A clean home can create a clear, peaceful mind. However, if your home has a bit more clutter than you would like, don't panic! There are ways to clean and remove clutter from your home one step at a time to keep it from being an overwhelming task. Follow our guide on how to remove clutter from your home, and you can find your inner peace as well!
Part 1: Starting the Process
Room-By-Room
Removing clutter from your house can be an overwhelming task. To make the process more manageable, focus on one room at a time. You may even want to begin by cleaning out a closet so you have a place to store other items as you begin to tackle each room in your home.
Throw Out, Then Reorganize
Getting rid of clutter can be stressful if you try to reorganize your stuff as you are going through it. Once all of your belongings are pared down, you'll have a clearer idea of how you want to group and organize the important items that you keep.
Help From Friends
If you have trouble getting rid of items on your own, enlist the help of a friend. They can help you be more objective and remind you that the item you are holding onto hasn't left your closet in more than a decade. Having friends help in this process will also make a somewhat boring task more fun.
Part 2: Know What to Get Rid of
One-Year Rule
Most of us have a hard time getting rid of clothing because we think we might wear it again someday. A good way to test this is to turn all of your clothes hangers forward at the beginning of the year, then once you wear an item, turn your hanger backward. You should consider donating any clothes that are still facing forward at the end of the year. This trick is also applicable to other items - just ask yourself if you have used the item within the past year. If the answer is no, it may be time to let them go.
Emotional Items
Cleaning your house isn't meant to separate you from items that you are emotionally attached to. Focus on getting rid of things that you haven't used in awhile that have no meaning to you, rather than purging sentimental items.
Small Stuff Matters
Be just as diligent about going through a small drawer as you are a large cabinet. It may be tempting to avoid going through a smaller section of a room, but usually, those smaller nooks and crannies are filled with small clutter. Don't let an accumulation of smaller belongings eventually evolve into another clutter problem.
Part 3: Easy Ways to Ensure Success
Digitalize
An excellent way to organize is to digitalize. Most of our office clutter comes from loose papers and random files. To save space and get things organized, scan papers and documents onto your laptop and save them in specified folders. Doing this will also help you find documents more quickly, as you can just search for their name and pull it up instantly.
Sort Belongings
Before you start going through your belongings, make four boxes with the names: give away/sell, trash, keep, and maybe. As you are going through your stuff, place each item in one of these boxes to make it easier to handle when you are done. The "maybe" box can also be useful in giving you time to think about whether or not you want to keep an item while you go through the rest of your stuff.
Reorganizing your home can be more fun when you have the help of Pinterest. Once you have decluttered your stuff, search Pinterest for creative and fun ways to reorganize your belongings.
If you liked our tips on how to clean and organize your home, download our helpful Declutter Your Home how-to guide PDF or check out our other Moving How-To Guides.