Clear intentions: a designated basket can stop unwanted clothes from becoming another pile to deal with. Photograph: Getty View image in fullscreen Clear intentions: a designated basket can stop unwanted clothes from becoming another pile to deal with. Photograph: Getty Guardian journalism is independent. We earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more .
Whether it’s streamlining shoes or being strict with toiletries, we asked the experts for the home organisation hacks they swear by
How to get rid of household clutter – without sending it to landfill
Isabelle Aron Wed 23 Sep 2026 11.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google Few things conjure a sense of achievement quite like a clearout or bringing order to that cupboard of doom you’ve been ignoring for months. But how best to tackle this beast of a job?
To help you make a start, we asked professional organisers and declutterers for their tips and tricks, as well as the products they recommend to help streamline the areas everyone struggles with. From never buying round storage containers to getting the kids to help tidy up, these are the solutions they swear by.
I have a one-year-old, and a lack of toy storage meant our living room was becoming increasingly chaotic. I finally got some fabric baskets from Amazon that fit perfectly in our built-in cupboards – they’ve been a revelation. Each one is loosely categorised into things such as blocks and cuddly toys, which makes tidying up super easy. My daughter often plays in our kitchen while we prepare food, so I also got a seagrass basket from Dunelm for that space – every night, I swoop everything up and chuck it in.
View image in fullscreen Seagrass storage basket
View image in fullscreen Mangata large storage box, set of three
Create a donation station View image in fullscreen Box clever: keep a designated donation basket ready for things you no longer need. Photograph: Pressmaster/Getty Donating things you no longer need is a great way to declutter sustainably, but you need a system so that you don’t end up with random charity shop piles around your home. “If you’ve got a designated space where you can gather things until you’ve got enough to go to the charity shop, that’s super helpful,” says Lesley Spellman, who, with Ingrid Jansen, is co-founder of the Declutter Hub , host of the Declutter Hub podcast and co-author of Reset Your Home . “Have a donation station – a box or basket somewhere easily accessible where you can put things.”
If you’ve got a food storage container drawer or cupboard that’s in a constant state of disarray, you’re not alone. “The worst thing in the kitchen is Tupperware,” says Simon Wigzell, founder of Let’s Get It Sorted . “I put the lids on everything and stack them. It’s not the best use of space, but you can see exactly what you need and get it out easily.”
Vicky Silverthorn, founder of You Need A Vicky , also stores her food storage containers with the lids on. If that’s not for you, she recommends Joseph Joseph’s nesting system, which neatly stacks together.
View image in fullscreen Joseph Joseph Nest Lock food container set, five pieces
£26.60 at Dunelm Make tidying toys into a game View image in fullscreen Play away: make putting toys back part of the fun. Photograph: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty If your children are old enough to help, get them involved in the tidying too, says Wigzell, who has a four- and six-year-old: “Before bed, we put on a song and…