Decluttering Steps You Need To Know Now

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Decluttering…it’s a word that carries a lot of weight. Thinking about it can feel very daunting but yet actually doing the work can have such a profound difference in your home and life.

But here’s the thing. I see so many people not wanting to get started with their decluttering. Whether they think they don’t have the time or the knowledge, I can honestly say you can work at your own pace and only you know what you truly want to keep and get rid of.

In my own home, I have a room that is pretty much the dumping ground for all the things we don’t want to deal with at the moment. But we all know what happens in that case, things build up. So, because of some changes happening in my home, this has brought that room into full focus.

It’s my spare room. My husband wants to start using it for his home office. He was working in our master bedroom but that’s not working for our family anymore so that brought on this change.

That means, I’m going to be spending some time in that room getting it decluttered. I can’t see the bed anymore, the closet is getting overrun by stuff, and I’m not even getting into what is under the bed. There’s also no room right now for his desk so this room needs some work.

Since you may have the same challenges that so many have when it comes to starting a decluttering project or task, I wanted to share with you the steps I take when I’m decluttering a space. These steps allow me to not get overwhelmed and it doesn’t matter how much time I’m able to give to a task. If it’s 5 minutes all day or 15-minute chunks of time, just getting started and doing something will always be better than it was before.

Here are my steps to getting things decluttered:

1. Before you begin, make sure you don’t start with anything that will be too hard to go through. Start with things that are mentally and emotionally easy to go through….clothes, books, kitchen things, etc.
2. Take a picture before you begin. Then take a picture when you stop working for the hour or the day so you can see the PROGRESS you’re making!
3. Remove any trash that you see. Get it all out. There’s no sense decluttering with trash all around you.
4. When starting, don’t pull everything out of an area all at once. Start in a section of your room or an area in your home, pull one thing out at a time, and decide what to do with it.
5. There are three possible decisions you can come up with. You’ll be deciding if you’re keeping it, trashing it, or donating/selling it.
6. If you want to keep it, ask yourself, where would I look for this when I need it? If an idea comes to you, put it in its place. That’ll be its new home. If an idea doesn’t come to you, it might be time to get rid of it.
7. If you don’t want it anymore but it’s still in good condition, consider donating or selling it. Whichever you choose, do it quickly. When your donation box is full, put it in your car so you can drop it off the next time you’re out. If selling, put it on Facebook Marketplace, and if it doesn’t sell in the next 2 – 7 days (2-3 days for lower priced items and 4-7 days for higher priced items), consider donating it or tossing it.

**The important thing is to quickly get rid of the things you don’t want anymore. This will alleviate the clutter in your home the quickest which will result in you feeling better.

**Another trick is to put things you don’t want anymore in a black trash bag. This way, you won’t be tempted (or your kids won’t see it) to pull things out before it’s gone forever. Make the decision once and stick with it.

Where to Go From Here

How about you, can you focus your attention on your home?

If you’re having a hard time deciding where to start, ask yourself these questions.

What room or area in your home is the most cluttered and messy?

What’s causing you the most stress in your home?

If someone was coming over today, where would you run to first?

Have you thought of where to start? Could you spend 5 – 10 minutes today just starting to declutter this space?

The hardest part is always starting. Remember, even if you only have a few minutes to do something, it will ALWAYS be better than it was before. Just don’t forget to snap those pictures as you go along so you can see and appreciate the work you’re doing. This will give you the motivation to continue.

Now, get started! Just follow these tips so you won’t get overwhelmed!

Be sure to share any pictures you have of your decluttering journey. I’d love to see them and cheer you on!

Don’t forget to share or pin this for later!