how to declutter your home fast

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.

 

Bathroom cupboard clutter

Throw it in, close the door and hope for the best!

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!

 

How to Declutter Your Home Fast Labels

Printable labels to quickly sort and declutter one area of your home at a time

 

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!

 

How to Declutter Your Home Fast Labels

Pull out everything from your dedicated area and sort according to the four categories:

Keep

Anything that meets the following criteria:

  • You really love it,
  • You would buy it again,
  • You feel it’s really, really important to you,
  • You’ve used it in the last year (to allow for all seasons)

Donate or Sell

Any items that meet the following criteria:

  • Are in good condition but no longer for you,
  • It no longer fits you or your priorities,
  • You have duplicates of this item,
  • You haven’t needed to use it in the last year (to allow for all seasons)

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:

  • No longer in working order,
  • Broken, stained, torn or worn out,
  • No longer useful, but
  • May be recyclable

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:

  • You need to think about more,
  • Is sentimental in some way,
  • You think you may need…. or,
  • Something that you feel you may really regret getting rid of.

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.

 

Bathroom cupboard clutterBathroom cupboard clutter

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…

Similar Posts