5 products that will transform the way you declutter your home and make it easier than ever to keep future junk at bay

You can’t clean a house without cleaning products, you can’t cook a meal without food, and you can’t declutter a home without a few products at your disposal. And in my eyes, these are the 5 products that will transform the way you declutter your home.

As Ideal Home’s Content Editor for all things cleaning and decluttering, I’ve tried more decluttering methods than you can shake a stick at. And while these unique methods, coupled with some ruthless decision-making skills and the odd decluttering checklist, have helped make this happen, my home wouldn’t be as tidy as it is today without a few products I’ve used along the way.

Now, with the help of my colleagues and decluttering experts, I’ve pooled together the 5 must-have products that everyone needs when decluttering a home.

1. Storage baskets and boxes

One of the best storage and organisation tips you can have in your wheelhouse is also one of the best decluttering tips. After all, practical storage boxes can help during and after decluttering.

In fact, Ideal Home’s Deputy Digital Editor, Rebecca Knight, swears by these baskets - like the £5 KUGGIS baskets from IKEA - to organise the clutter that she no longer wants. She says, ‘I have the IKEA ones, so I can toss things to sell into them to keep them in a Vinted sales section.’ Then, she knows that everything in that box will find a new home in due course.

But alongside offering the clutter a temporary new home while you’re in the midst of decluttering, these practical storage boxes can also offer a permanent, more organised home when you’ve finished. Here, though, your choice of storage can be a little more personal.

Shannon Murphy, Professional Organiser and Founder of Simpl Living Co explains, ‘The solutions that work best will depend on your style, space layout, and daily habits. Do you need to see everything? If so, clear storage boxes might be best. This is especially helpful for people with ADHD, who often function better when items are visible.’

She adds, ‘Does visual clutter affect your mood? Opaque storage solutions may be better to create a sense of calm and a clean aesthetic. Do you have children? Open storage, like baskets and boxes without lids makes tidying up easier. If putting something away involves too many steps, kids are less likely to do it.’

Personally, I’m fond of shoving my useful but not essential clutter in large, opaque plastic tubs like these Argos Home Set of 3 Storage Boxes before popping them in the loft. But for the essential clutter that needs to be on hand, I prefer prettier options like this Set of 2 Berber Storage Baskets from Dunelm.

2. Labels (and a label maker)

In my eyes, there’s no point decluttering a home without using labels and a label maker. Having these two things handy can be extremely helpful if you struggle to declutter when you’re overwhelmed, as they can provide structure and a visual aid to declutter and organise your home.

Our Renovations Editor, Sarah Handley, keeps a tight hold on her label maker - this Dymo LabelManager 160 Label Maker from Amazon - when she’s decluttering.

She says, ‘My must-have when decluttering is a label maker. Not only does it help me create a specific place for everything (which makes organising things and keeping them organised much easier), but it also helps me identify my clutter danger zones. I know that if I'm struggling to put something away in its rightful spot, I need to have a mini clear-out and check my shopping habits that could be contributing.'

The best thing? This decluttering product can be placed on everything from your storage boxes to your shelves and even your items yourself. And you also have the choice of temporary labels that can be removed and changed with ease - like these Clip On Basket Bin Labels from Amazon - or something more permanent like these 70 x Script Design Storage Labels from Amazon.

3. A tape measure

You may assume that a tape measure is only good for actual DIY jobs, but it can also come in handy when you want to declutter your home - and it’s an affordable purchase, too as this Amazon Basics Self-Locking Tape Measure will set you back just £8.25.

But why would you need a tape measure? Well, decluttering isn’t just about getting rid of things that no longer serve a purpose in your home. It’s also about finding ways to prevent this clutter from accumulating in the future, and moving, removing, or adding furniture is an effective way to prevent any ‘clutter corners’ from staking their claim in your home.

This is echoed by Hester Van Hien, Home Decluttering & Organising Consultant from Tidylicious. She says, ‘You might want to move things around a bit and it can save time and effort when you measure before moving things to ensure there’s actually space.’

As someone who regularly has to move furniture in my small home, I can safely say that having a tape measure at my disposal has saved me from a bucketload of hassle.

Hester Van Hien

Hester Van Hien from Tidylicious is a Home Decluttering and Organising Consultant based in south east London and completed her training with Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo. Besides working 1:1 with clients in their homes and online, Hester can also be booked as an expert speaker. She’s done talks at the Ideal Home Show and the Clean & Tidy Home Show.

4. Command hooks

Command hooks - or any kind of self-adhesive hooks - can help you decorate rental walls or for those occasions where you don’t want to make any permanent damage to your home. But what most people don’t realise is that these hooks can also help the way you declutter your home. And that’s one of the reasons why I always have a stock of these Command Small Wire Hooks and Strips from Dunelm in my house at all times.

As these hooks won’t leave any residual stickiness or marks on your walls or furniture, you can either use them temporarily or permanently. For example, you could stick one to the door and hang a bag from it as you declutter your wardrobe to keep the items you’re selling or donating away from the items you want to keep.

But if you’re looking for more of a permanent decluttering feature, you could use them in your home office or living room to organise your cables, hide your TV wires, and stop them from cluttering up your eyesight as you work or watch TV. The possibilities really are endless.

5. A good vacuum cleaner

I may be a little biased as Ideal Home’s Certified Expert in Training for Vacuums, but one of the best decluttering products you can buy is a good vacuum cleaner. After all, decluttering can be a messy business - and one of the best vacuum cleaners can help you out more than you’d think.

Personally, I use my Dyson V8 Absolute every time I declutter my home as the final finishing touch and to clean the areas that have been decluttered. That’s because there are almost always crumbs, dust bunnies, and sometimes even cobwebs lingering in the areas that were once full of clutter.

And when you have the right vacuum attachment, you can even reach smaller corners of your home - like your underwear drawers, smaller cupboards, and other nooks and crannies. By the time you’re finished, your home will look 10x better.

Of course, it’s also worth having the best cleaning products on hand during this stage, too.

FAQs

What is the 5 year rule for decluttering?

The 5-year rule for decluttering is extremely easy to follow. All you have to do is walk around your home and look at the items in front of you. If you haven’t worn a T-shirt in five years or used a charging cable in the last five years, you let it go. You can either donate it, recycle it, sell it, or (as a last resort) throw it in the bin.

The idea is that if you haven’t used something in the last five years, you have no use for it and it’s highly likely that you won’t use it in the next five years either. So, there’s no point hanging onto it.

Of course, the rules differ slightly when it comes to sentimental items or heirlooms, so it’s best to use your own judgment when it comes to these items.

How do you drastically declutter?

One of the best ways to drastically declutter is to use the one-touch method. This method is all about making quick, practical decisions about the clutter in your home without allowing emotion to overcome your choices. The idea is that you make a decision whether you want to keep or get rid of that item as soon as you pick it up.

Of course, if it takes you longer to decide whether you want to keep it, it’s highly likely that you should keep it and that it holds sentimental value to you. But if you can’t think of any good reason why you should keep it after one touch, it’s time to let it go.

These are the products that I can't live without when decluttering my home, but are there any you use that I've missed from this list?