5 Fast Decluttering Tips That Will Transform Your Messy Home

When I walked into my house at the end of the day, it was deflating. The sink was full of dishes, the bed was unmade, and there was junk sitting out everywhere, including a pile of clothes by my closet.

I didn’t want that to happen to me again so I started decluttering so that it would be easier to organize and clean my home.

It really helped so let me share with you some easy and fast decluttering tips for the messiest parts of your home!

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Sometimes You Have to Declutter Your House

Everyone has to declutter once in a while. It’s obvious when it needs to be done in a small house. But if you live in a huge house you will need to clear out once in a while as well.

It doesn’t matter how much room you have in your house, you will at some point fill it if you do not edit your belongings!

You will find it is easier if you declutter your house often instead of putting it off. That way it never gets to the point where you are completely overwhelmed!

I’ve Seen a Lot of Cluttered Homes

I am the cleaning lady. I’ve cleaned homes for over 13 years and let me tell you, I’ve seen a lot of cluttered homes in my time. Unfortunately, it is not my job to organize but just to CLEAN the dirt.

Trust me on this, any house no matter how large can get cramped with clutter. The key is to be conscious of what is in your home and in order to do that you have to look through things fairly often.

So I promised I would declutter my home as it was starting to get to that uncomfortable cluttered place that has me running to Zillow! I did declutter! I started with what was bugging me the most and I only did one project at a time. Come get to work with me and learn how to declutter a messy house!

Here Are Some Fast Decluttering Tips for Your Office:

The office is a notorious trouble zone for clutter. That’s why it’s important to have some easy and fast decluttering tips that keep you from feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed.

Start with decluttering paperwork on the desk. Make three piles. Set in one pile all the items that need action. Set in another pile all the items that need to be saved. Your last pile should be trash since it didn’t fall into either of the first two categories.

No! Don’t save cards and receipts for the movies. That is what your memory is for. Other things that fall into this category are old calendars, old magazines, and kids’ art from school that is past the special moment.

Now knuckle down and pay the bills or make the appointments and put the things that need to be saved in the appropriate places. I guarantee you will feel so much better when it’s all done and you will also have a tidy desk as a reward!

How it went for me:

I know you are wondering if you actually have time to edit your office. For me, it took less than half an hour.

However, I didn’t have too much in the first place. See what you can get done in half an hour to an hour! You will probably be stunned at what get’s done with these fast decluttering tips!

2: Fast Decluttering Tips for Your Closet

Most of us have trouble keeping our closets in order. Why does that happen? We live in a world of fast fashion. That means that we can come by clothes that are affordable easily and often, and our needs, wants, and styles can change fast. I am not even a big shopper and clothes seem to find me.

So how do I minimize my wardrobe? What are some fast closet cleanout tips that will help in the closet?

I recommend you start with shirts because they are the rogues of the clothes world. Easy to get, easy to forget. If your shirts are already sorted in Kondo style it should be easy to look at what you have in your drawer. If not then still look through everything and put them back that way.

Let’s get to sorting it! This process actually comes down to one question: Do I wear it? If you don’t wear it ask yourself why?

Now as you look at the shirts answer the questions for each one quickly and decisively. Do you wear it? If not throw it in a pile. Look through that pile of shirts you don’t wear and ask yourself why you don’t wear it?

What to do:

• It doesn’t fit…..DONATE
• It is looking worn out …..THROW AWAY
• It isn’t really your style…..DONATE
• Is shrunk weird……THROW AWAY
• You forgot you owned it but you still love it!….FOLD IT nicely and put it away.
• If it is for another season….PUT IT where your seasonal clothes go if you keep them separate.

That should cover all the scenarios for clothes. Don’t make excuses for the shirts that need to leave your space. You have been giving them second chances for far too long! Let them go and experience the euphoric joy of freedom and space! Because you were good and let go of some things you may now treat yourself to the guilty pleasure of buying a new item you love because you now have room! If you love it of course!

Apply these fast decluttering tips to everything in your closet and you will have a dream closet full of space and things you actually can’t wait to wear in no time!

First closet edit vs. upkeep edit

Decluttering my closet with these fast decluttering tips took me just a few minutes per category. You can break it up into one category a day if you need to.

For this particular edit, I got rid of about 5 shirts and 3 skirts because they no longer fit my needs. My pants are pretty good so I didn’t get rid of any this time.

If you have not yet done the big edit of your belongings you will need a bit more time for clothes. Also, you will probably be getting rid of at least one big trash bag full of clothes your first time.

Fast Decluttering Tips for Your Bathroom

This category is pretty easy since we don’t tend to have emotional attachments to toiletries. However, a lot of unneeded and unused toiletries can lead to a very cluttered bathroom. It is time to declutter and reclaim your counters and cabinets. These easy and fast decluttering tips will help!

First of all, THROW AWAY or RECYCLE the empty bottles! I can’t tell you how many empty shampoo bottles I’ve seen sitting around in my years of cleaning.

Second, throw away the products that just didn’t work for you. There is no need to have them cluttering up your space just because you feel guilty that you are wasting money if you throw them away. You are not saving money just because it is still in your cabinet. Move on!

