If you happen to catch my post about Swedish Death Cleaning, then you know I’m a fan of decluttering. While I offered a few tips on that post based on my recent experience, our Guest Geek post this week features a more in-depth guide to decluttering your home and even breaks it down room by room with helpful tips.

The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering

Do you feel like you’re constantly tripping over things and can’t find anything when you need it? If so, it might be time to declutter your home.

Everyone always tends to have a rubbish pile up on their property, and most of us have more than a little. When you gather more goods than you can manage, it may seem to be a minor problem. However, many individuals become stressed and feel out of control when they have too much stuff surrounding them.

In this blog post, we will discuss the best ways of decluttering your home and getting rid of all the excess stuff that is accumulating in your space!

What is clutter?

Clutter is everything you keep that isn’t beneficial to your life. It’s all about clearing out the clutter from your house so you can focus on the things that matter.

How is decluttering important?

Simplification and organizing reduce stress for many individuals by providing a sense of control and accomplishment. Getting rid of the rubbish frees up additional room in the house that wasn’t there before, which reduces stress. Some people only need to clear their houses of clutter before moving.

#1: Mind your goal and set a strict time frame

Make a plan before you begin. Starting with specific objectives will aid in the reduction of irritation and barriers, no matter how much mess you have to go through. Laid below are a few things you can consider as you start off:

• Make a list of all the house portions and “clutter hot spots” you wish to clear out. Make a map or sketch of each room to picture out the entire process of your organizing project.
• Manage your routine by focusing on one space at a time
• To help you decide how much time to devote to each area, give it a grade based on the clutter’s degree of severity.
• When you know decluttering will take longer than a few hours, such as the basement or garage, make plans for specific times to work on particular areas.
• Create a list of deadlines for each phase of your cleanup, as well as realistic times. Creating a “decluttering your home” game for yourself may help you avoid getting aggravated while cleaning.

#2: Sort using the 3-box method

As you go through all the spaces in your home, you’ll need to establish a method for classifying the goods you discover. You may build your system or utilize the well-known Three-Box Method. A renowned technique like this compels you to choose each item on its own, and it’s better not to make a bigger mess than the one you started with.

Gather three storage boxes or containers and label them as “Keep,” “Dispose of,” and “Store.”

#3: Research ways to take your clutter away

• Donate: You can rest easy knowing that whatever you don’t need is going to a new owner who will appreciate it. You may give clothing, shoes, and other home goods in good condition to a variety of charity organizations. People in your area could also come to get the items if you publish them on a Facebook resale group.
• Recycle: If your area offers curbside collection, you can recycle your glass, plastics, and paper right into the bin. Otherwise, place your recyclables in bags and leave them with the recycling collector.
• Dump it: Not everything will be suitable for donating or selling. If you have a lot of stuff to get rid of or larger household items that you’re tossing away after decluttering your home, renting a dumpster is an inexpensive, stress-free alternative.

If you reside in Illinois, certain dumpster rental services can help you out – folks in the Redbox+ O’Fallon, IL can offer some awesome deals at good prices. You may fill up the container as soon as it arrives at your driveway, and they’ll haul it away after you’re finished.

#4: Room-by-room organization

Bedroom

Bedrooms are frequently used as storage areas for items that don’t fit in any other area of the house. The bedroom is one of the most cluttered rooms in the home. You don’t need much more than a bed, nightstands, and storage for clothes, shoes, and the like. It will take you anything from a few hours to a whole weekend to clear out and organize your bedroom, depending on the amount of clutter.

Tips

• Start off by managing your drawers
• Keep flat surfaces clear of any unnecessary stuff (When fewer things are cluttering the flat surfaces in your room, it will appear to be more relaxing and tranquil.)
• Utilize plastic bags for items that you still want to store in your bedroom space

Closet

Closets can be therapeutic when they’re decluttered. Going through your clothes, shoes, and other forgotten belongings do not only tidy up your space as you go on decluttering your home. It may also purify your thoughts of any emotional attachments you have to these things.

Tips

• Practice starting from the bottom and making your way up
• Filter clothing and shoes
• Clean up the shelves from dust or any debris

Living Room

The main goal of any living or family room is to relax. If the space is congested with toys, books, cables, blankets, outdated publications, and more, it may be tough to truly unwind. The living area is the second most cluttered space in a home, after bedrooms. Your living room, like many others, is probably in need of a reboot.

Tips

• Remove items that don’t belong such as decorations, toys, books, old newspapers, and many more.
• Add more storage
• Rearrange wires

Home office

Are you overwhelmed by the amount of stuff around you? With these decluttering ideas, you can reclaim your office in a single afternoon to be more productive and organized at home.

Tips

• Sort out your paper items and consider getting rid of the ones you don’t need anymore
• Organize drawers and their contents
• Clear off your desk and make it tidy for your work
• Organize them cords

Kitchen

The kitchen is the common area of the house, and if cooking is your thing, then there might be a lot of stuff in it. Utensils, dishes, and ingredients might be all over the place. So, this area must be lent attention to as you proceed with decluttering your home!

Tips

• Declutter countertops
• Divide your kitchen area and conquer it one at a time
• Purge certain items or relocate them

Bath, comfort, and laundry room

It’s quite simple to declutter a bathroom. The things that are cluttering up your countertops, shelves, and drawers must be purged and organized. You may be shocked by how much you have after sifting through everything.

Tips

• Pull everything out, rearrange, and get rid of the excess
• Set up your organized system of belongings and place like-things together
• Let baskets take responsibility with organization
• Devise a plan to maintain its orderliness

Attic and/or Basement

Clutter may survive for years once it’s been exiled to a basement or attic. “Out of sight, out of mind” certainly applies to these storage areas, as the saying goes. When you’re dealing with basement or attic clutter, keep in mind that these are often not hour-long tasks.

• Divide the area and tackle each one at a time
• Consider rearranging, keep like things together, and filter them all for disposal
• Sort them into boxes and bins to beat them up!

Garage

Garages are full of old sporting equipment and storage boxes, as well as forgotten tools and rusted automobile parts. Garages allow garbage to linger far longer than it should. The garage is where most of the stuff you think you’ll ever use or need eventually winds up. While addressing this area as you practice decluttering your home might be difficult, it’s not impossible!

• Set up your own organizational system
• Categorize your items as your go on placing them
• Purge unnecessary items out

#5: Keep your home organized for good

• Don’t let potential clutter into your house in the first place. Manage yourself as you buy items by only obtaining enough.
• As every day goes by, declutter the common stuff out.
• Use the “one in, one out” principle. When you acquire anything new, get rid of or give away something else.
• Think about renting or borrowing items that you are only going to use once instead of buying directly. These can just add up to the clutter in your storage area.

Our health is like a clean home. It is easier and better to avoid an illness than to cure it. To the greatest extent feasible, try to limit clutter in your life. When you’re done with something, put it back where it belongs immediately. Regularly cleaning surfaces vs scrubbing out dirt here and there is a lot more convenient. With a little bit of planning, taking time to consider all of these tips, and some elbow grease, you can declutter your home in no time!