When you need some easy ways to get organized and clear the clutter, just remember these 5 decluttering tips.
Not everyone is Marie Kondo—and as much as we would love for her to come into our homes and wave her magic wand, it will more than likely not happen. So… how do you declutter your home? It can be overwhelming when presented with all the areas that need de-cluttering in your space.
Here are some decluttering tips to help you get started. By focusing on one area at a time, you can make small changes to help keep your spaces clutter free. It is important to communicate new routines and habits to all your roommates (including spouses and kids!) so that everyone can pitch in and help keep the space neat and tidy.
Make It or Hang It
One quick and fast way to make your space less cluttered is to put things up or otherwise tidy what is unmade. You would be surprised at how fast and more open your space becomes when you simply make it or hang it.
This works for a variety of rooms. For example, in your bedroom space—make your bed and hang up that jacket. For your bathroom, that can mean hanging up those towels on the floor or on the counter. And in the living room? Make your couch by adjusting cushions and returning pillows to their spots.
Whatever space you are in, ask yourself this simple question: what can I make or hang that would help declutter this space?
Go Through Your Closet
One of the best ways to declutter is to physically remove items that you rarely use. That includes your clothes and shoes. It is amazing how freeing it is to get rid of all those old shirts that you never wear or your kids’ clothes that they grew out of so fast.
If you do not know what hanging clothes you do wear and do not wear, a life hack is to turn all your hangers facing the same direction. When you return your clothes from laundry, switch the hanger to the opposite direction. Whatever is facing in the same direction as when you started, say a month or three earlier, it is probably time to get rid of it.
Consider Donating
When you declutter your space, it is overwhelming to try and figure out what to do with all the unwanted items. And while rummage sales are great ways to make some cash for your things, it may not be the best option. If it is winter time, the chances of successfully selling your things in a rummage or garage sale are slim.
However, even if the weather cooperates in the summer, garage sales can be a lot of work to pull off and there may never be a weekend that works between vacation or other summer activities. The best option sometimes is to just get rid of it! Cut your losses and part with everything that you do not think can sell on digital marketplaces or newspaper ads. Plus, it is a great way to give back to your community by providing those that have little with some high-quality and fashionable clothes. It is a win-win for everyone!
Everything Has a Place (And Every Place Has a Thing)
Keeping everything organized can put routines in place that can keep your space de-cluttered consistently. When you find places for all your things, it is best to get into the habit that each place has its particular thing.
This tip is especially great for kitchen spaces. Do you just throw your bills or mail on the counter when you come inside? Or maybe there are different places for napkins and paper towels. Whatever the case may be, declutter by having a dedicated tray for your mail and bills and keeping like items next to each other.
See All
One of the best ways to declutter is to literally be able to see what you have. Clear containers can keep things organized (not to mention, can be labeled for easy pickup for toys for kids’ rooms) and give you an idea of what you have and what you need.
This can be especially helpful in the laundry room. Having clear, glass containers to store your detergents and softeners can cut down on the space taken up by bulky, plastic containers. And you know exactly how much you have and are not surprised the next time you need to wash a load of clothes.
One Chore a Day Keeps the Clutter Away
By doing one small chore a day can help keep your space from cluttering up and lower stress levels from avoiding the huge mountain of things that you have to do in a weekend. Set yourself (and your family) in a schedule of doing one big chore a day.
An example could be that you start doing one load of laundry on Mondays and Wednesdays during the week to lessen the laundry pile on the weekends. And maybe on Tuesday nights, you clean whatever dishes have stacked up in the sink. Perhaps on Friday you dust all the shelves in your home or clean a guest bathroom.
When you do these things throughout the week instead of loading them onto one day can help mitigate the clutter and the stress. This is also a great way to incorporate responsibility into kids’ lives to take care of the home and clean up after themselves.
There you have it! You now have a great base plan of what to tackle and how so that you can move to having a clutter-free space. Remember, decluttering is the result of new habits and behaviors as much as it is a result of putting things away. Neglecting to take care of the small things now can lead to having to deal with the big things later. So once you make a decluttering plan—stick to it!
