Looking left and right and all you see are piles of mess? Frustrated but you are too tired to organize everything? Here’s our guide on how to declutter your home and finally put away those extra sheets of paper that has been sitting on your cabinet for the longest time:
Benefits of Decluttering your Home
Save time and money!
Decluttering enables you to organize your things and by doing so, you’ll lessen the time of finding your housekey at home. It will also allow you to stop spending on things that are needed and make way for your savings to increase and also keep you debt-free. Seeing everything also prevents you from buying things twice since you already own it and just lost and forgot where you put it.
Less Stress
By cleaning your home, you get to see all the random stuff that you stored and why the hell did you not throw them in the first place? Decluttering not only clears you home but it clears your mind as well. It is a tool that helps ease the stress by making a physical and mental space. Isn’t it comforting knowing where your things are placed and when your place is squeaky clean?
Less to Clean
Since everything is organized. Cleaning will become an easy task and will be a fun thing to do. Who doesn’t enjoy a clean space where you can move around without worrying of stepping on any items or breaking your home?
Boost Confidence and Energy
Knowing that your house is clean and organized will boost your confidence of showing your house to other people. You become even more confident because you are able to show them your true self. Aside from that, less debt and having more financial freedom makes you focus all of your energy on enjoying your life and less on thinking about where to look for things.
Decluttering Tips
Isn’t it hard to start something without truly knowing on how do it? Worry not because we listed down tips from the experts that are proven to make your decluttering worry-free:
Get 5 Containers and list them with the following:
- Putaway- This is for the items that are not placed on their proper storage. Now is the time to put them back on their designated spots.
- Recycle- This box is for the items that are no longer useful and can be recycled such as papers, boxes, and plastics.
- Mend/Fix- This container is for those items that needed a little touch of repair and can be useful again. Like your favorite shoes with a broken heel or bag which need a little cleaning.
- Trash- When things can no longer be fixed and cannot be used anymore just throw them on your trash immediately.
- Donate- This is for the items that has been sitting on your drawer for years and you can no longer find its use. It is better to donate them and give it to someone who may find it useful. You cleaned your home at the same time you helped somebody in need.
Start with 5 minutes a day. If you are new to decluttering and you don’t have a lot of time, you may slowly start by allocating 5 minutes of your time a day just solely for cleaning. This will help you make a routine and build your momentum. Sooner or later you will notice you are done cleaning the whole house.
Create a decluttering checklist. Organizing your thoughts before you start motivates you to do it even more. A visual guide makes it easier for you to focus and know where to get started.
Take before and after photos of the area. Showing the difference before and after cleaning makes you inspired and often results to you doing it even more. Seeing a good kind of change can boost your confidence.
View your home as a first-time visitor. This can help you analyze and see which needs more cleaning and what looks better on your home. Write your impression as to not forget them and come back to it every now-and-then to inspire you in decluttering.
Decluttering by Room
The Bathroom- You may start with the medicine cabinets and the bathroom cabinet. Firstly, put everything out. Check each of the items like the dates on medications, make-ups and even skin-care products. Re-arrange them afterwards. Make sure to put items you often use on your drawers or on the first few layers of the cabinet.
The Kitchen– It is everyone’s most hated place to organize as this involves a lot of spices, snacks and cans. To keep things organized, it is suggested to categorize the items and put them in their own separate boxes for it to be easily found. Do this by zone, start with the pantry and upper cabinet, followed by the countertops.
The Bedroom- Start with making your bed. Seeing a clean and made-up bed boosts your drive to clean your bedroom. Take a look at your bedside table and see if you have books or other things that you no longer need. Do the same with your dresser. Check if there are clothes that needs to be fold or hang and if there are some clothes that can be donated.
The Living Room- This place is one of the hardest to maintain as this is everyone’s favorite place to stay. This place is quite straightforward but you just have to make sure that there permanent storage for the commonly used items such as remote controls, books, magazines and your favorite linen.
References:
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing/tips/g656/decluttering-tips/?slide=1
https://www.simplyfiercely.com/benefits-of-decluttering
https://www.thespruce.com/decluttering-your-entire-home-2648002