Now that you only have products you use, it is time to find ways to organize these items. I personally love to use clear plastic pencil boxes for my contact lenses, my first aid items, and my travel shampoos because it keeps them visible and sorted. I use small plastic boxes for essential oils or more travel items so they don’t fall over and spill. Then of course I use a hanging shower caddy for my shower items. I do not have a shower door or a good place to hang a caddy so I used a suspension rod and hung my over-the-door caddy on that!

For a full list of my favorite storage solutions check out my resource page!

Fast Decluttering Tips for Jewelry

I have to admit jewelry is my big weakness! This is mainly because I love to make jewelry. I also love to get it as a gift or collect it as a souvenir from a trip. Because of this, it is my least edited category. It’s not too hard to hold onto because it is so small but it can be very difficult to keep organized!

Check out my little Etsy Jewelry Shop: Vintage Columbine

Many times I see jewelry on countertops and nightstands. It becomes a pervasive clutter instead of a useful adornment. Stop being frustrated with your jewelry. These easy decluttering tips will help you enjoy your jewelry more.

When I am ready to edit my jewelry I go through almost the same process as I do with clothes. I ask myself the following questions:

• Do I wear it?
• Will it make someone I know very happy?
• Can I tear it apart and make something new.
• Should I just toss it because the other earring in the pair is missing or its just looking junky from tarnish etc?

Once I decide what to get rid of and how I’m going to get rid of it, I organize the rest to make it easy to find when I want to wear it! Here are some of the best jewelry storage solutions I have found for my small space.

EARRINGS

My favorite solution for earrings is a Rolodex Mesh Desk Sorter. I can hang all my dangly earrings in the mesh sides and put my stud earrings and pins and rings in the trays on the sides and then put assorted hair items in the pencil holding area! It’s the ultimate tool to declutter your jewelry!

NECKLACES

For necklaces, I simply hang them on the towel bar under my bathroom cabinet. That worked for me because I wasn’t hanging towels on it. Any kind of rod would do for this purpose. I stack my bracelets on a silver girl figurine a friend gave me but I don’t have that many bracelets. A bracelet holder would be a great solution if you are a collector. Your main goal is to find a solution that makes them accessible and easy to see!

Fast Decluttering Tips for the Kitchen

When it’s time to declutter your kitchen you have to be honest with yourself. You have to know who you truly are. Many of us are suckered into gadgets we will never use for the gourmet chef we will never become. These gadgets pile up so we have to declutter our kitchen to really be able to use it!

The first step is to ask yourself exactly how gourmet you are on a scale of 1-10 before you start. Be honest with yourself. You are not likely to suddenly have more time to cook than you have had so far.

Now with that in mindset, you should be able to tackle your first task! Look to see if there are any gadgets you really don’t use. Maybe it was expensive at the time but it just didn’t work out like you hoped it would. Figure out if you can sell it or donate it.

This is not to say that there aren’t some tools you don’t use often but are indispensable when you want to use them.

That’s ok. I get that. I have a Belgian Style Waffle maker, not because I make waffles often but because I genuinely love them when I make them!

However, if you look at any kitchen gadget and think: “What a pain in the neck!” Get rid of that stuff!

The second kitchen task is to honestly appraise how many dishes you need and factor in how many you will need when you have when company comes for good measure! I’m sure you don’t need 20 mugs!

The third challenge in the kitchen is the sentimental family dishes. If you have these think about how you can use and showcase them. If not figure out how to donate or sell them. They do not do you any good in the back of the cabinet.

Kitchen continued…Junk Drawer and Vitamins

Last but not least, I know you have it because I’ve cleaned and house-sat for so many people! The can’t open, what it the world is in there, creeping and crawling, growing and ever-hungry JUNK DRAWER!

This is a place we want to overlook in our declutter routine but we must go through it! Take everything out and I mean it! Don’t leave anything in there. Odds are most of it is indeed JUNK. Throw the junk. Organize the stamps, take, scissors, coupons, etc… and Voila! You have made a handy-dandy-need-it drawer instead!

PS: If you are like me you keep your medicines and vitamins in the kitchen. Have a look through those too. Throw away anything expired or that was not useful for you. Be responsible in the disposal of prescription medication. Use a plastic box or a drawer to store your medicine and vitamins.

Feeling better now? I know I am!

After using these fast decluttering tips are you feeling better about your home? I bet you aren’t searching Zillow for a bigger space. I really hope you aren’t renting a storage shed. When you declutter your home you will feel instantly happier in your space no matter how big or small it is!

Oh by the way when you have decided to get rid of any item put it in boxes or bags and get it to the trash or thrift shop or recycle facility ASAP! Do not look back and make up reasons to keep it! If you are the type of person to do a garage sale DO NOT take any of it back and do not price it too high because it’s next stop should be the thrift shop anyway!

I know that this may seem like a lot but take just one project at a time and use the easy and fast decluttering tips in this article.

By the end of the process, you will feel amazing and your house will fit the life you and your family want to live!

DECLUTTER YOUR WHOLE HOUSE!

Would you like know how to declutter you home thoroughly? Does the idea make you feel overwhelmed?

You are not alone! Let me help you with my unique 3 phase decluttering process which helps you FEARLESSLY declutter your entire house in a way that helps you avoid overwhelm and let go of the emotional reasons you keep things you don’t need!

My FEARLESS DECLUTTERING E-Book has comprehensive checklists, guides, and all the tips you need to declutter and organize your home in no time!