Reduce visual clutter with these 10 tips
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Visual clutter doesn’t have to take control of your life! Whether you’re a minimalist or not, it’s easy and fast to reduce clutter for some well-deserved peace of mind.
Are you feeling overwhelmed by clutter in your home? Don’t worry – we’ve all been there!
Sometimes it can feel like visual clutter takes over our lives because we can easily forget to kep everything tidy and clutter naturally happens when we forget to toss what we don’t need anymore.
Most humans want to have a nice place to live in, but it’s not always easy to achieve.
Wether you want a quick fix because family or friends are coming over or you truly want to change how your home looks and feels.
With a few simple tweaks and strategies, you can easily turn your messy space into an oasis of calm.
In this blog post, I’ll help you understand why visual clutter builds up and what you can do to create a sanctuary out of the chaos.
Why visual clutter happens?
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by too much information, it’s likely that visual clutter could be the culprit.
Whether it’s at home or in a public space, all of us interact with different objects on a daily basis and too often these elements are distracting instead of aids to productivity.
Visual clutter can happen on any place for a different number of reasons, such as; lack of organization skills, no communication between family members, a need to update the organization system or pure laziness.
As someone interested in minimalism and organization; I can say my biggest struggle is my kitchen, as sometimes I lack the motivation to put everything back to where it belongs.
So every once in a while I have to do a massive declutter and reorganization.
On the other hand my tidiest spot is my work area, because I can’t function on a messy desk/space.
If you have any trouble area, you can fix it with these 10 simple steps.
10 tips to reduce visual clutter
Declutter
You can’t hide visual clutter, if clutter is overpowering your home storage capacity.
Decluttering can be an incredibly rewarding endeavor: not only will it make your home look better, but it may even help improve your mental health.
Decluttering in itself is a whole different topic, and I want to focus on just hiding visual clutter, but if you are interested in decluttering articles, I highly recommend you check out these posts.
25 items to start decluttering now
Use boxes and baskets to organize clutter
After decluttering you can start to hide visual clutter easier.
Boxes and baskets are the perfect solution to help you organize and clear the clutter that plagues your space.
Not only are they practical, but you can also find a style and size that will fit perfectly with your decor.
From using them as storage for loose paperwork, to corralling kids toys or even serving as a catch-alls for everyday items, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep your space neat and tidy with the help of boxes and baskets.
No more word signs
With the farmhouse trend, word signs became extremely popular and since a few years you can find these decor signs at pretty much any store.
From signs with love messages such as “This is our story” or obvious ones like “eat” at the dining table or “cook” at the kitchen to the classic “live laugh love”.
Truth is, you home is not a store and you don’t need to have signs everywhere.
With so many messages around us vying for our attention, it’s no surprise that we can get easily distracted.
Our minds may be trying to take in all of this information without even realizing it – making completing everyday tasks more difficult!
Also, word signs tend to command attention in a room, unlike wall art or paintings, so instead of appreaciating the space as a whole, your eyes will jump from word sign to word sign.
I personally never liked word signs and have none around my home, but if you like them, just keep one per room at most.
But beware that the more word signs the more cluttered your home will look.
Reduce wall art
Want to make your house feel more like home?
Hang up some art pieces and photos!
But don’t forget about moderation – it’s essential.
Use those pictures as an eye-catching focal point, not a distracting clutter mess.
To find harmony in numbers, decide how many pics you want on each wall before putting them up.
If there are too many already hanging around, consider taking one or two down to create balance and visual appeal.
Most importantly though — be aware of what type of energy is coming through with the images that surround you!
Apply color palettes
Having too many different colors in a room can give us an overwhelming feeling and looking at the space may even be off-putting!
A simple color palette of three to five shades, with maybe some pops of brightness here and there, is all you need for that visual appeal without any clutter.
If you have no clue how to create a color palette, I recommend checking out ideas on Pinterest, you will find so much inspo to redecorate every room in your home.
With these tips combined, you’ll have no problem creating visually balanced spaces where anyone would love to spend time!
Straighten everything around the house
Get the warm, fuzzy feeling of a clutter-free home with just one simple step: make sure all your art and décor is straight!
Our subconscious can pick up when something isn’t right in our environment, even if we don’t consciously notice.
Taking some time to quickly scan through each room and make sure everything’s aligned can help eliminate those small visual distractions that increase stress levels without us knowing it.
Decorate with plants
Beautiful, lush plants can add a vibrant touch to any room – until you start noticing yellowing or dead leaves.
These pieces become distracting and take away from the joy of your plant.
Also decaying plants bring bad energy, so if you want to have natural plants, you must compromise to care for them, afterall they are also living beings.
If see dead leaves, remove those wilting parts so that their visuals don’t clutter and dirty up your space!
Reduce visual clutter through harmony
Creating a feeling of calm in your home is made easier with harmonious numbers!
Think odd – 1, 3, 5 and 7.
They have the power to make any decor look visually satisfying without being too much or too little.
So why not take advantage of this by breaking up pictures into uneven frames?
Or grouping tables together for an enhanced effect that pleases the eye?
Harmonizing items through number can be an effective way to create a relaxed atmosphere!
Pay attention to over-stuffed shelves
Visual clutter can be overwhelming if it’s not managed properly.
It might feel like a daunting task to de-clutter shelves with so many items vying for attention, but there is one simple design principle that can help – negative space!
This concept works just like in an art gallery: by setting apart the focal point from its surroundings, we are more likely to appreciate each item or piece of decor better.
So when creating your own shelving display at home remember what you want the focus to be and make room around those objects on purpose.
Allowing them all their individual glory without competing elements stealing away any shine!
Cords everywhere create more visual clutter
Electronics have become a huge part of our lives, so much that we often forget about the cords they bring.
But don’t underestimate their power to cause visual clutter – get rid of them or organize them when you can for an instantly tidier space!
While it might not be possible to completely remove your cords from view, tying them together and hiding behind furniture will go a long way in making sure your home looks neat.
Another easy solution is using a cord managment box, here you can hid all your plugs on a neat minimal box.
My favorite is this wooden box or if you want some extra decor you can get one with a cute design.
Bonus: Keep your countertops tidy
If your kitchen looks like a collection of cookbooks, appliances and utensils all jumbled together on the countertops – it’s time to take some action!
Try limiting yourself to keeping only what you need out on display.
Anything that doesn’t get used frequently can easily be stored away in cabinets or drawers so more space is available for food preparation when needed.
And this tip applies to any furniture with a flat surface around your home, clean and decluttered surfaces always give a pleasant vibe.
This simple method not only helps make your kitchen look tidy but also provides practicality too.
Final thoughts on visual clutter
Keeping your home visually decluttered is an ongoing process.
You will likely be making changes to this organization plan throughout the course of your life.
The tips outlined here will fast track your efforts into a neat, tidy and organized space.
It’s all about learning what works best for you and keep things simple.
Don’t try to hold on to too many things that you don’t need, either Amazon or eBay can be great alternatives for hard-to-find items.
With little effort, keeping your living space in order can require only a few simple steps every month and make sure that you never mistakenly take something without replacing it.
Finally, do not forget to utilize wall decor strategically — just because it looks nice doesn’t mean you need five paintings of the same subject sitting on a shelf next to each other!
Do you have any tips on how to reduce visual clutter? Let me know in the comment section below!
