How to Declutter Your Home (Decluttering Tips):
When organizing your home or property there are a two broad strategies to follow and choosing the right path for you will help you get organized! The 3rd tip will help you implement a system to avoid the re-cluttering of the area.
1. Small Manageable Steps:
The first strategy (and the one that I recommend) is doing the project in small manageable steps, here are two strategies that will help break your project into smaller manageable steps:
- Goal Set: one strategy is to set up a goal set. Start by taking on one specific area at a time that needs to be de-cluttered. If you decide to go this route you need to understand that this is a long term plan, which needs to be taken seriously. By accomplishing the whole project in small increments overtime, it makes the project more manageable for yourself and for family and friends who might be willing to help you with the project
- 3 Container Method: another way of clearing up the clutter is by following the 3 container method, which is explained in depth in our decluttering method article. The 3 container method is a great way of separating the items that you no longer use or that have been rendered obsolete or old. To break the project up you can perform this task once a day one item at a time. You can sort any items this way and you can give away what you do not need to charity. Using this method helps you think less in terms of having to make the decision to getrid of or keepan item but instead finding a 'home' for each item
3 Container Method (Basics):
Take 3 containers, they could be plastic bins, trash bags, laundry baskets, or just make 3 clean areas on the floor for piles. The 3 containers are: keep, remove, store, and an option to add a 4th bin for donations. Take an object from the area you are decluttering and place it into one of the bins based on what you would like to do with that item.
If you are unsure of whether you want to get rid of an item or not, try asking yourself the below questions from ourClutter Decision Guide:
- When was the last time I used this item? Is this an item I use regularly?
- Do I have this item due to obligation or expectation?
- Am I saving this item “just in case?”
- Are there duplicates?
- Is there another item with a similar function?
- Am I keeping a broken item with the intention of someday fixing it?
- Is this item worth the storage space?
2. All at Once:
The second strategy is to try to do the project all at once. This way takes a tremendous amount of effort because it requires you to concentrate the effort involved in the entire cleaning project into one event. This is a time consuming and exhausting process and often people are too overwhelmed to accomplish this task so it never gets completed.
3. How to stay organized:
The key is to stopyourself before you purchase any new item and ask yourself:
- Do I really need this?
- Do I already have one?
- Will I use this?
- Do I already have an item that does the same thing?(if you do buy a new item that you do not need and the older item is still safe to use donate the duplicate item to charity).
Regularly cleaning your home is important (once a week or twice a month) as well,to make sure that your items are kept in their givenplace. How each room should beorganized depends on the thoughts of the individual, based on what the room is used for and budget.Aroom is cleaned and organized when it is fully useful for its intended purpose and each item in that room has a purpose. Use our 3 Container Method Guide and our Trash or Treasure Decision Making Guide to help you through the decision making process.
Taking the cleaning process step by step will help relieve the stress of the work that needs to be done, that is the main trick with clutter cleaning. If you break the project up into small parts it allows you to accomplish the task at hand overtime, rather than trying to accomplish it all at once and feeling too overwhelmed to finish.
For people who have been formally diagnosed with a hoarding disorder we suggest contacting a mental health professional that specializes in hoarding to see what your next step should be and reading our decluttering tips for hoarders article.
Address Our Mess hasstaffto handle any large clutter cleanup project, to help give you a fresh start, and reorganize your home into a clean and easy to use space. Thestaffat Address Our Mess cares about your stuff and we try to find the right level of organizing and help with the process of possibly donating or throwing items away. The team is trained and certified in dealing with large cleanup projects and helping individuals regain access to the home and getting a new start.
Call us today at410-589-2747for more information on our cleanup strategies and how we can help with your massive home cleanup or clutter cleaning project.
