When you read the word declutter, does your brain get stressed and overwhelmed and don’t know where to start? In this article we’re going to discuss some home
decluttering tips to reclaim your space and take control of your time, money and relationships.
Why Declutter?
For creative types, friends of frenzy, creatures of comfort and chaos-lovers, just the very word “declutter” is enough to clip the wings off their free spirit. But a free form life can come with a hefty price tag in terms of lost time, wasted energy, higher stress and
strained relationships.
Decluttering expert Donna Smallin believes that clutter is representative of the obstacles we put in our own path toward success. “Disorganization is only a problem if it’s creating problems in your life and/or relationships,” says Smallin. “If you’re okay with a disorganized environment, that’s fine. But chances are, if you live with someone else, they are not okay with it.”
These four decluttering tips will help you put your life in order without cramping your style. A few small adjustments could add up to big life changes!
1. Throw it in a basket.
If you are the type to launch your shoes, lob your socks and shoot laundry baskets with balled up shirts, you’re going to love this organizational tip. Give yourself permission to just throw things around, BUT still keeping it clean by placing bins, baskets, and boxes in corners of your home where clutter tends to gather. Arrange the baskets according to the way you use the room (where you like to drop or toss things), and place those items IN THE BASKET rather than on the floor. Throw those things you use every day—like car keys,
oversized kitchen utensils, lunch bags and books—in a basket by the door, when coming and going. It’s the next best thing to having someone clean up after you, except you’re not burdening someone else to do it for you.
If you adopt this system, you won’t absentmindedly place your things on a counter, on the floor, or in some other place where things will get piled on top of them. It just might be the last time you’ll have to ask yourself, “where did I put my keys again?”
2. Let go of keepsakes.
Are you keeping anything that
weighs you down, no matter how sentimental it may be? Knowing when and why to let go of objects can help you keep your clutter to a minimum. If you still own things that no longer serve you or reflect the person you are today, release them! Throw them out, give them away, sell or recycle them, but don’t let keepsakes keep you stuck in the past and heavy in spirit. The more space you can open up in your life, the more new and exciting people and experience have a place to come and stay.
Too small jeans waiting for the day you lose weight, broken zippers you’re going to repair but never get around to, styles and colors that you got a great deal on but you’d never wear again...Anything that pulls you back to the past or pushes you into the future drains creative energy from the here and now. Try selling old clothes to second hand clothing stores to make a couple bucks in cash.
Every item you own only deserves to be taking up space in your house if it fits great, looks great and makes you feel great. If you own something that doesn’t meet these criteria, give it away. You’ll feel lighter tossing what you don’t need, and have the satisfaction of giving others something that they do need.
3. Touch paper only once.
Thanks to digital technology, this method is getting easier to adopt. You probably have most of your contacts, bank statements, photos, and correspondences stored online—but there are still a lot of papers that may shuffle around you.
Touching paper only once means the moment you have a piece of mail, bill or any other document in hand, make it the LAST TIME you touch it before putting it in its rightful place (whether filed or thrown out).
The point is, it’s stressful to keep shuffling papers around instead of processing it. If you lay bills aside for dealing with at another time, it’s too easy for them to get buried or lost completely. Learn to dispose or dispatch them as soon as they appear. Try designating a spot in your home where you always open your mail. It can be at your desk with a convenient trash can to your right and a filing cabinet to your left, for example.
If you’re not used to decluttering and cleaning, these tips may not be easy to do at first. Good news is you don’t have to make radical lifestyle changes to benefit from (and maybe even enjoy) these decluttering tips. Just make small adjustments every week by trying these tips, and you can eventually grow the habit of being more organized and managing your time, money, and relationships with ease. Feel free to be creatively chaotic while knowing where your stuff is! The goal is to enrich your life by helping you get out of your own way.