10 Tips to Declutter Your Home

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Ah, 2019. A new year. A fresh start. We rang it in, and now it’s time to start thinking about those resolutions.

It’s up to you to make this year even better than the last.

Maybe you’re thinking about hitting the gym more, eating healthier or procrastinating less. These are all great ways to improve yourself, but what about improving your home? You would be surprised to find out how much the space you spend your time in affects you.

That’s why you should add one more resolution to your list: decluttering your home.

Out with the old and in with the new—it’s time to toss all the extra stuff that built up over the past year.

10 tips for decluttering your home:

1. While it may be tempting to run out and buy a bunch of new containers, baskets and shelves before you start organizing, consider organizing before you buy. Then, you’ll know exactly what you need to fit your stuff and space. This will save both time and money.

2. Take baby steps. Organizing the entire house in one day sounds nice, but it isn’t realistic. Setting unreachable goals can lead to burnout and giving up altogether. The solution? Take it one step at a time. An example of a small goal is organizing one room a week.

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3. Another way to do this? Set a time limit. For example, you could make it your goal to declutter for just five minutes a day. That’s the amount of time it takes to make a cup of tea or a bag of popcorn. It’s a piece of cake, and the little things add up.

4. You could also simply get rid of one item a day. Donate it, give it to a friend or throw it away if it no longer has any value. It may not seem like much, but by the end of the year, you’ll have 365 less items taking up your space.

5. One space I find the most difficult to declutter is my closet. Are you in the same boat? Oprah Winfrey once gave this great tip: hang everything in your closet backwards. Then, when you wear something, flip it around the right way. Do this for about six months. When you’re done, it will be easy to see what you still use and what needs to go.

6. Get some perspective. Try viewing the spaces in your home from the perspectives of different people. For example, what would you want to keep and get rid of if you had your boss over? Your grandma? A toddler? This strategy helps you notice things that need to be organized that you might not have otherwise noticed.

7. Ask yourself unique questions about your stuff to gain a new perspective. For example, how much would you pay for an item if you were buying it today? Or, would you consider this item to be one of your favorite things? Questions like these help you to gauge the value of your clutter.

8. Don’t be afraid to keep a junk drawer. Even though it may be cluttered, it’s a lot easier to get rid of the clutter if it’s all in one spot. It’s worth it to sacrifice one drawer in order to declutter the rest of your house. Pile it up, but don’t forget to go through it every once in a while too.

9. Once you’re done decluttering, keep in mind that the job is never really done. Don’t be discouraged when the clutter starts to creep up again in another month or so. It means you’re human. The work wasn’t all in vain— now, you have an efficient system in place to organize everything in the future.

10. Going into the future, set some standards for what you allow into your home. Make sure that the things you buy are high quality and serve a purpose. If not, you’ll risk the things you buy turning into clutter in a matter of months.

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Benjamin Franklin wisely once said, “For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.” What better way to make this year the best one yet than to give yourself more time to enjoy it? This new year, make a resolution to start decluttering your home.

Michaela Satterfield

James Décor Writer

Sources:

https://www.becomingminimalist.com/creative-ways-to-declutter/

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/pro-organizer-tips-what-not-to-do-when-decluttering-your-home-168836

https://www.thespruce.com/ultimate-clutter-hacks-for-your-home-2647997