Tips for decluttering house?

Question

I need some quick and easy tips for decluttering my house. I am overwhelmed and not sure where to start. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks! :)

Answer 1

First, understand you will not be able to do this in one afternoon.

1. Pick a room, any room, to start in. If you're concerned about visitors, make it a room they're likely to see. If you're concerned about making yourself comfortable, pick a room you spend a lot of time in (a bedroom? Home office? Kitchen?)

2. Now pick a section of the room. Work just on that area. For instance, in a bedroom, work in an area near the side of the bed you sleep on. Once you've done that, move to an adjacent area, keep doing this until you've gone all the way around the room. The advantage of this is you're always making progress, and you can see it immediately, even if you have to stop and come back later.

3. Don't throw anything out unless it really is "trash". Just because you don't like it/want it/need it anymore doesn't mean it's trash. If it's in good condition, donate it and take a tax deduction.

4. Sort based on three piles. Trash, donations, and keep. The "Keep" category has a subcategory, the "I don't know" one. Resort that again once the rest of the room is done.

5. Throw trash out immediately. Store donations near the front door and make an appointment with yourself to deliver, say "Saturday morning at 10:00 am". Anything you keep, put it away immediately. Try not to touch anything more than one time. Yes, there are more "efficient" ways to do this with fewer trips to the closet/trashbin/storage area, but unless you're an organized person (why are you decluttering?) they won't work as well.

6. Do not conduct a yard sale, unless you need the cash. It's a huge effort, can often lead to more clutter, and often not worth the cash reward. Tax deductions are, in my humble opinion, much better. We declutter every year in my house, and I have 3 ADD folks here (including myself) and it really works.

7. Be methodical, not multi-tasking. Being overwhelmed is normal, since it looks so daunting, but once you see progress, even a little, you'll do fine.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Ask yourself these questions when you come across clutter items: Do I use it? Do I love it? Is it irreplaceable? If you do not say yes to any of those questions throw it away. Make sure everything has a home and it is returned to its home after use. If you cannot fit all the items in your cabinets, drawers, etc. consider going through them as there are probably things inside that you can toss out as well. Store like items in plastic bins (Purchased at Walmart, made by Sterlite for under $2 a piece). Label the outside so that you know what is inside. If you have children go through their toys and throw away or donate any that are not in their age range. Your home can become quickly over run with toys especially ones that are never played with. Go through papers as soon as they come in your door to avoid piles. Have a recycle basket so that you have somewhere to toss them. This includes junk mail and children's school papers.

The easiest room to start in is the bathroom because you are usually not emotionally connected to items in there. Do a full declutter of your bathroom (decluttering items that have expired or are not used) and give it a couple weeks before you start on another room. Once you see how clean that room is kept and how spacious it is from throwing out items it will give you inspiration to do the rest of the home.

You can do it! Just remember it all can't be done in one day. If you have limited time set a goal to work on decluttering for 15 minutes a day. Decluttering is alot of work but the end result is very rewarding.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I know it's overwhelming so don't look at the whole picture pick one thing to start with. And don't be discouraged just because things are messier than when you started, it's going to happen.

Pick one...say your breakfast nook...have boxes and bags ready to accumulate the "stuff". Papers to be filed, papers you are unsure of in separate bags, be sure to label them so you don't get mixed up. Don't sort thru them now, save that task for the next project. Any item that doesn't belong in there goes into a box or bag to be put away and if you haven't thought about that item in a year then you probably don't need it...put that in the box for a yard sale or Goodwill.

There's your start...you'll have this room decluttered in no time and will feel a sense of accomplishment, immediate gratification will give you the boost to keep it going.

Answer 4

This may sound weird but it has worked for me. I don't know how cluttered your house is, but if it is super-cluttered (you can't see the floor, the surface of the dining table, or the bottom of the kitchen-sink), start with the LEAST cluttered part of the house. If you feel that the whole place is equally cluttered, here is what you do. Pick a SPECIFIC small area (say 12 inches by inches) on your floor. Organize whatever is in that area until you can see that 12 inch by inch square of floor. If you cannot organize everything, that is OK. For instance, if you find one sock that is washed and the other is in the washer, don't worry about it. Just put away the one sock where it is supposed to go, for now. Then, you start with the 12 by 12 square next to the one you just cleared up. The main thing to remember here, is: Whatever happens, the part you just cleared up must REMAIN cleared up, at all costs. DO NOT put clutter in the space you just cleared, thinking that it is only for a few minutes! Otherwise, you will find yourself constantly cleaning up that one little spot and you will get fed up and stop.

Answer 5

Anything you and your family have not used at all in a year should go. Scan important documents that you don't need original copies of into your computer and put them on back up removable media as well like a CD or a DVD. Put the backed up copy in your safe deposit box and ditch the paper copies.

Put a recycling bag or can near the door so you can drop junk mail into it immediately and get a shredder if you get credit card offers in the mail. They must be shredded before throwing them away.

Find out how many of your bills and bank statements you can get via email instead of in the mail. You can save them to your computer and save a tree in the process.

Finally, if you buy something...do so knowing that if you bring something new home, something old must go to make room for it.

Answer 6

Get some of the plastic totes at walmart for storing things you want to keep or pass on to another family member. Also have a big garbage bag ready for the things you definitely don't want and are useless to you or anyone else. Start with the most cluttered room that is visible to yourself or guest and spend a couple of hours getting it sorted out. Move on to the next room and do the same. Have a yard sale or donate to a charity if you don't have anyone to give it to.

Answer 7

Start going through the house one room at a time. If that is too overwhelming, then start with just the closet of the room or desk or shelves. Make piles of "junk", "memories", "belongs in kitchen", etc. and mmove on from there. It helps to have storage space and get those tupperware containers that have drawers to utilize as much space as possible.

Answer 8

the easiest way is to start in one room and declutter that and work your way through the whole house... anything you havnt used or worn for at least a year throw away..

Answer 9

Start in 1 room and work your way around. First gather up all news papers and old magazines and put them in the trash or recycle bin. Then pick up things that don't belong to that room and put them where they do go, ie...toys in kids rooms, shoes where they belong, books on the book rack. Use window cleaner and clean windows and mirrors. Straighten covers and cushions on the furniture, dust shelves, walls and furniture then finally vacuum or sweep. If you tackle one room at a time things dont seem so overwhelming. I myself always start in my bathrooms then work my way around to the bedrooms then the kitchen and common rooms.

Answer 10

Throw anything out that is stained or broken or ripped(because we're never going to get a chance to fix it anyhow). Then get rid of anything that doesn't fit or is out of style. For Magazines and Catalogs, tear out just the page of the thing that you like (article, item, recipe) and put them in a folder (don't worry, most catalogs have their number or name printed on the bottom of the pages). Once you eliminate, check out maximizing your closet space by using organizers (closetmaid, easyclosets, millspride) and try to put things in bins that you can see through (makes it easier to find stuff without tearing the house apart). I also try to put the kids stuff down on their level (making it possible for them to be more independent) and my hubby's and my stuff up higher. Another tip is throw it out unless it is Useful, Beautiful, or Loved!