TIPS TO SIMPLIFY DECLUTTERING YOUR HOME

WHY DECLUTTER?

Decluttering can sometimes feel overwhelming if we have let ourselves accumulate more than we really want or need. Certain times of life can get busy and we put things like decluttering aside. When we think about decluttering we might envision a big project that we don’t have time for. Decluttering is important because it can really help reduce stress in your life. When we have too many things, it’s difficult to keep up with managing and caring for it all. It can also be difficult to organize what you do have and to find things when you need them.

We often put off decluttering because we think it will take too much time. We can wait until we have a big chunk of time to devote to decluttering. As you know this may take a long time to happen, if ever! Or we can find little bits of time and declutter as we live our lives. So, like with many things we talk about, something is better than nothing. It will make a big impact in your life to do a little bit of decluttering during the regular course of your life and then wait until you have time to empty and sort through an entire closet

GETTING STARTED

I have a coat closet in my living room that has accumulated what I am pretty sure if more coats than my family needs. Every time I grab a coat or have to put one back I think there are way too many coats in this closet. I tell myself, we really need to go through these coats. I envision pulling all of the coats out, putting them in a big pile, and going through each one. But, I can’t do that unless the entire family is home because I need to ask each person what coats they would be ok with donating.

Since most times our entire family isn’t home, and if they are, they probably will not all be willing to stop what they are doing to do a decluttering project, I do nothing. No progress is made, and I just move on with my day until the next time I get annoyed with the coat closet. In reality, even taking a quick look and seeing one of my own coats that could be put aside to donate would make an impact. If I took just a moment or two to take a look and ask one family member about a coat that I don’t think they use anymore, I could make an impact. We often turn things into big projects that cause us to procrastinate and discount the little steps we actually could take to make progress on a problem area.

WHERE TO START?

Unless you never buy anything new at all, we all have to spend some time decluttering or will we accumulate too many things over time. If you feel like you have too much to declutter, it can help to make a list of the rooms you would like to make progress. From there, you can make another more detailed list for each room breaking down the things that you would like to do into the smallest tasks possible.

For example, in the kitchen, an example might be: Declutter some items from 1 drawer. Go through mugs and get rid of any with cracks or stains. The smaller and more specific you can make the tasks the more easy it will be to make little bits of progress when you have time. If you don’t feel like you have too much decluttering to do, but just would like to improve your habits, start being more mindful of keeping your eyes open to recognize areas that might need a little work.

OVERCOMING DECLUTTERING CHALLENGES

One thing that can often make you want to keep something that you don’t actually use is the price you paid for it. If you don’t love it and don’t use it, there is no reason to keep it due to the cost. Either way, the money is gone.  The longer it sits in your house, the longer you will feel bad about the money you spent on it.  Get rid of it and move on! If you have duplicates of something keep the best one and donate the other one.  If it’s something useful to have duplicates of maybe find useful locations to put the other one that takes up too much space in its current location. For example, if you have too many scissors in one location, maybe it would be convenient to keep another pair where you often need a pair of scissors.

Don’t keep things that you don’t use.  Even if it was a gift!  Keeping things that you don’t and don’t really expect to ever use can make you feel guilty every time you see them.  Donate them and let someone else use them! Ask yourself if you didn’t have this item, would you buy it now?  If it’s not something you would be willing to go out and re-purchase (if it was available), then maybe it’s not something you really value.

SHOW OFF THE THINGS YOU HAVE SAVED!

Do you have things that you love but keep them stored away where you never see them?  Try to think of a way you could put them into everyday use or display them nicely. I did this with a box of things we had saved from our wedding. Rather than being stored in a bin, they are now either on display, being used (cake server), or tossed. It felt so good to actually see the things and use them for decorations, and I freed up a big spot in my basement closet!

For those “what if I end up needing this” types of items take some time to consider: How long have I had it without ever needing it? What is the likelihood that I actually will need it? What would be the cost to repurchase the item if I need something similar in the future? If we keep everything we might need one day, we can end up with way too much stuff. So, sometimes we need to take a risk and just get rid of it!

OTHER RANDOM TIPS

Keep a place to put items to donate.  We might procrastinate on decluttering an item that we want to donate because we don’t have a place to put it. Depending on the size of the item, I often just grab a garbage bag to stick the item in and put it in a spot in my basement that I know is for items to donate. Do a quick declutter on a timer.  If you do find yourself with a little bit more time to devote to a specific project, set a time for 30 minutes to an hour and pick a spot you would like to improve. You will be surprised at the impact you can make with a little amount of time.

Declutter clothes as you go.  If you put something on that you don’t love, put it aside to declutter.  Don’t stick it back in the drawer.  If you don’t love it now, you will be very unlikely to love it later! I also love to declutter clothes and shoes seasonally.  We store our fall & winter, or spring and summer clothes away depending on the season.  When we pull out the next season’s clothes and pack away the clothes from the season that is ending I always declutter during the switch.  It’s a great time to take a look at what clothes or shoes you rarely used the previous season.  It’s a pretty good indication you can probably let it go. The same goes for seasonal décor.

MORE TIPS!

Each year when you pull down boxes from our attic at various times of the year that contain different seasonal decorations I go through the box to see what we don’t want. Instead of putting things back into the box that I don’t want to use, I consider if I will ever want to sue them.  If not, they get donated or trashed depending on the condition of the item. Don’t take on a project bigger than you can do in the amount of time you have available. There is nothing more likely to discourage you from decluttering than making a giant pile of stuff that you don’t really have time to get through. It’s also exhausting. By doing a smaller project and actually being able to finish it, you will build motivation to do more little projects.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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