All You Need To Declutter Any Room In Your Home Is Your Phone's Camera

Clutter. It's every minimalist's worst nightmare and can really ruin the look of an otherwise beautifully curated space. An easy first step to decluttering is to go through your kitchen utensils and food storage containers, just two of several common items you can declutter for a cleaner, tidier home. But maybe you've tried decluttering methods before and are still ending up with crowded rooms, and you just don't know where to start. What you may be experiencing is a psychological phenomenon called habituation, during which we tune out common or repetitive things in our surroundings. How can you fight habituation in what you notice about the clutter in your home? Try a second set of eyes — or the camera on your smartphone.

Grab your phone and take a picture of the room you'd like to declutter. Not just any picture, though — use your phone's panorama setting and really capture the entirety of the room, left to right and top to bottom. Then, take a look at the photo. Maybe even print it out on a large piece of paper. Notice what your eye is drawn to, what you like, and what you don't. Where are the places where stuff has accumulated? With a new perspective, you may be able to tune back in to the clutter you've learned to ignore — and figure out how to banish it.

Your decluttering attempt will only be as good as the photo you take of your space. Try lowering the phone — take the photo on panoramic mode, at chest level, and from the corner of the room, common tips for taking beautiful real estate photos. In addition, make sure there is enough light in the room to be able to make out even the smallest of cluttered details. Turn on table lamps and open your curtains and blinds before you step behind the shutter. The first step to behavior change — banishing clutter from your home for good — is self-awareness, so don't feel pressure to clean up or declutter before you take the photo.

Once you have your photo, it's time to analyze what you see. Try printing out the panoramic photo on a large piece of paper so that you can really dig into the clutter. Use a marker to circle everything that appears messy or cluttered, and take note of any patterns you see. Does your clutter take the form of piles of stacked mail? Maybe it's several pairs of shoes that don't have a home elsewhere. Once you have identified your clutter patterns, don't get overwhelmed — one strategy that works best for decluttering your home is to break the room down into manageable chunks. Work section by section, guided by your marked-up photo, and breathe easier as the clutter falls away. When you're finished, snap another pic to compare your before and after progress!