10 Declutter Goals for The New Year

You have to declutter your entire house in just one weekend. If it doesn’t look like a hurricane hit it because you have brought every single item out at the same time you aren’t doing it right!

Doesn’t that sound overwhelming, frustrating and impossible?

Of course it does. If that is how you have to reach your declutter goals you are never going to get started and that is not a good option either.

Instead of trying to declutter your whole house on one horrible weekend try these 10 declutter goals that will get you to a clutter free home within the year!

1: Declutter One Room or Space at a Time

I know some famous decluttering experts that say you have to take everything in a category out and look at it at the same time to declutter but I don’t agree.

That just causes overwhelm, exhaustion, and decision fatigue. Every time I have done that the mess stresses me out and I just want to put everything back as soon as possible without really thinking about what I should let go of.

Instead choose a room or even a single space like one drawer or one cabinet to declutter and focus on what you need to trash, donate, sell or find a home for in that space.

When you find things to declutter in small manageable bite size pieces you will feel successful and build momentum. You may even find yourself decluttering more than one space at a time. You might even be able to declutter an entire room in a shorter amount of time than you expect!

As you check spaces off your list you will reach your decluttering goals without the mess or overwhelm. I bet you will be surprised at how much progress you have made by the end of the year.

2: Declutter Your Closet With Each Season

What about your clothes? What are the declutter goals you should have for your clothes this year?

It seems like decluttering closet is one of the scariest parts of the process for most people. They feel that they can’t tackle it because of the amount of clothing, the different sizes of clothing and all the emotional ties they have to their old favorites.

Another problem with decluttering clothes is that it is ongoing. We buy clothes much more regularly than we buy furniture or home décor.

The best way to declutter your closet and jump past all these hurdles is to declutter with each season. For example, at the end up summer you will know what you didn’t wear or enjoy wearing for the last 3-4 months. That’s the time to let it go, while you remember what you don’t like about it.

The same applies for the other three seasons. Make it a goal this year to reevaluate your clothing every time the weather changes and ask yourself questions about the pieces you choose to keep and the ones you get rid of.

3: Trash, Sell or Donate

Another one of your decluttering goals for the year should be to actually get rid of the stuff that you have decluttered.

As you go through your spaces and choose items to get rid of decide right away whether they need to be trashed, donated, or sold. Yes. In that order. A lot of our stuff is actually broken or gross and should be trashed. Most should be donated.

Some of our stuff can be sold on Facebook Marketplace. Only save that step for a few things like cameras, exercise equipment and furniture. Don’t bother with clothes, blankets, and other less valuable items. Selling clutter is a great way to make some extra cash but it does take time and it will slow you down.

4: Declutter in Phases

I want your decluttering goals to be really realistic. This year you are going to declutter little by little and you are going to make a change in a big way!

But what you aren’t going to do this is year is declutter perfectly. You will declutter in phases as you are ready to let go of things. You are going to build your decluttering muscles and remember that if you aren’t ready to let go of something this time you might be ready next time.

Decluttering in phases starting with trash, graduating to regular stuff, and finally reaching the hard stuff like sentimental items and paperwork is what has worked for me. That’s why my Fearless Decluttering program helps you declutter your home in manageable phases.

5: Declutter Paperwork

If you do manage to reach expert level with your decluttering goals this year you may reach your paperwork.

It can be quite a job to declutter paperwork but it follows the same basic rules as decluttering everything else. Look for stuff you can trash first. Then pay attention to things that need to be acted on and filed.

What if you don’t reach expert level this year? What if you never get around to all the paperwork piled up in the office or the garage?

It’s okay. Don’t worry. What you can do to reach your declutter goals as regards to paperwork this year is to prevent paper clutter.

Whenever you get mail, bills, your kids schoolwork, store fliers, ANYTHING paper act on it right away! File it. Put it on the fridge for awhile. Toss it. Don’t let it pile up!

6: Declutter Sentimental Items

Another one of your decluttering goals for this year may be to declutter some of the sentimental items that are filling up your garage, closets or storage sheds (cringe).

If you are trying to declutter sentimental things I have a few tips to help you.

Do not start with the items of someone you just lost unless you absolutely have to. Do start with sentimental items from your personal past like your high school jacket or year books.

Give yourself time. It can be emotionally draining to look through sentimental items. It’s okay to walk away and come back to it later.

Remember that you are not throwing away the memories or the person when you let go of the stuff. The memories are in your mind and heart and they aren’t going anywhere.

And lastly, choose one or two items that are truly meaningful to you to keep. If you need to take pictures of the rest before you let it go.

7: Declutter 10 Items a Week

What if you have already met most of your decluttering goals? Or what if you have declutter goals but you just don’t have time or energy to do the actual work?

Here is a great way to make progress this year even if you don’t have the time or energy to fully declutter any space all at once.

Simply try to declutter 10 items a week. As you go about your daily life find things you no longer use. Make it a habit to find 10 items by a certain day of every week and run your donations down to the location of your choice on that day, while your doing errands or heading to work anyway.

If you think about it 10 items a week adds up to 520 items in a year. Imagine the difference you could make in your home with this tiny habit.

This is also a great way to make decluttering fun enough to get your family in on it. Ask each member of your family to look for 10 items to declutter each week. Have a basket they can put that stuff in and you will have lots to take down to donate (and some stuff to throw away) every single week!

8: Follow the One In One Out Rule

Another time habit that can help you reach your decluttering goals is to develope clutter free living habits like the one in one out rule.

What is that?

It’s as simple as it sounds. Every time you buy something you get rid of something. That means that instead of accumulating stuff you maintain a certain amount of stuff.

This helps you avoid re-cluttering your home. It also helps you consider whether you really want to buy something if you have to get rid of something.

If you want this rule to help you even more make it one in two out or one in three out. Have the mindset that the things you buy could replace not just one item but two or three. This works when you buy more versatile clothing, multi purpose tools and so forth.

9: Find a Home for Everything

When you are decluttering you are focusing on things you don’t need anymore. Sometimes you feel like you need everything “just in case”.

Instead find a place for everything you own. When you start putting things away you will see you storage spaces filling up. That will help you see how much you have and what you want to use the most.

When a storage space like a drawer, a cabinet or a closet fills up don’t go and buy more storage. Instead take that as a sign that you need to declutter more and you will find yourself more willing to let go of things you kept the first time.

10: Shop More Carefully

When you finally reach your declutter goals you are going to love the way it feels to move around in your house. It will be easy to find stuff, easy to get dressed in the morning and easy to cook. Your valued sentimental items will be displayed in a way that honors their memory and your home will look tidy all the time (almost).

But how can you avoid re-cluttering? What is the key to maintaining a decluttered home?

You have to slow down the influx of things. In other words you have to stop buying junk you don’t need. Instead ask yourself questions before you buy anything. Think about why you want something, where you will put it and how much you really need it every time you shop.

When you shop more carefully you will find yourself slowly simplifying your life even further as you replace problematic clutter with real solutions.

Declutter Goals Will Motivate You to Make Big Changes!

How do you feel about the year ahead? Do you think you can reach your decluttering goals with these smaller bite size tasks?

I guarantee that when you set declutter goals that are not overwhelming you will make the big change you have been dreaming of for far too long.

If you want more help to reach your decluttering goals grab the Fearless Decluttering program and get comprehensive decluttering checklists, decluttering excuse busters, and all my best tips for over coming your mental blocks to letting go.