Decluttering Tips to Keep You From Getting Overwhelmed

Decluttering can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! You can declutter in small chunks, as you live your daily life. Hopefully these decluttering tips help you feel less overwhelmed and inspire you to start decluttering your house.

Give Everything a Home

One of the most important parts of making cleaning up easy to do is by giving everything in your home a home, somewhere it belongs. This way it can always be put away after you use it. This is also a great way to get started when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Start with clearing the space for just one item then finding space for the things you moved to put that first item where it belongs and then just keep doing that.

 

Never Leave a Room Empty Handed

Make a habit of never leaving a room without something in your hands. Maybe there is trash in the room that can be put in a trash can or a cup you could put in the dishwasher. If you have kids then there is almost guaranteed to be something that should be in their room. Carrying out just a little bit at a time insures that you aren’t getting overwhelmed.

 

Tackle Clutter in 5 Minutes

Even if you’re busy you can start to tackle your clutter, 5 minutes at a time. Set a timer for 5 minutes and then just do everything you can in that time. I like to pick a room and just focus there during those 5 minutes. But, I also follow the rule of never leaving the room empty handed. So, if I need to go to another room for some reason I’ll take something with me!

 

Always Have a Donation Box

I like to always have a donation box set up in the house somewhere. This box is for clothes that don’t fit anymore, books you’ve already read, or anything else that you want to donate. Then, when the box is full schedule some time in the next couple of days to go to wherever you like to donate your used goods.

 

Be Honest About What You Want and Need

When you’re decluttering it is important to be honest with yourself about what you want and need. Is there a pair of pants you’ve been saving for months in the hopes you’ll fit into them? Are you likely to fit into them in the next 3 months? If not, you don’t need them. Go through everything in your house and be honest about it all.

 

Count Your Dishes

While we’re on the topic of being honest about what we need, no one needs 12 plates unless they have 12 people in their house. The more dishes you have the more you have to clean. So, only have enough for everyone in your house to have one set of everything in the kitchen. If you want to have some extras for guests store them in the towel closet instead of the kitchen. This way they won’t get used except when you have guests.

 

Clear the Dumping Ground

Every house has a dumping ground. It’s the spot where you set everything down when you walk in the door and then never touch most of it again. Well, this is a fantastic place for decluttering first. It’s amazing how much cleaner your whole house will feel just from having this area cleaned. It’s honestly a bit of a miracle.

 

Hopefully these decluttering tips help you in your decluttering project. Do you have any fantastic decluttering tips I haven’t included? I’m always looking for ways to make cleaning up easier.