Decluttering 101: How to Declutter Your Home
Get ready to organize your home.
Decluttering can be overwhelming and scary but first, what exactly is decluttering? To declutter is to get rid of items you do not need or use in order to make room for the necessities.
Ready to start decluttering? Use these five tips to help empty yourself of junk.
1. Start with a small space.
Start decluttering with a small space, like one kitchen drawer. This will allow you to see progress quickly and will motivate you to keep decluttering throughout your kitchen and home.
Take everything out of the space you are decluttering. Next, put clutter into a pile and dispose of clutter and items you cannot donate. Finally, only keep the items you use and return them back to that space.
2. Do not try to organize while you are decluttering.
This is one of the most important decluttering tips! Decluttering is NOT organizing. As you declutter a space, container after container of clutter and basket after basket of clutter will begin to empty. Save the previously cluttered containers and baskets for later when you want to begin organizing, which is a lesson for another day!
3. Be honest with yourself.
Getting rid of clutter can be a little emotional for some people. Use the general rule of, if you have not used the clutter in the past year, it’s time to declutter. Physical clutter is mental clutter, and you will feel more at peace with less clutter.
When it comes to declutter those sentimental items you do want to keep, buy a designated tote for each family member. When an item becomes sentimental, pile it into the corresponding family member’s tote.
4. Keep what you use regularly in a convenient location.
Keep what you use on a daily basis in a convenient location. For example, most utensil drawers are full of utensils that are never used or only used a few times a year. Keep your daily utensils in a non cluttered and easily accessible place with a utensil holder and then find a new spot for those utensils you use infrequently. This concept can be used for any closet space or room with drawers.
Finally, after you have decluttered the space and you discover you still have too many things to declutter, it most likely means you have too much. For example, you really do not need 20 pens in your office, declutter it down to three to five pens. If you struggle with your closet, separate items to keep and not-to-keep into two separate piles. Once you've gotten rid of closet clutter, use your new closet space to give the items in your closet some breathing room.
Our favorite way to keep things organized in closets and offices is by using acrylic bins or clear totes. This allows you to see what is in the bin but still allows for everything to have a home.
These five decluttering tips will allow you more time to spend enjoying your home and family and less time picking up stuff.
Emily Fritsch is an interior decorator, designer, and blogger who helps overwhelmed homeowners and DIYers bring timeless design and function into their space, so they can love their home and the life they are building within it. Follow along with her at liliesandlife.com and over on Instagram!
