Decluttering for Beginners

Life is often busy, full of responsibilities and hectic. Opening a drawer stuffed full of assorted things can trigger a stressful feeling that causes us to close it and forget it. You think, I’ll deal with it later, and you’re not alone. And of course you don’t forget it, just drag out dealing with it. It may seem like it’s a low priority but if you carve out some time to clear out and organize, you’ll find you’ll eliminate a lot of stress. Decluttering for Beginners is the first of a series I will post about decluttering, how to begin a step at a time to simplify your life, eliminate the stress and find peace.

Where to start?

Simply of course, so you don’t get overwhelmed and give up on the project. And it is a project, but one that is totally worth the time and effort. Start off small, tackling one drawer or cabinet in one room as you get time. This helps build you up to tackle the tougher areas later on. A single drawer, cupboard or closet is a good place to start.

 

Guidelines

Start Small

Beginning with small, manageable areas will help you stick with it. Tackling too much in one day will cause you to be discouraged and give up. Start with the easiest drawer or bin, maybe a kitchen junk drawer – we all have those don’t we? Work on it for even twenty minutes and the next time you open that drawer you’ll be so happy you took the time to sort it.

Sorting it All Out

As you look through your items, sorting them into the following categories will help speed up the process.

• Keep
• Donate
• Sell
• Trash

Questions to Ask

A few questions to ask yourself when trying to decide what to do with items you’re unsure of:

• Have I used this in the last six months/year?
• Is this something I want or need in my home?
• Am I keeping it out of guilt or obligation?
• Do I have multiples of the same type of item that could be pared down?

One-In One-Out Rule

Once you have decluttered and organized your home, you could consider the one-in one-out rule to keep it clutter free. The idea is as simple as it sounds, when you bring in a new item, remove a similar one. I’m not sure why, but coffee cups are one item in my home that really seems to accumulate…

Just in Case

Try not to let yourself fall into the “just in case” trap. Many times we save things, sometimes for many years thinking we may need it but in the end we don’t. Meanwhile, we’re just storing and managing more and more inventory in our home.

A Home for Everything

Having a place for everything we use or want to keep goes a long way to keeping everything organized. Clutter tends to pile up when we can’t find a place to put it – getting thrown into drawers, cubbies and closets. Use storage bins (label if you like) to organize your things once you’ve decluttered and store them in a way that makes sense in your home space.

Declutter Regularly

Once you’ve got everything organized, it’s smart to get into the habit of decluttering regularly. Keeping a box in a designated area or in closets where you can drop items you intend to donate or sell will help keep your home in the organized state you worked so hard to create for yourself.

Check back soon for Part Two in the series, where I’ll break down things a little more…