How To Declutter Your Home - Complete Guide
Clutter isn't good, not for the eyes and not for health. So, finding the right way to declutter your home is an important but challenging task. The best way is to declutter your home in stages or chunks after making a decluttering checklist. You can start from one room or, more specifically, one spot or place in the room, like a wardrobe or kitchen cabinets. Remember, first clear out the first spot and then go for another one.
The amazing thing is that despite the decluttering process being difficult, you can still do it in one weekend or even in less time. Or, in simpler words, you can start making maps of work on Friday and complete your cleaning on Sunday. Let's see how we can help you in this process of decluttering your home with our knowledge.
Decluttering Your Home Tips
Decluttering your home needs a proper strategy which will start with deciding what to do.
Get Containers To Sort Your Stuff
The first important thing is to decide that you have to sort items while cleaning. For that, you must have containers to sort items you defined for the following purposes.
Keep: The items you keep should be placed in a separate container.
Repair & Fix: Put aside items that need repair and fixation by a technician. It can be anything from a shirt with missing buttons to appliances.
Recycle: Separate out things that you don't need and can be recycled.
Trash: Everything that is trash should be thrown away but with proper methods.
Donate: The last one should be a donation container. Not all items are trash; maybe a few are in good condition and still usable. If you no longer need them, give them to any person who needs them or donate them to any charitable organization.
Decluttering Rules You Should Remember
20/20 Rule: You should get rid of all stuff that you can either replace in under 20 minutes or for $20.
80/20 Rule: Use 80% of the time to get rid of or store away the 20% of your belongings that you don't use on a regular basis.
Five Second Rule: Sort items and discard those that are useless and donate which are in good condition. Simply think about when you used the item last time. Give yourself 5 seconds if you remember to keep it; otherwise, it's time to get rid of it.
Decluttering Timeline is Important
A small amount of stuff or little clutter is easy to handle as compared to big piles of hoarding stuff. In the first situation, you can easily declutter your house by yourself, and it may take one day, a weekend, or 30 days if you work in chunks and slowly. In the second situation, only a hoarding cleanup company can save you and your place, as this situation may involve dangerous and biohazardous material and harmful bacteria.
While creating a timeline, focus on breaking down all spaces that need cleaning and organization and also estimate the time each place takes. But make your timeline flexible so you will not panic if anything goes against it as planned.
Remember, don't start cleaning without a plan; if you pull out all items at once without thinking and planning, not only will your time be wasted, but also your energy, and you will remain with a more cluttered house. That's why it is recommended to start a small space or small clutter, you can easily and quickly complete the task and also get motivated as you are making progress on a regular basis.
The Bathroom
You can start with the bathroom or one part of it, like a medicine cabinet.
Start from the medicine cabinet, remove all the stuff from the cabinet, and then put back everything in the cabinet that is important (most useful in the top place and least useful in the bottom one). You have to discard expired medications, and useless and outdated skincare and makeup products.
Open the cabinet drawers, remove the entire stuff, and evaluate what's important and what things can be of no use. Important ones go back to drawers, and others in their designated containers.
Similarly, remove stuff from the tub, shower, and bathroom sink. Keep the important ones and discard the useless by using the 5-second rule.
The Bedroom
In the bedroom, the first thing that needs your attention is your bed. An unmade bed is enough to demotivate you while decluttering your room.
After bed, it's the nightstands you have to clean. So, remove everything on them, keep the important ones, if any, and the useless ones in the container. The things mostly there are books, mail, paper and pens. It also has some recycling materials like dried pens, tissue boxes, and dead chargers, which you can put in the recycling container.
Next are dressers’ tops, bureaus, or chests. You have to pay attention to any clothing lying around. Then, put any clothes that need folding or hanging into the bin. If you're worried about wrinkles, lay the clothes on your bed.
When it comes to drawers, take out everything and fold and store the clothing back in the drawer that you want to keep. Other clothing which is usable but you no longer wear them is good to donate.
The last one is your desk or vanity table; don't put the useless things in the drawers back; instead, put them in the trash container. Throw away or recycle any trash or items you haven't used in over six months.
Closet and Clothing
When it comes to the closet, tackling clothes by type is the best way to declutter easily. So, you have to start with shoes and boots, then declutter your dresses and denim. Tossing and keeping clothes is an easy task as you make a decision within seconds by just looking at them. Once you have done this, you are left with 4 types of piles
place things in their right spot, which means if you find socks in the closet, immediately remove them and put them in the dresser at their right spot.
the dirty laundry should be in the hamper or the laundry room
the clothes that need dry cleaning should be taken to dry cleaners, and the ones that need repair should go to the tailor
trash the completely damaged ones, but if you have good clothes that are extra, donate them or send them to a consignment store.
The Entryway, Mudroom, and Foyer
Not every home has a foyer or traditional mudroom but if you have just kept this point in mind, you have to start with one spot, clean it completely then go forward. Every home has an entryway, either small or big, but keeping it functional is the most important task. You can declutter it regularly for its proper functioning.
The next step is to declutter the console, desk, or side tables. First, remove everything, decide which things you need and which are useless, then keep important things back in the proper place and toss the other ones. Also, declutter the desk or console’s tops.
