Great Decluttering Tips
Time to Start Thinking of Spring Cleaning.
As with anything, getting rid of clutter can be made incredibly simple: just go through your stuff, one section, closet, drawer, or shelf at a time, and get rid of everything that isn't absolutely essential, that you don't love and use often.
Declutter Checklist and Where to Donate
https://todayshomeowner.com/storage/guides/decluttering-your-home/
A checklist is a good way to get started decluttering. Checklists are useful for tracking progress and feeling productive. Checklists provide a clear path forward in the process of decluttering. They can be used to create a timeline and keep track of the progress that has been made. They also help to boost morale and motivation, as checking off the items on the list can be a great source of satisfaction.
A good starting point is to use the DeCluttering Checklist from todayshomeowner.com. They offer a lot of practical tips on how to declutter your kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room. This checklist is designed to help you quickly identify items you no longer need or use, and it also helps you decide what items should be donated, recycled, or thrown away. It also provides a plan of action to help you start your decluttering journey and keep it organized.
Don't just throw away things, give them away to people who may need them more than you do. Todayshomeowner.com also offers some helpful suggestions on where to donate your clutter. This is a great way to help others because they may be able to put your items to good use when you no longer need them. Giving away your items also helps you declutter your home and save money because you don't have to pay to dispose of them.
15 Great Decluttering Tips
Recently I found some great decluttering tips ... and I pulled some of the best of those (there are many more good ones I wasn't able to use). They're reworded here slightly, and a couple has been modified indiscriminately by me. :) But they're great tips nonetheless. Enjoy!
- Declutter for 15 minutes every day. It's amazing how much you can get through if you just do it in small increments like this.
- Don't allow things into the house in the first place. Whether you've begun decluttering the living space, or you've just completed it, stop bringing in new stuff NOW. Even if that's ALL you do and don't start decluttering immediately, if you can only establish one habit at a time, establish the no-more-stuff habit first. This way, when you do get to decluttering the existing stuff, you've already stopped making it worse. Think of bailing out a boat with a hole in it. You can bail and bail, but it won't do anything for the leak.
- Donate stuff you're decluttering, so you don't feel bad about wasting it.
- Create Joe's Goals chart with decluttering on it -- either daily, or 3 times a week. Check off the days when you declutter, and you'll feel a great sense of accomplishment.
- Start at the corner by the door and move your way around the room, doing the superficial stuff first - surfaces, emptying the bin, etc. Repeat, but do more the 2nd time around - ie. open the cupboards.
- Whenever you're boiling the kettle for tea, tidy up the kitchen. If the kitchen is tidy, tidy up the next room - it's only 3 minutes but it keeps you on top of everything (helps if you have an Englishman's obsession with Tea as well!)
- Use the "one in, two out" rule. The rule: whenever you bring in an item, you have to throw away two other items. First, you cheat, by throwing out two pieces of paper, but soon you will have to move to the big stuff.
- Make your storage space smaller and more minimal. If you have lots of storage, you'll fill it with stuff.
- Clothing rule: If you haven't worn an item in 6 months, sell or donate it.
- The One-Year Box. Take all your items that you are unsure about getting rid of (e.g. "I might need this someday..."), put them in a box, seal it and date it for 1 year in the future. When the date comes, and you still didn't need to open it to get anything, donate the box WITHOUT OPENING IT. You probably won't even remember what there was in the box.
- Declutter one room (including any closets, desks, cabinets, etc.) before starting on the next one. Spending time in that room will feel *so* good, and it will be so easy to keep clean, that it will motivate you to do more!
- Internalize that your value is not in your "stuff". It is just "stuff". And realize that your value grows when you share your "stuff". Hoarding is a selfish act.
- Have someone else (who you trust!) help you go through things. They don't have the (sometimes irrational) emotional attachment that you might have, but can still recognize if something should be kept.
- Gift everything. Books you've read immediately get recycled among friends, family, or local libraries. If you buy a new gaming system, donate your old one - and all the games.