10 Tips for Decluttering Your Home This Season
Decluttering is a popular phenomenon at present, but there really isn’t anything new about it. At this time of year particularly, we spend more time inside due to the chill and slow down from busy summers. It can be a little surprising how disorganized our homes become and how much we accumulate. Some may use all they have in their homes, but chances are, each one of us can take a good look at our inventory and make some decisions. Decluttering is no easy task and it takes effort, but the results of doing so can benefit you greatly in more ways than one. Read on for some of our tips about decluttering your home this season.
The “right time” to start is now
“There is no time like the present”...it rings true in many areas of life, including the decluttering of your home. The new year, the first of the month, the beginning of the week or weekend; are all too common times to wait to start on a project or change of life. Don’t wait for the “right time” to get started, if you are determined to do it, take these steps and get started on decluttering your home today. No one wants to start anything on a Monday… you will thank yourself later for getting in gear and not putting off for tomorrow what you can do today.
Make some goals
Goals mean motivation; motivation accomplishes goals. Having a clear goal in mind will help you stick to the process and see it through. You want to be S.M.A.R.T about making goals:
Specific - who, what, where, when, why to attain what you’ve envisioned
Measurable - how it will happen
Achievable - realistic and attainable, start small
Relevant - does this matter to you and benefit yourself and your family in some meaningful way?
Time Bound - How much time you want to spend and for the process to take based on the above
Envision what you want your house to look like
Making your goals will depend monumentally on what you want your house to look like at the end of the process. Do you want to open up a corner of the room? Clear the window space? Reduce the number of book shelves you have? Clear off counter tops? Take some time to visualize what you want each room and space to look like. Take note of the things you use and love first, then address everything else. You’ll have a better picture of what items need to stay and what should go.
Gather some supplies
Decluttering can take some supplies; once you have a plan, get these things in order to save time. If you’re not sure where to start, here is a simple list of the basics, all of which we can supply for you should you need the help!
Sturdy boxes or tubs for things you need to store or donate
Removable labels and a marker
Packing tape if using boxes
Trash bags
Choose your starting point
This can be one of the most challenging steps, especially if you have a lot to tackle. Start with a small clear space, whether it’s an area on the floor or a counter, to set things and go through items. This is a good area to keep your supplies as well as temporarily stash items as you consider your decision, more on that later. Each day, work on making this space a little larger by clearing items. Keep this area tidy and only put things here as you are working through the process.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. As far as a starting point, start in your most used rooms and areas such as a hallway, living room, or bedroom. Start with small areas within the room and work toward the door, you’ll be surprised at the progress you make!
Clear the trash
Start by clearing obvious trash such as wrapping, packaging, old notes, etc. Anything broken or expired can be tossed, or in the case of a broken valuable, determine if it can be repaired and if you will; place these items in a special box for safekeeping. Clearing trash and broken things first will ease making decisions about everything else.
Determine the need
Once you’ve cleared obvious junk, determine what you need and use first. Items you reach for, handle, and access frequently. Identifying what you use and need rather than going through each item individually will save heaps of time and mental/physical energy; decluttering is hard work! When those things are identified, then you can address everything else around it.
Items that may have sentimental or heirloom value to you can be safely and securely stored. Not everything needs to stay or go entirely!
Find a “Home” for each item
Basically, everything you own should have a place, whether in moveable use or static fixtures. Nothing should be randomly placed or moved around. Think about things you’re constantly moving around to get out of the way… find them a home to stay or determine if it’s something you need and use. Drawers, boxes, bowls, shelves, are all places that things can be neatly tucked away in or on when not in present use. You also don’t need to be completely organized… we are all allowed that junk drawer or the basket of toys where things are just tossed in to simply keep them off the floor for trip hazards. Junk drawers can be frequent flyer items too! Just make sure the things there are actually used and don’t prevent the drawer from closing… we’re guilty too.
Make a decision
Keep, donate, trash, sell, or store. Everything can fall into one of these categories and shouldn’t sit around in indecision… defeating the purpose of decluttering. Many items that take up our space are just the things we don’t know what to do with, maybe because we haven’t taken the time to determine their need.
Keep what you use.
Donate what you don’t and is still in workable condition; something someone else can use. Trash things that are broken, worn out, or expired.
Sell those items in new or gently used condition that have value.
Store things that you need to keep but don’t have immediate or soon-anticipated use such as basic holiday decor, seasonal gear, heirlooms, and sentimental value items.
Take some time to tidy each night
It takes about 30 days to form a new habit. Set a reminder on your phone (we really have no excuse these days to forget) to take 10-15 minutes to do a basic tidy each night. You’ll feel better waking up in the morning too. Clear things that migrated onto surfaces, put toys away, empty the dishrack, and clear any bits of trash. With every item having a place, this can become a simple, auto-pilot task to do.
There you have it! Our tips to keeping a clutter-free home. Practicing these tips will also make any potential move much easier and time saving when it comes to packing, we can attest to that!
Having a plan and keeping a vision of an end result in mind is essential to successfully attaining your decluttering goals and lifestyle vision for you and your family. Be a little stringent about what you keep and be completely honest with yourself in the process, you may just learn a thing or two about yourself through it too!
If you need some help hauling things away either for storage, to the dump, or simply need help packing things away for donation, give us a call!