Organizing Your Home - How To Declutter

Where do you start? Decluttering your home can be a daunting prospect, and it’s easy to keep putting it off as one of those jobs to do another day. It doesn’t have to be so bad. With a bit of organizing, your home can, once again, be a tidy and calming environment, free of clutter. A tidy home will be less stressful to live in, easier to keep clean and essentially, more organized.

How to declutter. Be prepared. Collect storage boxes and waste bags prior to starting. Also, find out how to dispose of unwanted items. What are your local polices on rubbish disposal? Where can you take your stuff for recycling, and where are your nearest charity shops?

Consider joining online groups such as Freecycle, for people to collect items you want to give away. If you haven’t already, join an online auction site such as eBay, and make some money from unwanted items. Check out local notices for when and where boot sales are being held. Check with your local authorities on rules and laws for having garage /yard sales. Start. You’ve got your storage boxes, bags etc. You know where to take, sell, give away and dispose of items. You are now ready to start. Work on one room at a time. Go through every drawer, cupboard and closet. Try looking at each object with fresh eyes and ask yourself the question:

Do you like it?

Do you use it?

Do you need it?

Does it have sentimental value?

With each item, decide which of the following groups it fits:

Keep. You don’t want to get rid of it as you still use or need it, or get enjoyment from owning it or it has sentimental value to you.

Consider. These are items that you are not sure you want to keep and think you may regret getting rid of. Take these items and put them to one side, then leave for a few weeks. If you find you need to use it again or realize you miss it, and then keep it. On the other hand, if you haven’t had to hunt it out again, maybe it’s time to clear it out.

Clear. You are now in a position to clear out all your unwanted stuff. Pack up and bag your unwanted items and either sell, give away or dispose. Don’t put off doing this. You have already found out where to sell, give or dispose of items, so there is no reason not to clear these items out of your house straight away and start enjoying your home, free of clutter.

Organizing your home can be addictive. Once you start benefiting from living in an organized and tidy house, free from clutter, you will more likely want to keep it that way. The best way to do this is to have further waves of decluttering, going through the house again and revaluating your bits and pieces, clearing out more unwanted and unneeded clutter.