Clearing clutter is one of the first things most of us find ourselves wanting to achieve in the new year. We are coming off the holidays that were full of family gatherings, food, and gifts.
Over the last few weeks, we have focused on enjoying these moments with our people but now it is time to get our homes and lives back in order.
I am going to share with you 5 tips for clearing clutter from your home and life in this new year! At the end, I invite you to sign up to join my declutter challenge. This challenge is a series of emails over the next month where together we take on clearing the clutter!
10 Tips for Clearing Clutter
1. Remember It Won’t Happen Overnight
The energy of a new year is infectious and it often has us ready to tackle all of our goals RIGHT AWAY. But clearing clutter is not something that will always be quick. Sure some spaces might be cleared quickly, but getting through your entire home and life will take time. To prevent becoming stressed and overwhelmed by the process, choose only 1 or 2 spaces and work through those. By doing it this way you will be able to see progress without becoming burnt out. You can use my New Year Declutter guide to help you navigate spaces each week.
Scroll to the bottom to join my Clearing Clutter group and get access to weekly emails that will guide you through clearing clutter in your own home.
2. Start and Finish One Area at a Time
We’ve all been there… you start one project or task only to be reminded of another thing you need to finish so you hop up to take care of that. Then before you know it, you’ve been distracted through a dozen tasks and haven’t actually accomplished anything.
When it comes to decluttering, it is important to choose a space and complete clearing clutter in that space BEFORE moving on to another space.
As you’re clearing your spaces, if you find something that belongs in another room, put it where it belongs but leave that decluttering that space for another day.
So for example, if you find your child’s toy in the laundry room you can either toss it into a basket to carry upstairs later or you can put it in their room but fight the urge to declutter their bedroom when you walk into it. We will get to each space before the month is over.
One tip I love to use when I am clearing clutter is to have an empty laundry basket with me. As I work through a space, if I find something that we want to keep but it doesn’t belong in the space I am currently working in, I toss it into the basket. Then when I am completely finished in my space, I take the basket and deliver the lost items to their homes.
3. Have Your Supplies Ready
When it comes to clearing clutter you will need some tools. I highly recommend an empty laundry basket (as mentioned above), trash bags, a box for donations, and a simple cleaning kit (washcloth, dust cloth, and cleaner).
As you declutter your spaces, place trash immediately into a trash bag. This includes any broken or damaged beyond-use items.
Next, place any items you want to donate into a box. Use your laundry basket for items that need to be taken back to their homes.
4. Start by Emptying Out Your Space
When starting in a space, start by taking everything out first. For example, if you are clearing out the clutter in your pantry, remove all of the items from your pantry and move them to your kitchen counter or dining table.
By removing the items from their homes, you can more adequately access each item and decide what to keep.
5. Break Big Rooms into Smaller Spaces
Decluttering your home can feel really overwhelming when you think of the home in its entirety. It would be nearly impossible to declutter an entire home in just one day. BUT when you break the process up it becomes manageable and less stressful.
When decluttering I recommend giving yourself several weeks to clear the clutter of an entire home. Start by focusing on one room at a time. If that room is larger, like say, the kitchen, break it up even further into specific zones within that space. For example, focus one day on food the next on cookware, and so on until you have decluttered the entire space.
7. Be Ruthless
If you are here reading this today chances are you are over all the clutter in your house. You are ready to clear the clutter and find peace within your home. In order to do that, you have to step outside of your comfort zone and be ruthless in your decluttering process.
This means no more holding on to things “just in case”. If there are items in your home that you do not use or that do not bring you joy, then they are not serving you and they need to go. Clearing the clutter from your home isn’t just about organizing, it is about removing all of the physical items we no longer use or need, that are taking up space in our homes.
8. Remove From Your Home What You’ve Decluttered Immediately
As you’re clearing clutter from your home, I recommend placing items you no longer want or need into a box for donating. It is vital that as soon as your box is full, you take that box to the donation center. It is really easy to pull items back out of the boxes and put them back into our homes if we keep the boxes around.
So as soon as you are finished, take the items from your home to the donation center.
9. Remember Why Clearing Clutter is Important
Clearing clutter can sometimes be overwhelming. If we aren’t careful, it can become too much to handle. You might even find yourself halfway through the process wanting to quit! But let me tell you REMEMBER WHY YOU STARTED!
Every single item in our homes requires energy from us. We use energy to dust, care for, process, and live with every item. Our energy supply is not infinite! This is why clutter becomes overwhelming. Simply put, clutter drains our energy.
So when you begin to feel like clearing clutter in your home is too great a project to take on, remember why you started. Take a minute to remind yourself what the clutter is stealing from your physical spaces and mental health.
10. Create a Game Plan for Making Sure Clutter Doesn’t Return
Clearing clutter is an incredible first step, but this isn’t where your journey ends. Keeping your home free of clutter requires you to be intentional throughout the rest of the year.
Before you purchase or bring new items into your home, consider carefully if theseitems are useful or bring you joy? Will they be worth the energy they will take to use and maintain?
I also highly recommend completing maintenance declutters every few months. These mini declutters can be completed within a few days and basically involve walking room to room and clearing any excess clutter you see that has accumulated.
Are you looking for more guidance for finally clearing out the clutter?
Click below to join my Clear the Clutter course! I will guide you through clearing your whole home in just 30 days!
If you are ready to clear the clutter from your home, sign up for my Clear the Clutter Email Series. This email series is specifically designed to help walk busy people like you and me through decluttering our homes. If you want to join along in the series click the link below to sign up
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The holiday season is a magical time filled with warmth, joy, and unforgettable memories. It’s a time to gather with loved ones, share delicious meals,
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