FIVE STEPS AND HACKS TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME
Living in a cluttered environment can lead you to many issues, including feeling stressed and overwhelmed, not to mention that it will also make you lose time. For example, when you are looking for something that you need quickly at the last minute, and it takes you years to find it. If you have kids, this can make it worse, with toys all around the house, many of them untouched for days, and what about those that make noises in the middle of the night, but you are too tired to go and turn them off. Decluttering is not an easy task; there are many things that you need to overcome, including lack of time, demotivation, and not knowing where to start.
Here are some ideas that can help you finally decide how to declutter your home:
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Lack of time
If you look at a room and find out there are so many things there, and you don’t have any idea what to do with everything—maybe sell it, send it to the trash, or donate it? And you lose an hour just thinking about it, but never really start? I have a better idea, why don’t you set aside a couple of minutes to declutter just one little area, instead of the whole room, think of just a drawer. Don’t even decide that day what to do with things, just separate some of them. The next day, you dedicate another 20 minutes to separate and organize things. I know, maybe you are thinking this will take years to declutter your house, but believe me, it is better to start small, doing a single task each day, than not doing anything for years, because starting is always the most difficult part. A great way to organize your time is by using a spreadsheet. You can share it with family members or friends to help you stay on track with your schedule. I strongly recommend this Ultimate Google Sheet Planner.
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Lack of motivation:
Sometimes when we are alone, it is more difficult to start and do things by ourselves. What about involving the whole family and making it a challenge or a game, like assigning points for any task accomplished? Again, you don’t need to declutter the whole house in a weekend, but you can, for instance, organize a Saturday challenge with your kids or your friends, assign small tasks, and give prizes or just organize a decluttering party.
You can use a family chore chart to keep the whole family involved, you will get one if you download my free cleaning and decluttering binder here:
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Where to start?
There are many methods to declutter your home. Some suggest doing it by categories, for instance: Clothes, toys, books, and so on. Another idea is to do it room by room, like: Kitchen, living room, garage. Honestly, it all depends on your needs and your motivation. Some issues may arise, like what to do with things that have sentimental value. I always recommend leaving them to the very end, when you have already decluttered those areas that make you feel more stressed. For me, when my kids were little, it was always toys on the floor. That made me feel really bad, and those toys invading my home, you know, birthdays and a big family made it worse, and kids only play with them for a little time. After a while, I got two big containers and used to rotate toys every week or two weeks. In this way, my kids always felt like having new toys when rediscovering old ones, and my house looked a little bit more organized.
In summary, what I recommend is THIS FIVE STEPS METHOD
1. Set Your Goals: Before starting, take a maximum of one day to decide which areas you want to declutter and set specific, achievable goals for each space, along with a target date to achieve them. This could involve a room-by-room approach or focusing on specific categories of items (e.g., clothes, books, kitchenware).
2. Start Small: Begin with smaller, more manageable areas like a single drawer, closet shelf, or even just a countertop. Small victories can build momentum and motivate you to tackle larger areas.
3. Use the "Four-Box" Method: Label four boxes or bags: Keep, Donate/Sell, Trash, and Relocate. As you go through items, place them in the appropriate box. This helps streamline the decision-making process. In my clutter-free companion, I included a flowchart that can help you decide what to do with each item.
4. One In, One Out: Adopt a rule where for every new item you bring into your home, you remove one item. This helps prevent clutter from accumulating in the future. This was useful for my kids' toys. Now that they are older, they understand that if they want a new toy, we need to do something with the older ones. At the beginning, it was difficult to let go, but now they understand and enjoy donating. Now other kids will use their toys and have fun with them.
5. Take Before and After Photos and Celebrate Progress: Document your progress with before and after photos. Seeing the transformation can be motivating and satisfying. Acknowledge and celebrate your accomplishments as you declutter each area. It's a significant achievement that deserves recognition.
Please let me know if you have questions or want to share something with me at: hello@natsikoworkshop.com