A cluttered home causes stress and frustration. It is easy for a house to get messy and unorganized, especially when you have a big family that continually brings more items into the home. Here are 5 tips for decluttering your home in an efficient and effective way.
Empty and Deep Clean When Decluttering Your Home
Once you have honed in on an area to work on, clean it out and put everything aside. Focusing on one small area at a time is better, like a set of drawers or a closet. Remove everything out of the area so you can give it a good cleaning. Wipe down any shelves or drawers and vacuum the floor. Clean up cobwebs that have built up in the corners of closets.
Get Rid of Unused Items
Now that you have all the items in a pile or spread out on a bed, sort through them and decide what you are keeping. Odds are, there will be several things you forgot you had, never use, and don’t want. You’ll find stained and torn clothing, clothes that no longer fit, duplicate items, and broken things. Depending on their condition, sort them into a donation pile or put them in the trash. Then, to avoid more clutter, take out the trash and put your donation box in the car to drop off the next time you are out.
Sort Things That You are Keeping
Now that you have eliminated all the items you don’t want anymore, go through everything else and sort them into categories. If you are decluttering a closet, sort clothing by type and season. It’s important to separate items to get a better idea of how to organize them when you put them back in the area you are decluttering.
Add Storage Solutions
Once you have sorted the items you are keeping, you’ll get some clarity on how to best organize them. Often, adding storage solutions like hooks, compartments, bins, drawers, and shelves helps maximize the space. Consider which options would make storage easier and determine what you need by evaluating your inventory.
Decluttering Your Home for Maintenance Several Times Per Year
Unfortunately, decluttering is not a one-and-done project. Once you have completed an overhaul with the steps listed above, it will become easier every time. However, it still needs to be done periodically. You will accumulate more things and decide you no longer need others. Declutter 2-4 times per year.
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