I Took Photos of My Home to Declutter It, and I Couldn’t Believe the Results

Looking around my apartment on any given day, I like to think I have a pretty good handle on clutter. After all, I have a lot of stuff and I’ve done a great job of fitting it into every nook and cranny my small space has to offer. But, of course, I could always have less stuff.

When I learned about the ingenious “invisible clutter” trick right here on Apartment Therapy, I realized I had way more to declutter than I ever thought — only because I’m surrounded by it day in and day out. And all it took was taking a few photos to see that more clearly.

When you’re in your own space all the time, it can be difficult to see how much clutter you have from an outsider’s perspective; because you’re immersed in it, it makes it feel essentially invisible. If you’ve got an overflowing basket of magazines or too many charging cords piling up next to your desk, chances are you’re so used to seeing them in your line of vision that they’ve blended into the background. 

As recommended by pro organizer Nonnahs Driskill, this visual decluttering trick is unbelievably easy: If you want to uncover hidden clutter, take photos of the room or space in your home you want to declutter. Then, take anywhere between a few hours or even a few days, and view it away from the space. You’ll get a new point of view on the room — some of the items that seemed invisible may actually be really noticeable now. Of course, it works best in non-shared spaces or rooms that aren’t likely to change much after you snap the photo.

I started by taking photos of the two spots I use most in my apartment: my work space and my living room. Then I viewed the photos I took a few hours later while I was walking my dog. Being away from each of the rooms made me view them in a new light; it wasn’t strikingly obvious at first, but some points stuck out in each room. For example, I’ve noticed in the past that my coffee table accumulates lots of junk in its bottom shelf, and it looked even worse from the photo’s angle. The same went with the various items around my desk and on the floor. But when I took the photos, clutter didn’t even cross my mind!

When I looked at the photo of my work space, the first things I knew I had to declutter were my cords, which make the space look far more disheveled. I used an old plant holder to collect the cords so they look more tidy. I also have a basket of crocheting materials, which I ended up rehoming with other crafting materials elsewhere. When I looked at the photo of my living room, I realized I have to actually get rid of (or at least reorganize) some of the clutter. There are items in the coffee table storage that I do often use, like art supplies, books, and a box of nail polish that will stay, but I tossed and rearranged a few others: burnt matches, markers, and a DIY garland. In seconds, it looked so much more organized.

My favorite part about this trick is the psychology at play, because you’re letting time, distance, and what feels like a more objective view help you reevaluate your space. Spending so much time in a room can make you blind to it, and a little bit of breathing room and a change of environment made me see it more clearly.

It took a different lens — pun intended — to give me a whole new point of view on the background clutter in my apartment, and I can’t wait to try it out in other secretly-clutter-filled areas of my space.