Are you sitting in a cluttered home?
Do you feel overwhelmed and stressed out by it?
Do you think you need a bigger house because you have too much stuff and not enough space?
Have you tried to declutter before but quickly given up?
Don’t worry! I can help you learn how to declutter your home better than ever before! And I can make the whole process faster, easier, and more fun than you ever imagined it could be! You will reach all your decluttering goals and it will change your life!
Why Is It Hard To Declutter Your Home?
First of all, I want you to know that it’s not your fault that you are living in a cluttered home. Not entirely at least.
We live in a consumer society that is constantly telling us that happiness can be found in the next acquisition. Our culture tells us that our self-worth is measured by the amount of stuff we own and we can get stuff easier than ever before.
In fact, it’s a struggle to avoid wanting and buying stuff. And that’s why most of us are struggling to declutter in the first place!
There is another thing that works against you and makes it hard to declutter your home. You are afraid and overwhelmed by clutter and all that it represents. Often times when we try to declutter we face a lot of emotions including stress, guilt, overwhelm, sentiment, sadness, and fear that block a good decluttering mindset.
We may fear letting go of things we might need in the future. Also, when we get to our sentimental items we may fear letting go of the past. Or we might just feel overwhelmed and afraid of the whole idea of decluttering because we don’t think we have enough energy to do it.
On top of that decluttering doesn’t always happen at the best time. Sometimes we have to declutter because we are getting older and have to downsize. Sometimes we have to declutter before moving which will make the downsizing process much smoother. The other people in your house may not be ready to declutter. It might not be right time for them. You may wonder how to declutter when your husband is a hoarder or your kids are always bringing home more stuff.
Last but not least decluttering may be hard for you because you might not even notice it! You grew up in a cluttered house and you have cluttered every house you have ever lived in! It’s normal to you. That’s called clutter blindness. But stop! Open your eyes. You are paying rent to store all that stuff! It’s time to evict that junk from your cluttered house!
So we know that decluttering can be hard for lots of reasons. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. In fact everything worth doing is hard right? So let’s dig in and find out how to declutter your home!
Here’s How To Declutter Your Home:
Being clutter free will completely transform your home! The benefits of decluttering are soooo worth the effort!
And we are going to make decluttering something you can do in one weekend! We are going to get some ruthless decluttering done and bust through all the excuses you’ve been making! We are going to engage in slow decorating where you bring truly special things into your home instead of cookie cutter junk. And we are going to make decluttering fun for everyone in your family!
Big claims I know! But I believe in you and I know that you can declutter your house faster and better with the tips I have to give you!
You are here because you want to know how to declutter your messy home. So let’s start simple.
The basic idea is that you need to go through your home space by space and get rid of things that you do not use, need, or love.
This can start out easier than you think.
Declutter TRASH
Don’t start with the hard stuff. Start with the stuff that is literally trash. Don’t lie! You absolutely do have trash in your house! I am the cleaning lady! I know…
First look for things like Amazon packages, empty shampoo bottles, junk mail, expired food, broken jewelry, and other stuff that you probably should have thrown away a long time ago.
Go around the house in what I call a declutter burst and throw all the junk in a big trash bag! Then take it out to the trash can and feel that beautiful “not my problem anymore” feeling of LETTING GO! Use that high for the next phase…
Declutter Stuff You Don’t Use
Next, you will start decluttering the stuff that you don’t use that is still in good shape but is not sentimental. You will need to look at problem areas like the bathroom, office, and kitchen.
Let go of duplicate items and things you never use. Try to get rid of 10 items in each room. You can put everything you need to get rid of in a box.
The closet can be an especially challenging place to declutter but when you address the eight reasons you are keeping clothes you don’t wear and you finally let go and do a proper closet cleanout! Then you can create a colorful minimalist wardrobe with the clothes you decide to keep!
If you are having a hard time trying to find things to declutter look at your items and ask yourself some questions about each one.
When was the last time I used it? Will I use it again? Does it spark joy? Does it weigh more down? What happened if it just spontaneously combusted right now? How would I feel?
I bet you will start letting go of more stuff when you stop to really think about it.
Declutter The Hard Stuff
You are almost done with your big decluttering project! It wasn’t that bad was it?
In the second phase of decluttering you learned to let go and trust your decisions. You learned to let go of excuses and let go of stuff! And by now you are seeing how great a clutter free home can really feel!
But you aren’t quite done! I saved the best for last. The hard stuff.
It’s time to turn your attention to decluttering paperwork, books, and sentimental items!
When you declutter paperwork you will follow the same basic process as you did with your whole house. Find the stuff you can trash (HINT: Most of it.) Find paperwork you can act on and then get rid of. And finally find the things you absolutely need to file! This is also a great process for your digital declutter.
As for books…I know it’s very hard to declutter books but you can do it! “If you love them let them go.” Let new books into your life!
Finally, take your time to declutter sentimental items. Save the best of the best and let go of the rest. Bring those precious treasures into the light instead of the back of the closet where they have been hiding for far too long!e
As you declutter your home remember this important fact. You can help someone else declutter but you can’t declutter for them. Respect their space and give them time. Decluttering is a journey, not just for you but for your whole family.
