How To Declutter Your Home Fast!
Don’t make decluttering harder than it needs to be!
Clutter
The good news is that my home isn’t a contender for the latest episode of Hoarders.
The bad news is that there’s still far too much clutter lurking around.
Behind cupboard doors, stuffed in drawers, piles of paper and half-done projects. Then there’s paperwork to be sorted, receipts to be filed and an over-flowing wardrobe.
And it’s been leaving me feeling drained, unfocused and completely overwhelmed.
I’ve watched The Minimalist documentary on Netflix (highly recommend), and I’ve read loads of articles in regards to the concept of Minimalism. I’ve even attempted to ‘Marie Kondo’ our entire house.
I’ve really enjoyed them. Their concepts and the message they provide.
Totally spot on.
They all resonated with me, but I’m also not aiming for 100% minimalism. And that’s fine too.
I like ‘things’, I like to have a few options of ‘things’ and I can’t bring myself to throw away perfectly good ‘things’.
Related Post: Minimalism Versus Consumerism: How To Find The Right Balance For You
Instead, I’m working on just simplifying and decluttering, our home. And our things.
Oh, and I want it done yesterday!
So, without further ado, here is a simple way to declutter your home fast:
1. Divide & Conquer
The clutter didn’t all get there in a day, so don’t have unreasonable expectations about decluttering every single thing in 1 day.
Decluttering your entire home can be an overwhelming task. One that keeps getting put off. And off. And off.
And just like any other big, daunting task on your never-ending to do list….the best way to tackle it is to just make a start and create some ‘quick wins’ that will give you the confidence and motivation to keep going.
The trick is to divide and conquer your cluttered home.
Breakdown the areas into achievable tasks and focus on each area until complete.
Set a timer for 20 minutes, put on some upbeat music and get to work!
2. Sort into 4 Categories
Most of the stuff in our homes can be put into one of 4 categories.
I use these 4 category labels that can be used for any area of your home that you’re decluttering (you can get a copy of these at the end of the post).
Print them out, attach them to a container/basket/garbage bag/the wall/the floor – whatever works best for the area you are decluttering!
They don’t need to be on pretty paper or laminated or matchy-matchy. Just do what works.
Each label includes a quick run-down of what goes in each category, just to keep you on task!
Pull out everything from your dedicated area and sort according to the four categories:
Keep
Anything that meets the following criteria:
Donate or Sell
Any items that meet the following criteria:
Depending on the item and your personal situation, consider selling these items, passing them onto a family member/friend or donating them to charity.
Recycle or Trash
Anything that meets the following criteria:
Obviously before throwing these items away, think about ways in which these items can be repurposed or recycled.
Maybe
This is by far the trickiest category and requires a little thought as you don’t want this category to be your catch-all and thus defeat the whole purpose of decluttering.
Any items that meet the following criteria:
Once completed, box the contents up and date it – to be reopened one year from now.
This allows for all the seasons to have occurred again and for you to really consider if you have missed the item or not.
After the year, run each item through the 4 categories again and I guarantee you, this pile will reduce in size!
3. Clean & Organize
Now that your room or space is free from clutter, give it a clean before returning all the ‘keep’ items.
Add some draw inserts, fancy compartments or baskets to help keep it all organized and make it easy to see what you actually have.
Use inexpensive drawer inserts (these are from Ikea) or baskets to organize and keep everything in it’s new place
For more decluttering tips and tricks, check out these Simple Decluttering Hacks for your Home.
4. Repeat!
As you create momentum, you will want to keep going at it.
Move your 4 category labels to the next area and repeat!
Ah, the sense of achievement!
Related Posts on Decluttering:
Next stop…the clothing clutter…