How To Declutter Your Home?
Every spring cleaning, we realize that a tidy home is happy! However, as time passes, clutter begins to huddle in all quarters of the house. This growing jumble of mess that greets you every day causes unwanted stress and mood swings.
You begin to feel helpless because you are surrounded by the chaos that appears unmanageable. The process of decluttering your home is not just a physical cleaning process but one that helps cleanse your mind as well.
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Why is Decluttering Your Home Important?
The decluttering process can be exhausting and time-consuming but should be tackled regularly. Once your house is organized and orderly, you will waste less time looking for stuff and more time getting things done.
In this article, we have put together multiple decluttering tips and hacks to help you guide clients through their home organization process. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits and importance of decluttering your home.
Your home gets auto-cleaned
It becomes a routine when you begin decluttering the house on a schedule. Thus considering there is no build-up of mess, the effort required reduces, and the process turns simple.
It decreases anxiety
Having a lot of junk around can quickly become overwhelming. Just the sight of piled-up items can make you give up on cleaning. But rest assured, once you take the initial step, everything falls into place as you clean out the spaces.
As you eliminate unwanted household items, you will realize that you feel less stressed and anxious. With each round, the process becomes more straightforward and less taxing.
Boost Goodwill
An old appliance or new blanket may prove invaluable to a less fortunate soul. Maybe you have duplicates of the same item. One of the fantastic benefits of deciding to declutter your home is that you can look into donating it to someone else. However, make sure that the items you plan to donate are genuinely reusable.
You can also hold garage sales at nominal charges to find a new home for your articles.
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When Should You Declutter Your Home?
It is a well-known fact that decluttering is a laborious and messy affair. But in the end, a decluttered home will feel open, airy, and incredibly functional. You will soon find it is definitely worth the effort.
It’s always a good time to complete a decluttering project at home. The trick is to do it in small intervals. For instance, once a week can help avoid pileups. On the other hand, if you don’t have the time to spare, chalk out a major decluttering session every once a month.
However, a common mistake people tend to make is falling short on its upkeep. A place for everything, and everything in its place! Once your house is clutter-free, ensure that you maintain it to continue enjoying the tranquility.
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Benefits of Decluttering Your Home
That decluttering will free up precious square footage in your home is a given. But there are several subsequent benefits to the process as well.
1. Sleep improvement
If you have a messy home, chances are, you often go to sleep fretting about all the clutter mounting up in the basement or the storage spaces, and a relaxing nap eludes you. But when you clean up, you begin to feel accomplished and enthusiastic about your day.
You begin to breathe a sigh of relief and sleep peacefully with the thought of waking up to a clean and orderly home.
2. Boost your Creativity
Just like you’d prefer to have a clean and organized desk at the office, it is best to keep a home organized at all times.
When you set to work in a tidy home, your mind is clear, and you will find that creativity and productivity are at their peak. Having a clean and organized home can potentially boost your attention span. Professional organizers believe this improves the house’s “chi” or energy flow.
3. Find eternally lost items
By cleaning and shifting around objects, we often come across items or trinkets we thought lost forever. Not only will this lift your mood, but you may have saved yourself a couple of bucks on a thing you were going to buy again. You may even find souvenirs from your childhood or old photographs you didn’t know existed!
4. Removes allergens
A typical home carries several allergens, dust, pollen, hair, etc. These allergens tend to settle down in dark corners and out-of-reach spaces. Decluttering is the best time to clean rooms, especially ones you don’t often visit, like the attic or the basement. This will ensure that your home stays healthy, hygienic, and livable.
5. Money-saver
As you scour clean each room, you will realize that you don’t want clutter building up ever again. In the future, you will automatically buy frugally and avoid buying items that just sit around the house collecting dust. Seasonal clothing is one such example. Having more than a couple of sweaters or boots will have you hoarding unnecessarily. Bring old coats and caps to save a few bucks before winter sets in.
6. Easier to keep clean
Keeping your living space clean and tidy progressively becomes more accessible with each decluttering session. Once you get into the habit of putting things away properly, your house will always look beautifully minimalist and clean.
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20 Best Decluttering Home Tips
Tackling an entire home cleanup all at once may seem like a colossal task. Dealing with one room at a time will make the chore more manageable. Below are 20 tips to efficiently get into the habit of decluttering each area of your home.
1. Bathroom
Cleaning out the medicine cabinet should be the priority in the bathroom and laundry room. Dispose of outdated or expired medications, toiletries, skincare, and makeup. Free up countertops and arrange only the items you regularly use on them.
Similarly, throw out empty bottles of shampoos, conditioners, and cleaning supplies to avoid a pileup.
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2. Bedroom
Bedrooms should evoke a sense of well-being and calm. A tidy bedroom to wake up in means your day will unfold with zero snags. Simple tasks like making the bed on waking up set the mood for the day. If the bed is unkempt the whole day, it looks visually displeasing and plays on your psyche.
Everything you don’t need on your sideboards and nightstand should be at the bottom of your bin. Items that are seldom used should be tucked away into a drawer. Make sure to throw out or recycle knick-knacks like dry pens, empty tissue boxes, and defunct phone chargers.
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3. Closet
One of the most complex and time-consuming objectives in mission declutter is to organize your wardrobe or closet.
The first step is to take stock of your possessions and segregate them by category: shoes, boots, dresses, denim, and accessories like hats and bags. You can then determine which of your favorites are and which ones can be rescued with some TLC. Viewing your entire collection at once makes it easy to decide on what you need and don’t.
While vertical space for storage is efficient, it also breeds hoarding since you often can’t access what’s on the top shelf. Hence it’s better to save the higher racks for less used pieces like luggage or boots.
