Is it your goal this year to finally declutter your entire house? This may sound daunting, and to be honest it will be a LOT of work. But you can absolutely do it!
In this blog post I will be sharing:
- How To Make Decluttering Less Stressful
- The Areas To Declutter
- How to Maintain Your Decluttered Space.
I have been slowly decluttering my own home for a few years now, and it has helped significantly with reducing my stress and making it easier to keep my house clean!
HOW TO MAKE DECLUTTERING LESS STRESSFUL
DECLUTTER ONE ROOM AT A TIME
I know, you want to declutter your entire house TODAY and you’ll likely be tempted to start multiple rooms at once. But it will be less stressful and more effective if you do ONE space at a time before moving onto the next.
Once that one room is finished, you’ll feel inspired and motivated to keep going with the rest of your house!
DECLUTTER BY ITEM, NOT BY SPACE
Ok, I know it sounds like this contradicts the previous point. But it doesn’t!
While I still think you should declutter one space at a time, if you are decluttering your bedroom closet, bring ALL your clothes to that space. So if you store some clothes in a tote in the attic, and some things in the guest room closet.
TAKE EVERYTHING OUT
I’m a firm believer that the best way to declutter a space is to take EVERYTHING out of the closet/drawer/cabinet/etc.
Yes, this makes a huge mess, but it is so necessary. If you just try to straighten up a closet or drawer with the contents still in it, you will miss things.
Take everything out, wipe down the surfaces and then put back your decluttered items.
ACCEPT THAT IT WILL GET MESSY BEFORE IT GETS BETTER
Decluttering your entire house will make a mess. Especially if you follow the tip to take everything out of each drawer and closet. But this is why it’s important to stick to one room at a time, and to finish that space 100% before moving onto the next.
START WITH SPACES THAT ARE THE EASIEST FOR YOU
If you know that decluttering your clothing is going to be really difficult, or if you have a huge book collection that you aren’t willing to part with – don’t start there!
Start in an area that will be easy and not sentimental in order to get the ball moving. Decluttering is a skill, so start with easy spaces, and work your way up to the more challenging spaces.
AREAS TO DECLUTTER
Check out this post for 25 Things To Declutter Today
- Kitchen Cabinets & Drawers
- Pantry
- Fridge & Freezer
- Kitchen Counters
- Bathroom Cabinets & Drawers
- Linen Closet
- Cleaning Supplies
- Mudroom/Coat Closet
- TV Console/DVDs
- Bookshelves
- Junk Drawers (Try to only have one organized junk drawer)
- Storage Closets
- Basement Storage
- Attic Storage
- Garage Storage
- Christmas Items
- Out of Season Clothing
- Hobby Items
- Decor displayed in your home
- Bedroom Closet
- Bedroom Dressers
- Bedside Tables
- Office Supplies
- Kids Toys
- Outdoor Items
HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR DECLUTTERED SPACE
Decluttering is not a once & done event. Over the months or years, items will accumulate in your home. Even if you are incredibly careful about what you purchase, you still need to keep up with decluttering.
Whether it’s because people buy you gifts, your taste or hobbies change, or you just missed things the first time you decided to declutter your entire house.
Don’t be discouraged, it takes most people a few years to finally feel like their home is clutter free.
Like I mentioned before, decluttering is a skill so the first time you declutter your entire house you may miss things, or you just won’t be as ruthless in your decluttering process.
WAYS TO MAINTAIN YOUR DECLUTTERED SPACE
DO A QUICK DECLUTTER ONCE A MONTH
Maybe the first Saturday of every month, spend a few hours going through your spaces to declutter. If you did a thorough job decluttering the first time, you may not have to take every item out of every drawer and closet this time.
I share on my Instagram page how I declutter my home regularly!
ALWAYS KEEP A DONATION PILE
Choose a spot in your home and keep a cardboard box so you can easily throw items into it when you come across them.
Make sure you get rid of these items frequently. Don’t just let them sit in your basement for 6 months!
STOP BUYING NEW THINGS
The best way to keep your space decluttered is to stop brining new things into your home. Like I mentioned above, this isn’t 100% avoidable. But do your best to minimize the amount of items you bring into your home.
I hope you found this a helpful resource to get you started on the process to declutter your entire home!
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