How To Declutter In 4 Easy StepsLearn how to declutter with 4 easy steps for any size job! These tips are best for decluttering spaces that contain miscellaneous items from all over the house. Step 1 is quick and easy. Decluttering can be overwhelming without a plan. This time when you look at the clutter, you'll want to dive right in! My tips for how to declutter your home are simple, but guide you to sort out one piece of the puzzle at a time to help you get past feeling so overwhelmed. 1) Throw away all obvious trash. This first step is easy, doesn't involve tough decision-making, and, depending on the amount of trash, may make a quick difference. 2) Put items back where they belong when applicable. Start with the items that belong somewhere in the room you are currently in. Collect everything else that can be carried in one trip (in your hands or a container). Start at one end of the house and work your way around and back to the space you are decluttering. 3) Sort and decide the fate of the remaining items. Throw away any trash, file important papers, find a place for items you are keeping. Wipe down the surface(s) and arrange the items that belong in the newly decluttered space. Sometimes you end up with items that don't belong in your home, but were left by company. If something doesn't belong to you, plan to return it to the person it belongs to soon. Put these near your front door to remind you to give them back. Inform the owner, at some point, that you have their belonging(s). I do this because, in our case, the items typically belong to my closer relatives and we see them often. My parents lived with us for a year while they were simplifying. Though it's been a couple of years since they moved out, we still have some of their things in our home. I find them over time. It was never a big deal. I would just leave them in the closet or pantry or wherever they were found; besides, we have plenty of room. But now I'm ready to send everything back to their rightful owners. It also seems like almost every time we have family over, someone leaves something behind, so I make it a point to return it as soon as possible. 4) Prepare to sell or donate items you are not going to keep. Now that you've found a place for everything and put everything in its place, you can decide what you are going to do with the items you want to get rid of. Are you going to donate household items to charity? Is it worth it to you to have a yard sale? Are you interested in listing some items for sale on the internet? Make your choice and proceed with organizing the activity. Whether it's a small job like getting rid of paper clutter on a desk or a large job like decluttering your home or tackling garage organization, this system for how to declutter that has gotten me through many piles of clutter. When decluttering, keep the end result in mind... Keep the end result in mind as motivation, but don't let the expansiveness of the entire process overwhelm you. Start with Step 1. Just do that and you will have taken a whole layer off of the clutter in the most simple way - just toss it in the trash. If you have honest access to a dumpster (your personal business, friend, relative, etc.), you've got it made. If not, bag it, pile it, and put it out gradually with your regular trash pick up. A temporary pile of bags of gathered trash that is steadily being eliminated weekly is better than it where it is now. Think of it this way. The space at hand needs to be decluttered. Unless you hire a professional organizer to do it for you, you're going to have to go in there and do it yourself. Enlist help, when possible, for big jobs. You no longer want to or are able to overlook the clutter and continue to put it off. Use the 4 steps above to sort through and eliminate the clutter. Light A Fire Under Your - Well, You Know... What I don't know, I find out. When I need motivation to do something, I conjure up enough steam to get my boat chugga-lugging along. I prepare and teach myself
how to get motivated to declutter.
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