Do you have a mess of a home and wondering how to start decluttering? Let these stress-free steps guide your process!
When you know you need to clean your home and you’re ready to start getting into a routine and taking control of your home, where do you start?
Once you’ve narrowed down what you need to clean and then prayed in each room, it’s time to get down to work.
What should you do first?
I believe it’s important to start decluttering in your rooms before you can start any deep cleaning.
Why or how should I dust my dining room side table if it’s covered in papers or clutter? It’s foolish to deep clean the tabletop, only to cover it back up with a pile of clutter.
Even if you want to get deep cleaning, it makes much more sense to stop and do what needs to be done first.
How to start decluttering
So … decluttering. How do you get started?
I suggest choosing a very small place – maybe a single drawer, cabinet, or shelf. Once you’ve picked your spot, then get everything out and sort it.
See all the things you absolutely love and need? Keep those things.
Everything else? Get ready to make some decisions. Typically I’d advise to get rid of it – either by:
- Pitch things that really need to go in the trash or recycling bin;
- Donate it – either by giving it to a friend or family member who could use it or dropping it off at Goodwill; or
- Sell it – you could do this online (Facebook buy/sell/trade pages, craigslist, eBay or ThredUP), at a garage sale, or at a consignment shop.
But I think there’s another category for things you don’t completely love or need. If you’re on the fence about an item, box it up and remove it from the area. Then wait a month or two. If you discover that you really do need something that’s set aside, then you can keep it. But if you realize that you don’t miss it at all, then donate or sell it.
The next step
Once you know what you need and want to keep, put it away – either by arranging it in the same place, or putting everything in the proper place.
Here’s my personal method:
How to Start Decluttering from Hilary Bernstein on Vimeo.
After you finish putting things away, enjoy your newly organized and cleaned space!
For everything else that you’re getting rid of, make sure you get it out of your house.
Throw out your trash.
Take your recycling away.
Give your donations away.
It will be tempting to hold on to everything for the sake of convenience, but don’t. The longer it ends up cluttering your life, the more tempting it will be to keep it and find a new spot for it in your home. Since one of the main points of decluttering is to purge your stuff, follow through with it.
Remember that it’s just stuff – and the more stuff you have, the trickier and burdensome it is to care for your home.
Keep going
Now that you’ve conquered one space, move on to the next space. And keep going! Depending on how much time you have to devote to decluttering and how much clutter you have, this could be a long process.
Even if it seems like it could be never ending, keep pressing on. Keep decluttering bit by bit, room by room, and you’ll soon be ready to start your deep cleaning.
When you think about how to start decluttering, what’s your typical process?
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All images courtesy of Pixabay.
lydia purple says
i like you in frontvof the camera. you’re a natural :)
i think you’re right when you wrote to decide what to keep. if the focus is on keeping the things that are most useful and loved then getting rid of all the excess is less emotional straining.
i sometimes do what you do, but i also love using Dana’s method from http://www.aslobcomesclean.com where she takes one thing and brings it right to where it goes instead of doing the piles. but it depends on how much time i have and how many distractions i expect. getting distracted in the pile making usually ends in a bigger mess…. sometimes i do the declutter by category thing ( pull out all books or all clothes or toys). but it really depends what i am up too. i try to train myself to do the one touch rule. like when i get a bill in the mail, i open it, pay it right then, scan it into evernote and throw it out. instead of setting it aside for later…. same with craft projects, i try to make proper cleanup part of the process, like doing the dishes is part of the meal. but in the moment it’s so hard to not just shove it aside!
Hilary says
I love your one-touch rule, Lydia. I *try* that … especially when it comes to sorting mail or e-mails, but it can be so hard to be disciplined! I still like the idea of it. And I agree with you that it’s important to make clean-up part of the process, even if it’s hard to always do it.