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Decluttering Your Home

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Organizing and decluttering is one of those things people dread doing because, most of the time, it’s overwhelming. Finding the time to organize your entire home can be daunting, but these simple steps can help you break the process down into smaller, more manageable tasks.

Get started.

The first step—sometimes the hardest—is to just get started. Don’t put it off for another day. I’ve noticed when I jump in and begin, I start to feel motivated to continue other parts of the house. One decluttered space often inspires me inspired to declutter another space.

Set a time limit.

If you only have a few minutes to organize your home, set a timer and race the clock. You’ll be amazed by how much you can accomplish in just 10 minutes.  

Follow the 20/20 rule.

While decluttering, you may find it hard to make a decision about what you should keep, donate or throw away. The 20/20 rule is an easy tool to help you decide. If you can replace the item for less than $20 and in less than 20 minutes, you can get rid of it.

Give everything a home.

When organizing your home, make sure everything you own has a home. You can use small organizing bins to make space for items in smaller drawers. The bins will help contain your items and will make it easier to return items where they belong when you’re done using them. If you come across items without a home, you might discover they’re things you don’t need.

Take the 12-12-12 challenge.

The 12-12-12 challenge is a fun way to declutter your home. Locate 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate and 12 items to return to their proper home. That’s 36 items quickly organized in your home. To make an even greater impact, have your entire family take the challenge.

One in, one out.

To keep your home from being cluttered with toys, teach your children that when one toy comes in, one needs to go out to be donated. Our family likes to make a donation bin every year before each birthday and Christmas to make room for new toys.

Keep baskets on the stairs.

I like to place designated baskets for each child on the stairs. When I see the kids’ things in the common living area, I simply pick them up and put them in the appropriate child’s basket. Then they know to take those items upstairs to put them away. This saves at least a few trips upstairs a day and encourages children to pick up after themselves.

Use donation closet bins.

I keep donation bins in my daughters’ closets. When they grow out of a clothing item, they toss it in the donation bin. Once the bin is full, I take it that day to be donated. This has saved me hours of time going through their closets and dressers each season to look for the items that no longer fit.

Remember the benefits of decluttering.

When I need motivation, I try to focus on the benefits of decluttering. Clutter can lead to higher stress levels, anxiety and even depression. I I know I will feel much less stress and will spend less time cleaning and organizing and much less time moving things around in my home. Maintaining a decluttered home with only the items you need and really love can be very freeing.

Use storage wisely.

When we purchased our home and it had a storage room, I was excited about the extra space to stow less-used items. Before long, though, it ended up becoming a space to throw things I didn’t have a better place for. You don’t want a storage space that’s filled to the brim and hard to navigate. Use your storage space wisely by only stashing items you know you will need one day, such as Christmas and other seasonal decorations or sentimental items like some of your kids’ old baby clothes.

Use the hanger trick.

For an easy way to weed out your closet, flip all the hangers in your closet to face one direction. When you wear something, flip the hanger the other way. In three to six months, check to see which items you have not worn. Those will be the items you can donate.

Purge toys.

My children have a hard time parting with toys. When I ask them whether we can donate a toy, they often decide it’s their new favorite toy and begin playing with it again. When my kids aren’t home, I like to do a big toy purge in their playroom. I fill a container with toys I think they no longer play with then put the container in our storage room. If the kids don’t ask for the toys in a month, I go ahead and donate them. If your kids are anything like mine, they won’t even notice!

Set up a system for paper.

Paperwork can accumulate quickly. Our family has a file folder system to help us stay organized. There are compartments for bills due, schoolwork, school paperwork that needs signing, mail that needs action and items that need filing. This way I can quickly reference the items I need and check to see what action items I need to complete.

Donate, don’t sell.

I’ve often been caught in the cycle of thinking I will save items for a garage sale one day or to sell online. It’s hard to throw out things we paid hard-earned money for, but I’ve realized saving items just adds stress to my life, and the amount of money I might make from that item just isn’t worth the stress to me. Every time I’d see the stored items, I’d feel burdened about how I needed to have a garage sale. Now, I just donate 95% of the items. A few exclusions are high-dollar items like large toys or pieces of furniture, which I typically try to sell online. If they don’t sell in a day, I go ahead and donate.

Need help getting started? Start small. Here are a few quick and easy places to start decluttering in your home in under five minutes!

Regan Lyons is a girl mom and freelance writer. She lives with her husband, Cale, and daughters, Atley, 9, and Ensley, 3, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

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