yet, here we are talking about decluttering again, owning less stuff, and keeping a house neat.
If you feel your house is super easy to clean up, and you enjoy opening each closet, things bring you joy, there is no need for you to read this article. However if you feel that your house is heavy, you get overwhelmed with the idea of Pesach cleaning, and you don’t have room to add things, try these tips and see if they help you.

Things Weigh You Down!
A closet full of clothing that you may one day fit into weighs you down! You know that feeling when you organize your closet, donate things that you aren’t using, how light you feel?
That’s the feeling you should feel more often. Don’t look at things you’ll one day “maybe” use.
Let someone else enjoy it! Donate it to give it a second life. It’s not wasting, it’s giving. It served it’s time for you. If you have a really hard time, box up whatever you feel is weighing you down, write the date on it, and if you see you haven’t opened it in x amount of time, donate it then.
Action: Those ½ pair of socks you holding onto with the hope that you will pair them one day? Meanwhile, they are making you feel bad every time you fold laundry? Use them to dust the house (thanks to the follower that shared that!) or toss them out!
Scarcity Mindset
Clutter is a scarcity mindset – with a quick Google review this seems the number one reason why people have clutter. Scarcity is a poverty mindset. Maybe, “Some day I will need this,” maybe “It’s a waste to have to buy it again if I need that size clothing again.”
Hashem can and will send you more when you need it. Do a chesed and let someone else enjoy those clothing, Purim costumes, toys, or whatever you feel you aren’t using and won’t be using over the next few years.
Action: Choose something that is overflowing, taking up too much space. Donate it to someone that will give it a second life and say “Hashem will send me the capability to buy it again (or send it my way) if I need it, for now x will enjoy these items that aren’t being used.

Declutter Daily
What? That sounds ridiculous. Unless you are a true minimalist, however, you need to toss out or donate things daily. That includes mail, papers, boxes, clothing, broken toys, missing gloves, and socks. There are endless opportunities. Create a habit by getting rid of things daily. Choose 1-5 items a day and you’ll be on the way to an easier to maintain house. When you neglect to do this for a month, suddenly, the stuff starts to overwhelm you again.
Action: Walk around your home and choose 5 things to remove (donate, toss, or recycle).
Digitalize or Consolidate Sentimental Items
Physical items such as photos can be digitalized or consolidated out of torn albums into photo boxes. We prefer these 5×7 photo boxes since they give you more flexibility when photo aren’t printed at exactly the same size. Photos and letters can be scanned (especially important for letters that are getting old and brittle). You can also see this post on How to Store (and When to Toss) Kids Projects and Memories.
Action: No action needed! Sentimental items are hard for people to get rid of, these tips are just if you feel they take up too much space. It’s ok if you feel this isn’t something you can do.

You Don’t Need More Containers
You may need/want to replace containers so they are all similar, fresh, or prettier. But you most probably don’t need more containers. Buying more containers so that you can organize more stuff, most likely means you have too many things.
Action: See what area you felt you need new containers for and evaluate if things can be consolidated, donated, or tossed out.
Family Members Need Their Own Space
Every child deserves to have their own space and collect whatever they like as long as it’s contained in their 1-2 (or 3 for those super collectors) bins and aren’t living in shared living space.
Action: Assign a bin or drawer for each family member. Walk around your home and place each person’s items in their bins.
PSA: Yael Wiesner, organizer and interior designer in EY, is having her Pre-Pesach purge again this year! It started on Friday but you can join anytime. I did it last year, and it made my Pedach cleaning a dream. It basically works that you partner with someone to purge as many items as you can, starting with 30 on the first day, 29 on the 2nd, 28 on the 3rd etc… Check out the details https://yaelwiesner.com/pre-pesach-purge/
The website is not working properly. It does not allow you to forward any posts.
It also says oh no, this is not what you were looking for…
It’s harder to navigate with this new system. Can we go back to the old website?
These are all beautiful., But most of us these days have a hard time filling the pantry, nevermind spending $25-40 on a bin. Can we try to do this on a dime???