So your home is a bit of a mess. We’ve all been there. Over time, we accumulate too many items. We get gifts, buy things that we don’t need, and forget to throw out or donate excess or outdated items when we no longer use them. When you look around and see a mess, it’s time to start to declutter your home.
This is an overwhelming task if you’ve let it get out of hand. You can’t even clean with all of the clutter in the way. How do you get started?
We have a few tips and tricks to make the decluttering process quick, easy, and painless. Keep reading to learn more about decluttering your home.
1. Develop a System
Before you get started with your decluttering process, you’re going to need a system in place so you don’t get too overwhelmed.
The best system that we’ve come up with uses boxes or bins to help you get organized and figure out what stays and what goes.
The labels on these boxes will vary depending on what room you’re cleaning and what kinds of objects are being decluttered, but as a general rule, you want a place for things to keep, things to throw away or recycle, things to give away, and things to move to a different place.
When you’re cleaning out clothing, you may also want to include boxes for things to fix or things to tear apart and re-use as rags or fabric. After all, not all clothing items are in wearable condition anymore, but you can still use them for other projects so that they don’t go to waste.
Try to resist a “maybe” box. While it can be helpful for the decluttering process, it’s too tempting to keep all of the things within it.
2. Make Sure That Everything Has a Place
This is one of the most important organizational skills that you can learn and it will help you a ton when you’re decluttering.
It’s too easy to shove new objects wherever they’ll fit. Eventually, they no longer fit and you have a problem. To avoid this, make sure that everything you own has a place.
It’s a good idea to bring some organizational tools into your home to help with this. For example, drawer organizers help to separate your drawers into sections so you can level them and fill in those slots.
When you get a new object, put it into its respective spot as soon as possible. While you’re decluttering, put all “keep” objects into their spots before you move onto the next area.
If you can’t fit your object into a designated space, consider whether or not it’s worth keeping.
3. Ask If Items Spark Joy
Marie Kondo is the decluttering queen. Her Konmari method took the world by storm a few years ago, and for good reason: it works.
When you’re using her method, you pick up every item and try to figure out whether or not it makes you happy or improves your life somehow. These things don’t have to include books or photographs, though they may if you’re looking to trim those down as well.
Even items that we value don’t always improve our lives or bring us joy. Take a second to think about every item and then put it in its appropriate box.
4. Track Your Item Usage
This is a great way to declutter over time.
Every time you use an item (when applicable), find some way to label it. This can work for appliances, clothing items, books, and anything else that should get frequent use if it’s a good fit for your home.
For example: consider clothing.
When you wear something, hang it back up on a different colored hanger or put the hanger up facing a different direction than the other items. As time passes, you’ll realize that there are plenty of things that you never wear.
This is also a good reason to keep those previously mentioned boxes in your closet. When you realize you don’t wear something often enough, put it into one of the boxes that indicate it isn’t in the “keep” category.
5. Do One Room at a Time
We know how overwhelming this task is. Make sure that you pick a room (or a small area) to declutter at a time.
When you’re running around trying to do everything, you’re either dragging your boxes around with you or neglecting them. Neither of these are good options.
It’s also helpful when it comes to seeing results. When you’re able to sit down and focus on one space, the peace that comes from the decluttering may motivate you to work on other spaces.
When you do everything at once, nothing looks clean until you’re finished.
6. Try Swedish Death Cleaning
While the Konmari method is a great way to declutter, Swedish death cleaning has also risen in popularity.
It’s not as morbid as it sounds. The philosophy behind it is that you need to keep in mind how your loved ones will clean up and distribute objects after your death. This doesn’t mean that that time is coming soon, just that you need to act as though it is.
You start by giving away objects that have some value to you, but that someone else (a friend or family member) will value more. Remember, you value the memory attached to the object over the object itself.
The object of the exercise is detachment.
7. Enlist Help
You don’t have to take this task on by yourself. Enlist friends and family to help you or even professionals. When you have a lot of stuff, it takes a long time to declutter. Make a fun day of it.
Having other people around will also help you get rid of some things. While you may have an emotional attachment to something, your friends can be the voices of reason that encourage you to let them go (or they may take some things themselves!).
Declutter Your Home Today
If you want a clean space, you have to declutter your home first. It’s a lengthy and arduous process, but you’ll be grateful when you’re finished. Start now and you’ll be done before you know it.
Do you need a professional cleaner to come in when you’re done decluttering your space? You’ve done all of that hard work; let someone else take care of the cleaning.
Contact us to learn about what we have to offer or to set up your cleaning service today.