Every item of clothing in the cupboard should be hung or folded neatly. Picking out the uniform, good-quality hangers will ensure you use them religiously. Similarly, if you have the space and budget for it, getting your hands on a chest of drawers or at least a few packing cubes and baskets will keep your accessories in order. Drawer dividers are a great option to separate pieces according to use or type inside the drawers.
Arranging clothes in the wardrobe by colors, occasions, or seasons can help you get ready on a time crunch.
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4. Entryway and Foyer
Many of us don’t have the luxury of a mudroom or a foyer, making it vital to maintain the entryway or passage. It doesn’t matter how small the passage is, but it is advisable to declutter it regularly. Start with any furniture you have, such as a sideboard or a console.
Check each junk drawer thoroughly; removing the items that have been uselessly collected in them is a start. The same rule applies to a home office. It’s easy to hoard trifles like papers, pins, pens, and other paraphernalia in desk drawers and shelves. Make sure to regularly take a swipe at those too.
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5. Kitchen
The kitchen bears witness to various activities such as eating, cooking, and socializing. This can make it challenging to declutter a kitchen space. For this reason, you can focus on decluttering one category at a time or going through different sections at different intervals.
Tackling the kitchen counter and the kitchen cabinets at once makes good sense. However, to avoid getting overwhelmed, save clearing out the refrigerator and pantry for another time. Washing out storage containers each time before refilling will keep your food items fresh and hygienic. Fix a place for each container, food, or condiment and stick to it while putting them back. Small gestures like these make a big difference in the kitchen upkeep.
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6. Living room
Easily classified as the most complex room to keep clean, the living room or family room gets used a lot but often doesn’t offer any storage solutions to tuck things away.
The key to a clean family room is to go minimal. Stick to the essentials and look for cleverly concealed storage solutions. For instance, window seats that double up as storage benches. Other options include ottomans and coffee tables with built-in storage.
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7. Plan decluttering time
Plan in advance and allocate a specific time and day for decluttering. It could be as little as 5 minutes to 1 hour. Setting a fixed time will deter distractions and keep you from losing focus.
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8. Choose five random areas to declutter
If you find it challenging to get started, choosing five random areas can help you. Worst case, just pick a small space or get started on five items of furniture that are cluttered, and so on.
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9. Make a list
If you are one of the meticulous ones, prepare a list. You can pen down the list of rooms you need to clean and prioritize each task accordingly. You can always collect countless organization ideas and tricks from apps like Pinterest and Youtube. Having someone direct your moves makes the process simpler.
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10. Don't be afraid to call for help
Once you start to declutter, you may get overwhelmed, distracted or bored during the process and quit. But at this juncture, you should call for reinforcements! Contact close family members or friends and seek some extra manpower to help you finish tidying. The company sure makes a cleaning spree more fun and engaging!
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11. Donate or Recycle
Before decluttering, separate trash bags marked “donation” or “recycle.” This makes you more efficient once you start. You will be able to quickly create a decision and dispose of the items in the required bag.
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12. Clean and groove
Music can play a significant role in calming you down while you tackle a formidable spring cleaning session. You can play a podcast or listen to some music with good vibes to get you into the groove and make the job more enjoyable.
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13. Purchase storage options
Purchase storage options like plastic crates, mason jars, and vacuum-sealed storage bins and bags to help you organize your mess better, especially in small spaces. You can drop similar items or items belonging to a particular category into their respective baskets till the cleanup is done. After managing the mess, you can choose what to put away and what to dispose of.
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14. Store better
It goes without saying that if you keep throwing things away, you will be left with nothing. Decluttering doesn’t mean you throw away everything. You look for areas to organize and make smart storage decisions that you can easily access when needed.
Opt for baskets if you prefer something more visually appealing than cardboard boxes or lumpy garbage bags. They look better, and guess what? They make your clutter look good as well.
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15. Does it Spark Joy?
We tend to hoard items that hold sentimental value to us and refuse to let go. However, this can quickly run into collecting junk over the years. Decluttering guru, Marie Kondo swears by a simple rule of thumb. Do the items in your possession spark joy in you? If not, you most likely do not need them and are better off disposing of them.
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16. Seasonal decluttering
For most people, seasonal decluttering tends to be the most feasible option. The holidays allow for you to take ample time out and clean. It also lets you rethink new purchases and make prudent choices. This way, you can have a seasonal decluttering schedule and a neat home.
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17. Inculcate decluttering into your routine
Folks who lead a busy life can attempt to include small bouts of decluttering into their daily schedule. For example, undertaking a minor cleanup daily will let you easily keep tabs on the slightest trace of mess.
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18. Invest in aesthetic decluttering
If you prefer something more visually appealing than cardboard boxes or lumpy garbage bags, opt for baskets. They look better, and guess what? They make your clutter look good as well.
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19. Divide belongings by category
You can divide your clutter by category instead of going room by room. For instance, sorting all the clothes in one place rather than in different rooms makes this method way faster. It also makes it easier to see all your belongings at once and let go of what’s unnecessary.
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20. Start small
Tackling a large project like an entire house on the first attempt may miss its mark. You may even get tired and lose sight of your goal. It’s always better to start small now than to keep planning or quit a big undertaking midway. This way, you know what you are up against. Initiate decluttering in small amounts like a single drawer or a small cupboard and move on to closet spaces.
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Conclusion
Finally, you may come across a space you find hard to visualize after decluttering, or maybe you need some ideas for organizing the new storage units. You can always turn to Foyr Neo’s powerful rendering software to assist you.
You can choose from an extensive library of pre-made 3D models and make a replica of your room, rearrange furniture and help your clients recognize the various options and value-additions to be made in the room. You can also sign up for a 14-day free trial to experience Foyr Neo at its best!