What do you do with the clutter?
Now that you have a box of clutter what do you do with it all? Maybe you have more than a box. Maybe you have to declutter the garage now! What do you do?
You can do a lot of good with your clutter! How? There are two things you can do with your clutter that are much better than letting it sit around.
First of all, you can actually sell a lot of things that you do not use but are still in good condition. A lot of people still shop second-hand. You may enjoy having a yard sale but my favorite way to sell my clutter is my selling it on Facebook Marketplace.
You may think that you won’t make much selling your stuff but I have made over $1,500 in the last 6 months, mostly selling things under $15 each. I also decluttered the garage!
Another great thing you can do with your clutter is to donate stuff to a local thrift shop or charity. Why keep things you do not need or care about when someone else who does need them will really appreciate them. Don’t hesitate to take your stuff over to the thrift store or charity location!
Stop Creating Clutter
Once you declutter and organize your home you will feel the beautiful freedom of having space on your desks and kitchen counters to work.
You will enjoy how much better your house looks! You’ll feel more relaxed in a calmer less chaotic space.
But let me warn you, it can be easy to fill your house right back up if you don’t stop creating clutter. If you fall into that trap it may feel like you can never declutter enough.
You may know how to declutter your home but do you know how to keep the clutter from coming back? If you don’t want to get into the self-defeating cycle of decluttering and buying and decluttering again you are going to have to stop creating clutter.
As I mentioned before, we live in a consumer society. We are constantly told that money and things buy happiness and we are always needing a new gadget!
How do you stop the clutter cyclone?
By being careful about what you buy. Learn to be intentional about your shopping habits. Buy only what you really need or believe will bring you closer to your big-picture goals!
If you are careful about shopping you will avoid having a constant decluttering project but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t regularly declutter your home. Don’t wait till it feels overwhelming again. Regularly consider the things you own and decide if you are still using them and enjoying them or not.
Shopping less and decluttering regularly will help you keep your home clutter free! But don’t fall into compulsive decluttering. Stop and enjoy how nice your home is now! Enjoy doing other things with your time!
After Decluttering, Comes Organization
When you are done decluttering it’s time to do some organization. Remember that. Declutter first, then organize. Otherwise you are just organizing clutter that will get disorganized again.
Once you have taken away all that extra stuff you don’t need it will be easy to find organizing solutions that don’t create more clutter and get your home organized!
Decluttering isn’t the same as organizing.
What’s the difference?
Decluttering involves getting rid of all the extra junk you don’t need or love. Your house will never stay organized if you don’t declutter. However, if you don’t organize what is left your house will still look messy.
I know when I lived in my 300 square foot studio apartment it was challenging to stay organized in that small space. I found a lot of great storage solutions and small space hacks that helped a lot!
The closet was the hardest part of the apartment to organize because it was so small but with some great closet decluttering tips and organization hacks we got it to work!
Another key to a happy organized home is to find a relaxed way to organize each space in your house. If you get too fussy things will fall apart fast so it’s important to find organizational solutions that are easy to keep up with and maintain during your busy life. With the right organizing solutions it’s easy to do a quick home reset and have everything looking nice.
You will need to organize your everyday items but you will also need to organize seasonal items and craft supplies. Once you find the right organizational solutions it will be easy to keep your home looking great!
Decluttered and Organized! Now we need to clean the house…
Here at Doable Simplicity, I am focused on helping you simplify your life and find ways to declutter and organize your home. Still, your home will not look and feel it’s best until it’s shiny and clean!
I’m happy to tell you I have been a cleaning lady for over 17 years so I will be happy to share my cleaning tips and tricks as well as how I get motivation to clean when I really don’t want to. I will also share a great daily cleaning schedule as well as the deep cleaning projects that need to be done when spring cleaning rolls around! Take advantage of this time to clean overlooked items you may not think of cleaning on a weekly basis.
Did you know minimalism can help you clean your home? That’s right! A simplified home is sooo much easier to clean! And minimalist cleaning supplies that actually work can make it even easier. When you understand the benefits of a clean home and you have less junk the whole process becomes less of a burden and more akin to self care.
Learn How to Declutter Your Home For All the Great Benefits!
So why am I so excited about decluttering and minimalism? I know it seems like a boring thing to be fascinated by.
The reason I love to organize and help others find ways to declutter and organize their home is that it makes their home a safe haven, a calm space, and a functional machine in the life they are creating.
When your home is not stuffed with clutter and everything is organized in a logical place you will be able to be more productive. You won’t lose tons of time looking for your keys or the blouse you want to wear to work. There will then be more time for fun with the family! You will also have more time for hobbies, personal development goals, and rest.
There are so many benefits to a clutter-free home! The biggest benefit of a clutter-free and organized home is that it will make room for all the things that really matter in life! And you won’t need a bigger house after all!
Do You Find Decluttering Overwhelming?
If you find decluttering overwhelming or you are afraid to even get started you are not alone! Wouldn’t it be great if I could come to your house and walk you through the process step by step?
I can’t do that but I did create a unique 3 phase decluttering process that will help you declutter your house and keep it decluttered without feeling overwhelmed or afraid at any point!
