If you are feeling like you need to declutter, but don’t know where to start, then you’re in the right place. Let’s talk about how we can get started with decluttering in your home so that you can create the home you’ve always wanted and needed; calm, organised and easy to manage.
Decide your why
You need to have a reason as to why you are decluttering. This is key to keeping you motivated as decluttering can be a long and tiresome process. Having a reason will keep spurring you on when things get tough.
Have an end goal/aim
Try and create a vision of what you want your end goal to look like. Is it that surfaces are clear of clutter or that you want everything to have a home and be easier to find? Having a visual goal will help you to see progress as you go and allow you to know when you have reached your goal!
Start with easier items first
To make things simple, start with areas that feel like they might be easier for you. This may vary per person, but for some it might be easy to tackle the wardrobe, because they know that a lot of it is worn out or doesn’t fit. Others may find books easier, or towels or bedding. This will help you get refined at making those quick decisions and you know you will see some quick results in these areas.
Get rid of larger furniture and appliances
Ultimately, you are wanting to create space in your home and what better way than getting rid of some of those larger pieces of furniture that you no longer want or appliances that are not being used. This will quickly transform a space and give you more room and a clearer mind to be able to tackle the more challenging areas. It will give you more space to work in too!
Donate instead of sell
If time is of the essence for your transformation, then it may be worth donating items to charity rather than spending weeks trying to sell each item. You will get the satisfaction of knowing that someone else will be able to enjoy the item, as well as getting it out of your home asap!
Focus on a small area
It can be really tempting to view a whole room as an area, but this is too big. Start small. Focusing in on one small area at a time will help you to see quick progress. For example, a bedside cabinet can be tidied and finished in under 15 minutes. An area completed, which gives you the feeling of success and the confidence to tackle another area.
Create a home for everything
As you begin to reduce the amount of things in your home, it will become easier to create a home for everything. This step is crucial because if everything has a place that it lives, it will become much easier to tidy your home and keep on top of everything as everything has it’s place. This will be helpful especially in a larger family – i.e. these is a cable drawer for chargers, etc.
Set time limits
Having a time limit is a good way to keep yourself motivated when decluttering. The timings will vary per person; some may like to work in small chunks on a daily basis and others might like to block out a whole afternoon. Find timings that work for you and allow you to have a good balance with your work and social calendar. Then get in the habit of blocking that time out and using it for decluttering.
Sort into keep, donate, sell, rubbish
As you are looking through you items you should put it into these four categories: keep, donate, sell and rubbish. Keep can be left in a pile, donate and sell can be put straight into boxes (this will help contain the items when you finish decluttering) and the rubbish can go straight into a bin bag. Doing this means that when your time limit is up, you only need to put back the keep items and the other items are already contained in boxes and bin bags ready to leave you home.
Keep going
My final tip, is to keep going. It will be a long process, but keep going a little bit at a time. You will start seeing a change in your home and how you feel quicker than you think. Keep chipping away, as small acts of decluttering will add up to a big change!
Rachel, Declutter your life X
For more little acts… https://declutteryourlife.co.uk/minimalism/little-acts-of-decluttering/
For more ideas, check out my youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/RachelNoakes
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