3 Steps to Clear Clutter from your Home Today
Have you reached the point of overwhelm? Are you finding that you have STUFF everywhere? Do the stacks of papers, baskets full of clean and dirty laundry, random crap on tables and counters, toys on the floor, never seem to end? Why do you have all this clutter and where is it all coming from?! And how do you get rid of it once and for all?
Part of the overwhelm of clutter is that we don’t know where to start and even when we do we don’t know what to do with all our STUFF. #firstworldproblems #amiright
I’m here to tell you, there is hope and you can clear the clutter. Let’s go room by room to tackle the clutter and create spaces we love being in!
Step One: Purge
There is no sense in organizing or keeping a bunch of stuff we don’t need. So RIGHT NOW go grab a trash bag and spend 10 minutes going through your house and purge! Seriously, don’t overthink this one. Just do it. Grab that garbage bag and throw out all the junk that isn’t worthy of goodwill. I recommend tossing old partially used things. Toss outdated or seldomly used condiments in the fridge, old beauty care items like makeup, nail polish and lotion. Get rid of old magazines, papers, broken gadgets and toys. If you haven’t touched it or used it in the last 3 months chances are you aren’t going to.
Seriously — GO! I’ll wait.
Okay! Are you back?
Doesn’t it feel so good to free yourself of crap you don’t need?! Umm… YEAH IT DOES!
Step Two: Donate
I know you purged, but that’s the tip of the iceberg. Now we are going to start a box for goodwill. Go through your closet and bag up any clothes and shoes you haven’t worn in a year to giveaway. Toss anything with rips and holes. Go through your accessories getting rid of old purses, bags, belts, scarves and jewelry. Continue going from room to room. If you don’t love it, donate it. Movies, books, knick knacks, if it’s cluttering up a space, this is a great time to get rid of it. To avoid overwhelm go through one room or space at a time.
Freed from more crap! Woohoo. We are on a roll. Now that we’ve purged and donated we can move on to my favorite part: getting organized.
Step Three: Create Systems
We need some systems! In fact you may already have some organizational systems in place. Grab a notebook and pen and let’s make a list. How are things currently organized?
1. Create Designated Spaces: Everything in your home should belong somewhere. A hook, bin or dish, drawer or cabinet, whatever it is, designate spaces and places where things go. A hook or dish by the door for your keys, a bin or basket for all your electronic cords and remotes, and a tray on the coffee table for magazines. Label your bins or baskets and group similar items together for storage. Put anything you don’t use regularly away.
2. Sort Like Things Together: I have a drawer in my desk where all of my phone chargers, usb flash drives, sd cards, cords, and headphones go. It’s the only place I keep them in and it’s the first place I go to look for those things. Small tools, tacks, string, tape and nails all reside in one drawer. All of my keys go on a little tray in the entryway of my home.
3. Destroy Procrastination: Build up comes from the mentality that you will deal with a task later. We leave ten second tasks to do later over and over and over again until we have hours of clutter piling up. Most of our clutter is a result of the habit of procrastination. With a little intentionality we can overcome this habit. Put things away immediately as often as possible to avoid clutter build up. Spend 5–10 minutes at the end of each day putting any remaining random items lying around.
We’ve purged and tossed a bunch of junk. We’ve donated old stuff we aren’t using anymore. We’ve designated places and spaces for everything.
Does your home feel less cluttered now?
Do you have any decluttering tips or tricks?
