You never know when you’ll notice an insufficient room in your living space. But when you do, you better be ready for what’s to come.
Decluttering your entire home is challenging work! And, yet, the rewards extend far beyond being visually pleased. Clearing clutter reduces that “I’m stuck with unfinished business” feeling. Keeping it minimal can help you feel great while at home. What’s the first thing you wave goodbye to?
The following 18 simple and very clutter-effective tips will set you on the right track.
1. Create a Decluttering Checklist
It will be easier to stay on track once you know exactly where you are. Checklists are great for that. You can create one and check it daily to make decluttering part of your weekly chores. It will help you maintain awareness and promote discipline.
2. Invest in Boxes and Containers
Once you have a decluttering plan and a checklist, it’s time to invest in enough boxes and containers so you can easily categorize items by type, use case, or room. Packing things in boxes can help preserve valuables if you plan to keep them.
3. Set a Timer
Setting a timer for “decluttering time” helps beat procrastination.
According to research by American Psychological Association, doing one task at a time improves efficiency and reduces stress. If you find it overwhelming, start with short periods. Once you make it a habit you can gradually increase the time.
4. Begin With Small Sections in the Kitchen
The kitchen is one of those places that often tends to become over-cluttered. Pick a small section to clean first. For instance, choose a drawer, a cabinet, or one shelf in the pantry. Choosing something small is a great way to kick-start your decluttering.
5. Refrigerator Cleaning
Cleaning your fridge can also help you feel that positive dopamine kick and become even more motivated. There is nothing more satisfying than decluttering your fridge, throwing out old food, and empty ketchup bottles. It will get you in the mood for more cleaning.
6. Use the Strategy Empty, Categorize, and Place
While still in the kitchen, you can use the “empty, categorize, and place” strategy.
Once you clean out the refrigerator, you can place everything on the counter. Then, declutter by category: decide on each item, check the dates of expiration, and then keep, donate, or toss everything that you have previously checked out.
7. Take out Everything From Bathroom Drawers and Cabinets
Your bathroom – your rules. Some interior designers suggest that the first step of decluttering a bathroom is to empty drawers and cabinets. Decide what you will keep, and toss everything that has expired or is no longer needed.
8. Make Categories
The goal is to keep things tidy, remember?! That’s why you should group items into categories and see what you need and what you don’t. These categories can be skincare, makeup, medical supplies, etc. That way, you can also see what you need in the bathroom and what you can take out elsewhere.
9. Create a System for Yourself
There is no one-size-fits-all decluttering solution. You need a system able to save you time and make it easy for you to know exactly where your things are. You must visualize your morning and evening routines and use top drawers or cabinets. These places should be reserved for toothbrushes, cleansers, cotton balls, serums, moisturizers, and a hairbrush.
10. Brake Closet Decluttering Down Into Categories, Too
While the closet is one of the most difficult places to declutter, it can also take time and energy if you decide to do it all at once. Break this pretty big task down into sections: clothes, accessories, and shoes. Even if you decide to empty all at once, categorize the items so you can have a good look at what you have.
Outfit planning apps can help with organizing as well.
11. Decide on What You Are Keeping and What You Will Be Taking Out
Spend a couple of seconds on each item. It will help you maintain the mindset of a professional declutterer. Decide what you are keeping, tossing, selling, or donating. Make sure to create a space, like a container or a box for each of these categories so you know what to do next.
Revisit the items you’ve decided to keep. Ask yourself do you really need them? Decluttering means you create space for new things. If you haven’t worn something for a season or two, think about taking it out of the closet.
12. Put Everything Back
Having a tidy closet isn’t all about aesthetics. The National Association of Professional Organizers reports that we spend 1 year of our lives looking for lost items. You can spend those 365 days so much better!
Make well-organized categories that are practical for you to save those precious seconds finding outfit pieces in the busy morning. The clothes you wear daily should be in the front of your closet, easily accessible. On the other hand, special-occasion clothes need to go in the back part of your closet.
13. Take out the Items That Don’t Belong in Your Bedroom
We all tend to take things into the bedroom and leave them hanging there. Get ready for the simplest tip for decluttering your bedroom – take a laundry basket and start cleaning. The stuff that doesn’t belong in the bedroom leaves the room and enters the I-will-deal-with-you-later queue.
14. Clean All the Surfaces
Clean the surfaces in the bedroom of items that belong to the bedroom but are in the wrong place. Put the lotion back in the drawer, move your nightgown from the bed to the hook, and take care of that pile of clean clothes that have stood there for some time now.
15. Categorize the Rest of the Items
You don’t need to declutter your bedroom all at once. Start small, but don’t forget to categorize everything. You can also decide what to keep, toss, or donate. Make categories for books, personal belongings, skincare in your bedroom, and clothing hanging around the room.
16. Take a Small Section of the Living Room To Start With
For some, the living room is the most cluttered section of their homes. You can be under the impression that many different items naturally belong here which can make decluttering tricky. That’s why, starting with a small section, as with other rooms, is a good idea. Starting with some micro-area like a shelf, table, bookshelf, or cabinet will help you avoid burnout.
17. Create a Space
Creating a space on a bookshelf is the perfect canvas for new inspiration. Minimalism can benefit your psychological well-being. You can mix the books and other items that you have on a shelf. Also, you can better decide what goes back and what will go out.
18. Decide About the Items
Now, when you have cleared the small area of your choosing, it’s time to decide what stays and what goes out. You can also use categories keep, toss, donate, and sell for decorative items, books, and electronics. The same rule applies to other rooms – have a box for each category to streamline getting stuff out of the room.
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