Decluttering is a critical step that you should take before organizing your home. However, we know that it can be an intimidating endeavor, especially if you own a lot of items.
That said, here are eight tips that can make it easier for you to declutter your home.
1. Start small
Decluttering and organizing your entire home can be an overwhelming and exhausting affair. If you let yourself feel overwhelmed, it will be harder for you to get started on organizing your home. To avoid that from happening, you should start small.
Don’t think about cleaning your entire house. Instead, start by thinking about how to declutter your bedroom closet first. It doesn’t have to be your bedroom closet, but the key idea is to ensure that it’s just a tiny part of your home. You can focus on one room and then dial it down to one specific part of the room.
The decluttering and organizing task looks a lot more manageable that way, so it feels much easier to get started.
2. Use the 4-container method
Now that you are less intimidated by the task ahead of you, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Get four boxes and containers. These should serve as a way for you to categorize the items as you go through each of them. The categories will be trash, give away, keep or relocate, and sell.
For every item you have, ask yourself which container it belongs to. Don’t worry about how long it takes you to go through all the items. Once you finish, you now know what it is that you have to do with each of them.
Don’t forget to label your boxes so you never forget which is which.
3. Cut back on paper clutter
Paper clutter can make a space look more cluttered than it is, especially if it’s spread out on tables and other surfaces. Documents aren’t the only things that can count as paper clutter. Posters, wall art, and even photographs can count as paper clutter when you overdo how much of them you have around your home.
If you want to make your place feel more open and spacious, consider cutting back on the amount of paper clutter you leave out for all the world see. You can digitize these paper items quickly if you need to keep the information that is on them. Doing this will help you prevent paperwork from cluttering up your home too much.
4. Create a file system
A filing system can help you deal with any paperwork that you don’t want to digitize or still need to keep in hard-copy form. Having a dedicated paper storage system makes it easier for you to store documents in an organized manner. It helps you find the documents you need when you need them and put them back in the proper way.
5. Put everything back in its place
Before you start decluttering, it’s a good idea to establish a system that will help you dictate where each item should be. Otherwise, you’re going to end up shoving things inside a cabinet drawer and completely forget about where they are. Plus, having a system ensures that the cleanliness and neatness of your home after a decluttering session are sustainable.
Sometimes, though, you don’t have enough space for the number of items that you have. In cases like these, you can rent a storage unit to store items that you use only seasonally or not very often but that you still want to keep.
6. Get your entire family on board
Getting your family on board makes the decluttering process more manageable. Think about it this way: you’re not the only one living in this house, which means you’re not the only one who’s making a mess in it.
Getting your family involved with decluttering ensures that you get things done faster. It also lets you teach them how to organize their belongings. They won’t have to constantly ask you where their things are all the time since they should already know.
7. Try the 12-12-12 challenge
The 12-12-12 challenge is that you have to find 12 items that you can throw away, 12 that you can donate, and 12 that you can keep.
This challenge works best for particularly overwhelming rooms, like the attic or the basement, where you just don’t know where to start. You can start with those 36 items, then slowly work at the other items when you can get around it again, 36 at a time.
8. Binge-watch Tidying with Marie Kondo
Let’s face it, not everyone feels motivated to declutter and organize their home.
If you need that inspiration, then consider watching the show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. In this show, a tidying expert, Marie Kondo, goes through different people’s homes and helps these people declutter. Her pleasant demeanor and the satisfying “After” moments of these homes will surely inspire you.
Over to you
Decluttering is more than about just letting go of your unusable items. It is also about paring down your belongings so you know whether you have enough storage space or not.
In addition, you can use this decluttering opportunity to evaluate whether the things you thought you held dear are still serving their purpose.
If you still feel you need assistance, consider employing a professional cleaning service such as Maid Service and help truly transform your house into a home.
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