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“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” —Dale Carnegie
The idea of living a simple life with less stuff sounds attractive to many.
But often, they begin to feel overwhelmed,
Learning how to declutter your home and (and as a result, decluttering your life) doesn’t need to be as painful as some make it out to be. And the benefits are numerous.
The Benefits of Decluttering Your Life
There are many benefits to owning fewer possessions. Even then, it’s tough to move into action. That is… until the many benefits of getting rid of clutter reveal themselves:
Less to clean. Cleaning is already enough of a chore, but having to clean around things you have zero emotional attachment to (or worse, actively dislike) makes cleaning the house much more stressful.
Less to organize. Finding things suddenly become easier. Things don’t just “disappear” anymore. You can actually move around your home and enjoy the space, instead of moving around things that are in the way.
Less stress. Looking around at the clutter is a nausea-inducing sight once your home becomes cluttered enough. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to look around and see a home you love?
Less debt. Spending less time shopping for material possessions and adding to the clutter means your wallet and bank accounts remain fuller, your credit cards’ statements are lower, and your home doesn’t get filled with costly things you don’t need.
More financial freedom. Most American households live paycheck to paycheck (59% according to a recent survey done by Charles Schwab back in May 2019.) Nearly half of those surveyed carry credit card debt. Decluttering, paired with minimalism, will help you build up savings to keep you protected in case of unexpected emergencies.
More energy for your greatest passions. With less debt, more financial freedom, and
Ok, so now you know the benefits of decluttering your life, but you may be getting tripped up by the very next question… where in the world do you begin?
10 Creative Decluttering Tips
If you’re struggling and need guidance on how to declutter, you’ll need to get creative with your plans. Here are several interesting decluttering tips to get you started on decluttering your home:
- Start with 5 minutes at a time. If you’re new to decluttering, you can slowly build momentum with just five minutes a day.
- Give one item away each day. This would remove 365 items every single year from your home. If you increased this to 2 per day, you would have given away 730 items you no longer needed. Increase this number once it gets too easy.
- Fill an entire trash bag. Get a trash bag and fill it as fast as you can with things you can donate at Goodwill.
- Donate clothes you never wear. To identify them, simply hang all your clothes with hangers in the reverse direction. After wearing an item, face the hanger in the correct direction. Discard the clothes you never touched after a few months.
- Create a decluttering checklist. It’s a lot easier to declutter when you have a visual representation of where you need to get started. You can use our decluttering checklist.
- Take the 12-12-12 challenge. Locate 12 items to throw away, 12 to donate, and 12 to be returned to their proper home.
- View your home as a first-time visitor. It’s easy to “forget” what your home looks like to a new visitor. Enter your home as if you’re visiting the home of a friend. Write down your first impression on how clean and organized the home is and make changes.
- Take before and after photos of a small area. Choose one part of your home, like your kitchen counter, and take a photo of a small area. Quickly clean off the items in the photo and take an after photo. Once you see how your home could look, it becomes easier to start decluttering more of your home.
- Get help from a friend. Have a friend or family member go through your home and suggest a handful of big items to throw away or give to someone else. If you defend the item and want to keep it, your friend has to agree with your reason. If they don’t agree, it’s time to get rid of it.
- Use the Four-Box Method. Get four boxes and label them: trash, give away, keep, or re-locate. Enter any room in your home and place each item into one of the following boxes. Don’t skip a single item, no matter how insignificant you may think it is. This may take days, weeks, or months, but it will help you see how many items you really own and you’ll know exactly what to do with each item.
No matter which decluttering tip you choose to get started – whether it be one of these ten or one of countless others – the goal is to take your first step in decluttering your life with excitement behind it.
There is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding behind that clutter. Deciding how to declutter your home is up to you.
For more decluttering tips, watch this short video we put together. In it, I provide 10 quick decluttering projects, each completable in just 5 minutes or less:
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General FAQ About Decluttering Your Home:
How do I create a decluttering checklist?
Creating a checklist is one of the easiest ways to keep track of what can and still needs to be reduced from your home. We’ve put together a Declutter Your Home Checklist you can use to instantly make a noticeable difference.
Just pick any 5-10 items from the list to start and you will be amazed with how quickly momentum builds up.
Do I need a professional organizer to help me get rid of clutter?
Absolutely not. Getting rid of the clutter in your home can be done by yourself. It can even be a fun family activity when using the decluttering tips found in this article.
How can I declutter quickly? Can it be done in a day?
Removing clutter from our homes and our lives doesn’t need to be rushed or done in a single day. It’s something that can be done over time and may even need to be done on a semi-regular basis. As long as you start the process today, you’re further along than you were yesterday.
Will owning less make my home look empty or boring?
Simple doesn’t mean sparse or boring. The opposite is true. With fewer mess and distractions, your home can become more peaceful. You can view your home as a space for rest and comfort, instead of a source of stress.
What’s the difference between declutter and unclutter?
They’re both interchangeable, though I prefer using “declutter.” The “de-” hints at being complete and permanent. I like to think of decluttering as something that solves the problem forever.
When should I declutter?
This is a personal question. When you find yourself overwhelmed by your possessions and tied down, it usually means you’re ready to start making a change. Note that this feeling is just a broad litmus test. The feeling of overwhelm can be different for everyone.
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Luisana says
This article just reminded me of Gifteng (www.gifteng.com) a site focused on its community members giving and receiving free stuff they/others don’t want. Perfect place to use for decluttering. Thanks, it’s a great article!
Bill MacArthur says
Really like the steps you outlined to help de-clutter your life. How about some ideas to de-clutter your storage unit and save money.
1. Take everything out of your storage unit
2. Place each item into its own pile or category
a). Keep
b) Donate
c) Throw Away
d) sell
3. Those that remain in the keep file, go throw them one more time, if you have not used them for over 2 years- you need to get rid of them.
Hopefully these tips can help you down size your storage unit and save money!
Jammie Hungrige says
Love the books, downloaded them to my kindle this week. Thanks for all you do.
Paula Bowie says
Hi just thought I would add to your four boxes. You need one more…A “Maybe” box. For those items that you cant decide about. Put them in the maybe box and put the box in the garage or where ever. If after 6 months you find you dont miss those items, give them away. I find this speeds up the initial process a lot. Not sure? Into the maybe box. You don’t have to sit there agonizing about an item and you can move on to the next item quickly.
Moya says
I am inspired by Claire who organised a declutter of her sons room for his birthday. What a great birthday idea for everybody-get rid of unwanted clothes books toys etc.,donate stuff and start the year with a whole clean slate. Maybe this could become a birthday tradition.
Dressing says
The most important part of home which makes it look beautiful and elegant is the wardrobe which we have. It should be chosen in such a way that it adds additional beauty to your home.
SCB says
We are moving within a month. Most of our stuff is still packed from our last move earlier this year and stored at my in-laws. My first project is clothing, and its taking forever especially since I’m pregnant, and get tired really easily with my pregnancy sickness coming in the evenings now. I am still trying to get done with it by wednesday. I know more or less what articles of clothing I want and I know its foolish to think I will fit into any of my pants after pregnancy. So luckily for me, half my wardrobe is maternity.
Let me just say, it is hard. Very difficult to let go of some pieces. I have almost 200 articles of clothing, and getting it down to under 60 articles of clothing is a challenge. What happened was I was never able to go through all my clothing when we lived in our last place and then when I got a job at a thrift store, I bought clothing I really didn’t need but liked.
Thank you for these tips. I’m combing the websites like this one and looking for tips on wardrobes and cleaning.