Balancing work, school, appointments, meetings, and extra-curricular activities keeps you busy. Unread mail is collecting in piles, laundry needs to be folded, and the kitchen cabinets are disorganized. Maybe your closet is a mess so you find yourself wearing mostly the same clothes week after week. If you feel like clutter has taken over your life, get to work reclaiming your spaces. Here are some easy steps to declutter your home.
Five Steps on How to Declutter Your Home
Learning how to declutter your home is easier than you may think. An organized house is good for your health, however, it is a process that will take some time. Follow the steps below to get started decluttering your house.
1. Remove Everything From the Area
Choose an area and take everything out of the space. As you remove items, organize them into general categories. For example, put clothing in one pile and shoes in another. If you are organizing a craft room, separate the items by type of craft.
2. Clean the Space
Thoroughly clean the area once it’s empty. Dust shelving, wipe down the walls, sweep and mop the floors. Now is also the perfect time to apply a fresh coat of paint to the walls if you want to freshen up the space.
Look for maintenance issues while you’re cleaning and take care of those problems now. Old shelves may need screws tightened or another coat of wood stain. Check knobs and hinges and make sure all the hardware is secure.
3. To Declutter Your Home, Sort Your Belongings
Next, sort your belongings. Every item that you removed needs to be sorted. Put things into one of four categories: items to keep, things that you’ll throw away, things to donate, and items that belong elsewhere in the home.
Put items that you’ll be throwing out in the trash can. Grab an empty box for donation items and drop it off at a charity or thrift store the next time you run errands. Use a basket or box to collect things that belong elsewhere. You can put them away after you finish decluttering the space.
4. Organize
With things sorted, begin to store items that will stay in the space. Each item should have a place. This is the time to add organizational systems like bins, cabinets, baskets, or shelving. The money and time spent organizing will be worth it when you have a tidy, easy-to-use space.
Allow yourself to make changes over time. Small organizational improvements will help make it easier to stay organized in the long run.
5. Declutter Your Home and Keep it Organized
Once you get the house decluttered, how do you keep it organized? Here are some simple tips:
- Take time every day to clean up the house.
- Sort the mail as soon as you bring it in.
- Declutter the house regularly: every 6 months is ideal.
- Don’t neglect chores. Create a chore chart and get everyone to pitch in.
- Put things back in their place as soon as you’re finished with them.
Once you learn how to declutter your home, it’s a skill you can use time and time again. One final note: Don’t try to declutter your entire house at once. It will be too overwhelming and you won’t get much done. Tackle one room or one small space at a time. Use the steps above to declutter, congratulate yourself, and then move on to another area of the home.
Winning Edge Home Inspections offers home inspections in Columbia, SC. If you’re buying or selling a home, contact us to request our services.