I recently watched an episode on Oprah about decluttering your home, helped my parents declutter the basement, and just yesterday came across an interesting blog post entitled, 31 Days to Clean! It has inspired me to write my own post with my personal tips for decluttering your home, and keeping it that way.
Getting rid of the clutter
1. Write a list
Write a list of all the things that need to be done. Clean out the closet. Organize kitchen cabinets. Tackle the junk drawer.
2. One [baby] step at a time
Don't take on too much at once. That's part of the point of #1 above. Tackle the things on the list one item at a time. Don't try to do everything at once. Even if you just set aside 15-20 minutes a day, you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish in that amount of time.
3. Organize into piles
As you are going through each area of the house, organize things into 3 separate piles. A "Keep" pile, a "Donate" pile, and a "Trash" pile.
4. Get a helper
This is important for 3 reasons. 1. It makes things go a little faster. 2. It's more fun that doing it alone. 3. I am a very sentimental person, and I know I find it very difficult to get rid of things. I think it's very helpful to have someone there helping you decide what to ditch and what to keep. I might be tempted to keep everything if I were doing it alone and that sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
5. Invest in organizational products
Things like bookshelves, folders, filing cabinets, shelves, hooks plastic bins. This will let you keep more in less space. It will also look a lot nicer. Oprah has an article on Eight Products to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free.
Keeping it decluttered
6. Adopt an 'everything has its place' philosophy
If everything has its place, it's easy to put things away and keep
things neat. This is key in keeping everything organized after you are
done with the initial decluttering effort.
7. Turn your hangers backwards
This is a neat little trick I saw on the Oprah show. Turn your hangers backwards. When you wear something, turn the hanger forward again. You'll easily be able to see which things you haven't warn in a long time and can get rid of.
8. Take care of the mail as soon as it comes in the house
I am guilty of not following this one. This is one of my biggest problems. Do NOT bring in the mail and just let it sit on the kitchen table or kitchen counter. It will get out of control very quickly.
9. Make a schedule
Set aside a certain time every week, or a few times a week to get rid of any clutter that's accumulated. It's much easier if you keep on top of things and don't let them get out of hand.
10. Don't buy things you don't need
A lot of times we buy things we don't need which increases the clutter problem. I would recommend making a list of items you want but don't need and include the date the time was added to the list. Don't buy anything on the list until it has been on there for a certain amount of time [maybe 30 days]. A lot of times you will find that after some time has past, you no longer have the urge to buy the item. This is a great money saving tip as well!
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I hope you find these tips helpful and useful. I know I always feel better and less stressed when my house is neat, clean and organized! Please feel free to add your own additional tips in the comments.
I love the tip about turning your hangars backwards - I never heard of that, but that's a great tip, thanks - I gotta try that!
Carole, I am glad you liked that tip! It really is a great one, and I wish I could take credit for coming up with it. :) Such a simple idea, but so useful.
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