Next is the hall closet, which you can declutter like the one in your room. First declutter shoes and boots, then go for jackets and other accessories. Remember, that you have to be careful while cleaning the entryway, as this place may contain clutter from other rooms of your home.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is a very busy place and thus, it has a lot of traffic all day long. First, cooking and then eating. It's a place for socializing and a lot of stuff is there to handle.
So, for decluttering your kitchen, you have to focus on one item or one part of the kitchen, like glassware, cutting boards, bakeware, or utensils. Next, you have to begin by clearing out the cabinets, pantry, and drawers. Evaluate each item and return them to their rightful place. Begin with high-traffic areas like the pantry and upper cabinets, then tackle the lower cabinets, drawers, and the area beneath the kitchen sink.
The Living Room
The most difficult room to clean is the living room, as it needs cleaning on a daily basis and also has fewer storage features. It is also one of the most busy rooms with high foot traffic. Although there is a TV console and some bookcases, sadly, you can't store many things due to their less hiding space. You have to declutter the living room on a daily basis and also pick one permanent place for keeping magazines, books, and remote controls.
Then, the cleaning comes to consoles, bookcases, and side tables; after that, go to the entertainment center and coffee table. First, remove all the stuff and empty them, then put back all the things that need to be stored and put away all the other useless stuff.
When it comes to electronics in the living room, it's everything connected to your TV or home theater system. Whatever you use should be in the right place. So, store all such things like gaming equipment and chargers correctly and remove all the useless stuff from there.
Next is the decluttering of toys; for that, remove them all and check which are in good condition and which are still on the favorite list of your children. Keep the ones that are still functioning, and send the others for recycling.
If you find anything that doesn't belong to the living room, it's time to return it to its original position or storage place in other rooms.
Where to Dispose of Clutter
You have several disposal options when you declutter your home and have items you don't want to keep. It's beneficial if you've already sorted items into trash, recycle, and donate containers. You have to be mindful of your local recycling rules because some items, like electronics, can't go in regular recycling. Keep a separate bin for these items and take them to the right recycling center.
In case of full home decluttering, renting a dumpster is a good decision if your home has a lot of unusable items. If you are donating something, it's good, otherwise, you can also collect the items and sell them in a garage sale. Moreover, if you want to send some things to your friends and family, then the best thing is to sort items and put them in separate containers for each person.
Decluttering Tips
You can take photographs of your house and rooms before and after decluttering. You will see many defects when you look at your house through a screen. It will not only make you accountable but also give you satisfaction after cleaning when you see both photos side by side.
If you love DIY, you can save some items for that but keep them in a separate container instead of putting them back in drawers.
It's difficult to put away items that have sentimental value. So, you don't need to discard them or donate them; instead, keep them in a separate container with the name “memories.”
If it's difficult for you to decide about stuff that's not useful, then think about its sentimental value. If it gives you joy and happiness, keep it in a “memories container”; otherwise, discard it or sell it.
Decluttering is difficult, but keeping the useless aside from your stuff is the most challenging task. Dispose of useless stuff, and sell and donate the useful items immediately; otherwise, they will again make their way back to your drawers.
You can also use decorative baskets to keep your stuff stored in a good and aesthetic way.
If you have built-in storage places like under stairs, bed, and sink, and in bathroom cupboards and in the kitchen, you will get ample space to store items like electronics, books, clothes, magazines, shoes, bedding, toiletries, toys, and towels.
If you are using boxes for storing stuff, label them or use color coded boxes so you can remember where exactly you have put a particular item.
Remember, if you continue a decluttering routine it will not only help you to keep useful things but also lessen the chances of you being a hoarder.
Decluttering Home By Experts
Decluttering looks easy when the hoarding disorder isn’t involved. It’s good if you declutter and clean your home with a routine by yourself, but decluttering may come with big consequences in case of hoarding disorder, whether it’s you or your close ones.
Before starting decluttering a hoarder’s home, the most important thing is their consent. Get their consent, and hire a therapist so that the hoarder is not only able to allow cleaning of their homes but also their thoughts, mind, and inner self.
Secondly, hire professional hoarding cleanup services like 911 Bio & Trauma Cleaners, for the proper decluttering, cleaning, and disposal of biohazard waste. Remember that, in the case of hoarding, the stuff contains a lot of hazardous material like blood, bacteria, human and animal waste, rotten food, etc., which causes many physical and health hazards. Cleaning the area by yourself may expose you to many dangerous materials that ultimately cause fatal diseases, so hoarding cleanup and restoration services will come as a savior in this situation.
911 Bio & Trauma Cleaners is serving the nation in more than 10 cities with its 15 years of experience and highly professional team. We follow OSHA guidelines and use OSHA-approved equipment, chemicals, and protective gear to properly clean the area and disinfect it for again using without any damage to property.
Furthermore, in addition to the accumulation of useless stuff and waste material hoarding also causes gasses formation, debris accumulation, and foul odors. Just whatever material is accumulated in a hoarder’s home, our professionals know and are trained to handle the situation efficiently and with proper care, safety measures, and tools.