Decluttering is one of my joys of life. Seeing a clean, organized, decluttered area relaxes me like few other things. So since we are staying at home for another 30 days at least in the US, I thought I could give some suggestions on the what and how of decluttering.
Tip #0: Get help!
My favorite organizing site is www.flylady.net and it utterly rocks. She will give you encouragement and some tough love blended together. She has great advice and great resources. I recommend her!!!!!
Tip #1: Start small!
If we start by pulling everything out in a closet or a room, it is very easy to get overwhelmed. So start small. Start with one drawer, one shelf, or one clothing type. Once one area is done, move onto the next logical area.
Tip #2: Be consistent!
If we are working on a drawer in a kitchen on Monday, sorting through skirts in the closet on Tuesday, tackling books on a shelf on Wednesday, and so on, it is easy to feel like we aren't making progress and therefore feel discouraged. Decide to spend a week in a room before moving on.
Tip #3: Tackle the visible first!
If we start by organizing our desk drawers or our kitchen cabinets, things will be more organized, but we can still end up seeing a lot of visible clutter and again feel discouraged. So if we tackle the areas that stress us out the most, we will get the biggest gains for our initial efforts. There will be a time to organize our clutter in drawers and cabinets. And that time is AFTER we have decluttered our visible areas.
Tip #5: Schedule your decluttering time and stick to it!
If you're like me, you might need a little extra umph to get started with decluttering. So set a time that you will declutter (no more than 15 or 30 minutes per day).
Tip #6: Set a timer and stick to it!
If you are like me, cleaning can be energizing, so once we get started, it is tempting to use our momentum to keep on going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going...until we crash and burn and are stick of decluttering and cleaning!! So to avoid burnout, stick to a daily decluttering time with its time limit of 15 or 30 minutes per day.
Tip #7: Stay on target!
If we find something that belongs in the living room while working in the bedroom, it is tempting to try to put that thing away and then get sucked into decluttering a second area when we're not done with the first area. Things will look a bit more disorganized for a bit as we stay focused in our chosen area, but eventually, we will declutter each room and have space to put away all those mystery items we found in the wrong room.
Tip #8: Use containers to sort through things.
If we decide that something is trash or something we don't need anymore, put it in some sort of container, whether it's a tote, box, or bag. Have a trash bag handy for trash. Have a recycling bin or container for papers that need shredded. Have a tote for donations of things we once needed, but have outgrown.
Tip #9: Get stuff out of the house!
If we have a bag full of trash, put it in the trash barrel! If we have a pile of papers to shred and then recycle, get them by the paper shredder! If we have things that we want to donate, get them out to the trunk or backseat of the car! The areas we declutter will feel more open as things leave them!!!
Tip #10: Don't forget your cool-down/wind-down time!
If we forget this last step, our timer will ring and we will drop what we are holding and walk away! Take the last few minutes of your 15/30 minutes to wrap up any loose ends until tomorrow. That way, we won't leave things in the middle of the floor, but can enjoy our rooms as they are being decluttered.
Bonus Ideas:
-Ask yourself how many ____ do you need and then cut back to that amount. (i.e. I need 5 skirts, but I have 8, so which 3 would I like to donate?)
-Decide to get rid of clothes that don't fit, kitchenware you don't use, and other things that you don't need.
-Figure out how many _____ can fit in an area and then cut back to that number or less than that amount. (i.e. My cabinet can hold 6 tea cups on a shelf, but I'm trying to fit 8 there. Which can I get rid of?)
-It's okay if you aren't ready to get rid of something yet, but we do need to find a place to keep it.
-Decide if you can take picture of the item and donate it. That way you can remember it, without having to store it!
-Stop buying more things!! Put a buying freeze in place. Decide that we won't buy any more clothes/books/movies/kitchen utensils, until we have sorted through that area! It's not saying we can't ever buy things again, but it is nearly impossible to declutter an area that we are constantly adding more things to.
-If you do need to buy something, make sure it is exactly what you need. Buy only things that fit, meet a need, or are a planned (non-impulse buy). If something would need repaired or taken in before it's usable, leave it for someone else.
A lot of us have too much stuff for the areas we put them. That is why we are starting with decluttering tips before we tackle organizing tips. We can't organize an area that cannot physically hold everything we expect to be able to fit there. If I have a 1,000 square foot home, but enough stuff to fill a 1,500 square foot home, I need to declutter at least 500 square feet of stuff before the organizing can really start. So before we organize, let's declutter!
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