Declutter Made Easy: Practical Tips for a More Organized Home
Our lives and our homes seem to get full of clutter. Tackling clutter in small chunks can have a quick impact and give you a sense of freedom. Freedom from clutter does not have to take hours but can be accomplished in minutes a day.
Declutter Made Easy: Practical Tips for a More Organized Home
In a world filled with stuff, we often become increasingly anxious about coming home to a house filled with projects and things. Home is where you are supposed to feel most relaxed.ย ย
Before we get started, it is important to say that you canโt do it all at once, and even if you tried, it would quickly kill your motivation and make you want to quit.
Instead, take things one step at a time, and make progress, little by little.ย And if you feel overwhelmed, pick one dresser or even just ONE DRAWER and begin. Little progress is better than no progress at all.
Prepare Yourself
When you want to declutter a shelf, drawer, or closet, take everything out and then only return the items you need to keep. Decide how long you will keep something before getting rid of it. If you havenโt used something in 6 months, 1 year, or more?
Pick a decision point that you think will work for you and try to stick to it. You can always adjust the time up or down if you feel like you need to. Having a plan to declutter your home will help put you in a good state of mind.
To help you out, even more, I created this FREE Homemaking Chore Checklist to help you stay on track throughout the month.
Click or tap the image below to sign up to receive your FREE downloadable Home Cleaning Checklist.
In The Kitchen
Kitchen counters can become cluttered easily. If you donโt use an appliance at least twice weekly, remove it from the counter and store it elsewhere. Gaining counter space will also make it feel cleaner. Keep only what you use every single day on the countertops.
Grab some boxes or bins for a donation. This next part is where you get down to the nitty-gritty. The next step is to empty each space, assess each item, and put everything back where it belongs. I am sure you will be finding items that you forgot you ever had because it was tucked in that way back corner.
I would suggest starting with your upper cabinets first. These tend to be where you place the most used items. Then work your way down to the bottom cabinets.
In The Bathroom
In just 10 minutes you can accomplish a lot. First, start with your medicine cabinet. Take everything out and discard outdated medications, makeup, and skincare products. Put everything you’re keeping immediately back into the cabinet.
This can declutter even though unseen can make a big difference.
The next project in the bathroom will look and feel very similar. Moving into any cabinet drawers next. Just as before, remove everything, and do a quick evaluation of what you’re keeping and what you’re tossing. Put the items you’re going to keep back into their drawers.
While you are decluttering drawers, this would be a great opportunity for you to give them a quick wipe down too. Removing all accumulated dirt and grime.
Undecided Items
If you arenโt sure you want to get rid of some things, stick these items in a box. I like to call this box the “undecided box”. When youโre done with your decluttering process, look through it again and discard anything or decide if it needs to be donated.
Mark the outside with the contents and date. If you have not used anything in that box for 6 months, it is time to reevaluate. I suggest just donating the entire box and forgetting about it.
Kids Artwork & Crafts
Your children will come home with many prized artwork pieces, but you canโt save them all. One great idea is to take a photo of your child holding the art. That way you donโt have to keep every item, but you will have the picture as a terrific memory and keepsake.
This is also true of vacation souvenirs. Who needs a cheesy souvenir that costs a million bucks, when you can have a vacation memory in a photo?
Decluttering The Closet
The dreaded closet. Each season, try on all the clothes in your closet. If you love something, keep it. Ask yourself if you would buy it again.
Anything you would not buy again, get rid of. If it doesnโt fit, get rid of it unless it is a really special item. For clothes you only wear for a special event, move them to the back of your closet, or better yet, store them in a spare closet if you can.
Other Simple Solutions
10 Common Items that Make Great Toy Organizers
The Best Way to Store Natural Baking Soda For Other Uses
How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets And Degrease All Naturally
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Very useful post here and I am seriously going to follow some of your advises here.
With 2 fast-growing kids, I definitely need to declutter every now and then. Thanks for all those tips and will keep them in mind.
I am all about decluttering! THese are great tips to get rid of stuff and not be dealing with the stress of clutter. It does take effort to keep up with it.
I do think a little progress is better than none. Just get the ball rolling!
Thank you for this advice. Recently I’ve been dealing with some stress here and there, and this has helped me!
Thank you for this gentle reminder! this is something a need to do – I have a lot of unwanted stuffs around especially in my room and it gives out bad energy.
Great tips, I will save these and maybe try them for my parent’s house. Because I only have an apartment right now haha. Thank you for sharing!
I’m trying to declutter my closet! I have way too much stuff, which is such an emotional weight on me.
Oh yes….I need to clear my closet as soonest as possible. There is so many shirts in there that I no longer wear!
Such an amazing article to read, decluttering our home for me is very essential to keep maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of things we always use. Great reference and will note this!
Thank you!!
We’ve been doing a lot of decluttering in our home lately and it’s just amazing how fast stuff piles up, especially with kids. It’s a daily thing and we try to make it a habit if just taking 15 minutes at the end of the day and putting things away.
UGH… YES!!! Kids. LOL makes us feel like we are in a losing battle.
This is a really useful post . I seriously need to follow your advise as my drawers and cupboards are bursting with things I have not used in months.
I love this. I have always found myself to be more stressed when my home is a mess and disorganized.
This is me too… Clutter gives me anxiety. I am right there with you.
This is some solid advice. I really need to stop with this procrastination. One thing though, once I start, anything that doesn’t bring me joy will go.
I like to think of clutter as gaining weight- it builds up a little at a time and you generally don’t notice it until it gets out of hand. Eliminating it takes effort, but a little at a time is a good approach. Make it a point to empty out one drawer or one cabinet every few days.
Great analogy!!!! Never thought it about it this way. But you are right!