Five Tips to Declutter Your Home and Conquer Your Mess
Spring might be behind us, but there’s never a bad time to tackle the mess and declutter your home. If being stuck indoors because of quarantine has had you contemplating your mess, this is the perfect time to take on the challenge.
A clean, organized, and decluttered home is one of the best ways to find mental clarity. You’ll part ways with things that no longer serve you and make room to highlight the things that do. If you’re hoping to conquer your mess this summer, I have five tips to declutter your home.
Block out time
One of the biggest mistakes we make when trying to purge our homes is that we don’t block out the time to do it. We either underestimate and get overwhelmed, or completely forget to do it because we didn’t block it on our calendar. By blocking out the right amount of time, you’re telling your mind that you are to focus until the task is complete.
Create a digital calendar notification and invite anyone in your household who can be involved. I love including my husband and daughter on declutter days because they can be a second (or third) pair of eyes when making final decisions.
Focus on one area
Another mistake we often make when attempting to clear the clutter is trying to tackle the whole house at once. While this might seem productive, it’s the opposite. Your mind and attention will be going in too many different directions and you’ll soon notice that you won’t make any progress.
Instead, focus on tackling one area at a time. I like to start small and go from there. Working on your linen closet from start to finish can give you the confidence and momentum to keep going and tackling other areas of your home.
Remove everything
If you’re trying to do a deep declutter of your home, you have to reach things and areas you often overlook. Whether you’re cleaning your closet or your pantry, removing everything from that space is crucial to ensure you get the job done. This way, you’ll be able to see everything you have and evaluate each item.
This step can be easy to overlook because removing every item seems like a tedious and time-consuming task. While it might take you longer, it’s key to effectively getting rid of those unwanted items stuck in the back of the shelf.
Go through one item at a time
Once you’ve conquered working through one area at a time, it’s time to take it one step deeper and go through one item at a time. This means that if you’re decluttering your board games, you aren’t simply purging everything in the same category. Instead, go through one board game at a time. Identify whether you use it, if it’s missing any major pieces, or if it can be of better use by someone else.
Like with every other step above, it can be tempting to skip this one. It might seem easier if you just purge through everything, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice. Take the time to go through one item at a time and you’ll soon be left with only things that truly bring you joy.
Organize, donate, throw out
As you go through one item at a time, make sure you’re organizing it in its appropriate place. If you’re keeping the item, make sure to organize it properly. For things I use often, I like to keep them accessible and at eye level. If it’s a seasonal item or something I don’t often use, I don’t mind putting it somewhere it’ll be out of the way.
If the item no longer serves you, evaluate whether it can be used by someone else. You have several options here. You can either try to sell it on an online platform, gift it to friends or family, or donate it to your favorite charity thrift store. As a last resort, you can throw out the item. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you get the clutter out of your house. It’s key to ensuring it doesn’t sit in your garage for the next six months.
