Christmas is past, decorations may or may not be put away. Opened gifts, books, and leftover candy may still fill your counters and pantry. Remnants of all we were given could still linger from that beautiful season just a few short weeks ago. A good declutter may be just what’s needed.
January brings the promise of something new. We can be who we want to be, accomplish what we want to accomplish, finally live the life we were meant to live. And I love that feeling, but it just stays a feeling unless we take action. If you are ready to simplify a space or multiple spaces in your home, I want to walk you through how I do a good declutter. Here we go.
Start with a Category
I may or may not lose you here, but stick with me if you can. Start with a category of items. Clothes is a great place to start. Get all your clothes into one space. I like to take them out of my closet and lay them on my bed or just lay them all out in my closet where I can see them. Whatever category of item you choose, get them all in one place. If it’s toys, get all the toys in one room. If it’s kitchen gadgets, place them all on the counters. If it’s books, lay them all out in your office or the dining room.
Now that you have all your items in one place, go through each one. I like to touch each and every item. When I do this I ask myself 3 questions:
These questions make decision making easier. If the answer is ‘no’ to any of the questions above, it is okay to let it go. Make a donate, sell and trash pile and sort accordingly.
Side note: Did you know Americans wear 20% of their clothing 80% of the time? I know we all probably have things in our closet collecting dust, waiting to be worn. If you’re not the person wearing the clothes in your own closet, why not give, sell, or donate to someone who will?
Take it one day at a time
Maybe you do clothes one day, toiletries the next day, you work in the kitchen the next day. Choose one category of items to declutter each day and put it on your to-do list or calendar. If you have a plan and take it one day at a time, you are more likely to make progress. Don’t try to declutter your entire house in one day, you are likely to get overwhelmed. At the end of this post I will share a decluttering challenge printable you can use to go through your home.
Stop bringing things in
If you’re committed to decluttering your home, try and keep things from coming into your home and allowing it to get cluttered again. You could go on a ‘buying fast’ for a month or two and see how it feels or make it a rule that each time you bring something into your home, something else must go. If you want to see the fruits of your hard work, it’s important to stay diligent against clutter coming in again.
What about things I can’t decide on?
My decluttering ambitions have come to a stop before because of items I can’t decide on. Sentimental pictures, special trinkets, old school DVDs. My first tip is don’t start with anything sentimental. Start with the easy stuff like socks and toiletries. You can do the rest later. However, if you come to some items you can’t decide on, simply put them in a box with the date marked on the outside. Look in that box in 6 months and ask yourself if you still need those items. Give yourself some grace to make a decision later so you don’t lose momentum.
Give yourself grace
This is hard, I know. If you’re anything like me, you want to see big changes overnight. You want a quick fix for a lasting change. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t happen very often unless you have a professional organizer from HGTV come knocking on your door. Make a plan, put it on your calendar or to-do list, and take it category by category, day by day. Give yourself grace if you don’t get to your decluttering challenge for the day and move it to the next day. Getting frustrated and overwhelmed will lead to unfinished goals and a house still cluttered. Give yourself grace, friends.
A Plan
If you’re like me, you want a plan. I’ve created a free decluttering challenge printable you can use to go through your home piece by piece, day by day. You can start today or wait until the beginning of a new month. I suggest hanging this printable up where you can see it and highlighting each category after you’ve completed the challenge. I love checking things off!
Decluttering your home requires some hard work, but the reward of simpler, clutter-free spaces is always worth it. I’ll leave you with a quote from one of my favorite minimalist authors…
Make the most of the most important place on earth-home. -Joshua Becker
