You have likely tried to declutter once or twice before and got overwhelmed. If you’re like many individuals, biting off more than you can chew when it comes to decluttering and organizing your home happens often. No matter how many decluttering checklists you print out, if you don’t have a real strategy to declutter, then it will likely end in frustration. That’s why I’ve come up with some specific decluttering tips to help you be successful.
Take it from me, a professional home organizer who helps people daily to come up with an effective system to declutter and organize. I have worked with people in various stages of life and one of the top wishes they have is to feel in control again over their space. These tips will help you start the process of weeding through the overwhelm and so you can take back control.
What Does Declutter Mean?
Decluttering means you are taking action to go through the clutter in your home to remove what you no longer need, use, or want. Instead of throwing random things into a drawer, box, or a corner of a room, you remove them from your home completely.
Decluttering is a way to start fresh in your home by giving you space to breathe and destress from all of the stuff that is crowding your mind and home.
5 of the Best Decluttering Tips
The following five decluttering tips are tips you haven’t heard of yet. Decluttering is more than just throwing things away; it’s also about keeping your space from gaining more clutter in the future.
Find Your “Why”
Ask yourself the reason behind why you want to declutter. What is motivating you to get things in order? The answer could be anything from feeling less chaos in your life, wanting to live in a healthy environment, or simply you’re tired of looking at it. Whatever the reason is for you, this will keep you motivated.
When you have a goal in mind as to why you are decluttering, this helps your brain feel a sense of accomplishment when you reach your goal, which helps you feel happy, relaxed, and reduces anxiety. There are many mental benefits that come with decluttering, which is why you need to find the reason or the goal behind it for yourself to keep going.
Strategize
Use decluttering checklists if you are truly going to use them as they are meant to be used. If you aren’t someone who likes checklists, then build your strategy on paper somewhere that you can easily see. Plan out how you are going to declutter. Consider which areas need the most attention, which area you want to see decluttered, and if there is anyone who can help you with the process.
Take garbage bags or bins and separate things into “trash, donate, keep”. This will help you visualize what you are keeping so that you can decide where it needs to go afterward. All those little pieces of trash that get lost in the shuffle will actually make it to the trash. Finally, things you no longer need can go to someone else who might need it. We love donating to Texas Children’s Baptist Home!
Start with One Small Space at a Time
This is one of the biggest decluttering tips I can share: start small! Start with just one space of your home at a time. While we all want to walk into the home like Beyonce (who runs the world…😉) on a mission and just declutter and organize the house all in one day, this isn’t sustainable. It will take much longer than you anticipate. This could lead to overwhelm and burnout before you’re a quarter way into the process.
If there is one area that is messier than others or just one area that you want to have tidy for your own liking, then start there. To reduce overwhelm, don’t look at the space as a whole. Divide it into sections. For example, if you are tackling a room, choose a corner to work on first. Start sorting items and keep moving around the perimeter of the room. Then move to the middle if needed.
Spend at least a month keeping that area clean and tidy before moving on to another area.
Make it a Routine
It takes a human three weeks to create a new habit and form those new sparks in the brain. This means something has become second nature to you. It would be harder to forget doing it because it has become so routine for you.
Set a timer for 5-10 minutes per day dedicated to tidying up your newly decluttered space. After those few weeks, it won’t seem so overwhelming or exhausting to do.
Progress
Now that you’ve tackled one area of your home and have consistently kept it clean, it’s time to progress to the next area. Look at your “why” list again and strategize for the next area of your home.
Since you’ve done this process once, it’ll be easier to do again and again. Decluttering boosts your confidence when you can accomplish something so don’t give up; do this for you.
Decluttering Starts with Mindset
The reason this list of decluttering tips is different from other lists is because decluttering starts with mindset. You have to have your head in the game before you can start getting your home in order. Otherwise, you may end up a few months later looking at the same problem. The point is to declutter and keep it that way for good. And that starts with changing your mindset to fit that lifestyle.
Living a more minimalist lifestyle with order can boost your mood, increase your productivity, and help with depression. Like anything else in life, you have to start somewhere before you can get to the end result. I would love to help be a support for you in your declutter and organize journey. Set up a complimentary consultation with me and let’s get your chaos back in order sooner than later.