The Hennai Home is only 1,076 sqft, which is a far cry from the Midwest home that I grew up in. Some people consider smaller homes “starter homes” but that is not how we approached it at all. Having a smaller home forces us to be more considerate with our purchases, no one needs a huge walk-in closet unless you work in the fashion industry for a living.

More space just means more furniture, more expenses and frankly just more shit.

Many families feel like when they have a 2nd or 3rd kid they need to upgrade to a bigger home because they feel so cramped! That might be true if you are living in a 1 bedroom, but most smaller homes are fully capable of providing functional space if you just take the time to plan and figure out what you actually need.

The average size of a US family has decreased 24.3% from 1960 to 2019. While the average size of a US house has increased by 42%, we are having smaller families and demanding more space. You can read more about that here.

The first step of decluttering is to make a massive mess. Pick a room and pull everything out of a closet, your drawers or whatever you are attempting to tackle. Get some old boxes, bins or Ikea bags, whatever you have laying around and start sorting. You will make a massive mess and 100% regret it several times as you are doing it. When you get frustrated just take a break, or perhaps grab one of those big blue IKEA bags and throw everything in there and walk away for a day.

I like to gamify things a bit. Our laundry is in the garage so every time I go to put a load in or switch from the washer to the dryer I tell myself to put away 5 extra things. Over time, the garage slowly gets picked up without making a huge project out of it.

Do whatever is easiest for you. Sometimes it’s just pulling out anything that is clearly ready for the garbage/recycling. For me this is usually random papers and crap like that.

Then do a first pass of sorting, things you definitely need, things you might want and a pile of things you aren’t quite sure about. Do whatever works to help you make progress that first day.

Join a buy nothing group to get rid of things that are in good shape but you don’t have use for anymore. Or try selling some bigger ticket items online. Sometimes listing things to make money isn’t worth your time, just do whatever works for you.

Once you have a good handle on what you want to keep, make some lists to figure out what type of storage needs you want. For example when we redid our kitchen I made a spreadsheet of all of the major kitchen categories (silverware, mixer, plates, spices, pots & pans etc). Then I made a list of how many drawers or cabinets they would require and built our kitchen to store everything perfectly.

Trust me, this is easier than going out and buying cute baskets and bins and then realize they don’t fit the shelf correctly, or you have too many Lego pieces to fit in 1 bin and you needed 2 etc.

Take some measurements and go find the right storage needs to organize and make it look like you have your shit together.

Here’s some of my favorite products which may contain affiliate links to help maintain and grow this website.

Living Room & Bedroom Storage Baskets

Baskets are perfect for storing blankets, pillows, laundry, toys, stuffies and more. Clean up is super easy, just throw everything in and ta-da! Looks better already. So easy, even a toddler can help clean up.

Kitchen Storage

Let’s be honest, kitchens just really don’t stay organized, but it feels good to just tidy up every so often. It all starts with having the right sized bins and storage containers to avoid having a huge shelf or drawer just crammed full of crap with no rhyme or reason.

Entryway Storage & Organization

Entryways can be really difficult to keep clean and organized. It’s a dumping ground for shoes, backpacks, purses, jackets, rain and snow gear. Here’s some easy ways to keep things functional without looking like a hot mess. Besides it’s the first thing house guests see when they enter your home.

Bathroom & Other Small Storage

Bedroom dressers and bathroom vanities are magnets for all kinds of tiny clutter. Here are some super cute ways to organized the little things.