How To Declutter Your Home - The Ultimate Guide

Every house has items that are no longer in use and still occupy space in the house. It may not seem like a big deal, but a messy and cluttered house plays a huge role in adding stress and anxiety to a person’s life. Decluttering your home will not only make room for new items by getting rid of the old ones, but it will also alleviate stress and anxiety.

However, decluttering an entire house is not as easy as it sounds. If you do not plan it properly, it can become a painful ordeal that will last many days or even weeks. The best way to declutter an entire house is to tackle one room and one corner at a time. In this article, I have shared a few ways of how you can declutter each portion of your house.

Pre-Decluttering Tasks

Decluttering your home is not just throwing things out to make space and room that will get occupied by something else. Decluttering involves getting rid of the things that are no longer bringing any value to your life. Before you start getting rid of everything that is no longer in your use, you need to evaluate the condition of the items and then categorize them.

The foremost category being trash, every item that can not be used anymore. This may involve expired cosmetics and medicines. The second category is mending, all the things that need a repair session that will bring them back to life. This includes a shoe with ripped laces or a shirt with a loose tassel. After these two categories comes the donation; all the things that are in good condition but have not been in your use for quite some time.

The best way to separate the items of each category is to get cartons and label them. It will be easier for you to put the items in a suitable carton while you are in the middle of an intense decluttering session. Have these cartons close by when you move from room to room.

Another important thing you need to do before you get into decluttering is to make sure you start on a day where you have a couple of free hours. Decluttering your home can go on for hours or even days. So, when you start at a time where you only have thirty minutes, you will end up making your house messier than before.

The Kitchen

The kitchen is the hardest area of the house to declutter as people cook and eat there. A considerable amount of time is spent in the kitchen every day; hence it becomes quite messy and bestrew. Once you enter the kitchen with all of your cartons, start from the countertops. Remove everything from the counter that does not get used daily. Take out the empty kitchen rolls, put them in the trash carton, and add a new one in its place.

Once you have cleared out countertops and have only left utensils and items used daily, it is time for you to move to the cabinets. The best way to declutter and organize your cabinets is to make sections of cabinets. Assign each section of the cabinets for certain items, such as put all the pans in the farther cabinets and the plates and glasses at the front. Any item that can not be repaired goes in the trash carton. Check the spice cabinet and restock all the bottles that are empty. Move the ones that get used frequently to the front.

The same goes for the drawers; arrange all the cutlery neatly and in sections in the drawers. After the countertop and the cabinets, comes the fridge. Decluttering the fridge is easier than the rest of the kitchen. Start from the vegetable and fruit section. Throw out everything that is rotten, wash the rest of it, and put it back in its place. If there are any leftover pizza boxes, throw them out to make room for fresh food. Lastly, take out the trash can from the kitchen and empty it in the dumpster.

The Bedroom

When the kitchen is tidy, it is now time to move to the next important part of the house i.e. the bedroom. The first thing to do in the bedroom is to change the sheets and make your bed. Fresh sheets not only make the room alive, but they also make a person feel better. Once you have changed the sheets, throw out the dirty ones in the laundry basket. After the bed comes the infamous “chair” that has piles of clothes on it. Pick up all the clothes from the chair and the rest of the room and divide them into two categories, the dirty ones, and the clean ones.

The dirty ones go to the laundry basket. Make a pile of the clean ones and go through each article. The ones that have any tears or rips, put them in the mending box. Neatly fold the rest of the clothes and put them in a corner, so it is easier for you to put them in the closet later. Now it is the turn of the nightstand; move all the extra articles from the nightstand that do not belong there. Take all the empty coffee mugs to the kitchen sink and the food boxes to the trash can.

Once the nightstand is empty, wipe it with a cloth to get rid of any dust. Now put a clean mat on the nightstand. Add a photo frame and some candles; leave space for your mobile, the wristwatch, or anything else that you may need to put on the stand later. Lastly comes the vanity table; remove all the articles from the tabletop and from the drawers. Clean both the top and the drawers with a cloth. Check the expiration date of your makeup products to get rid of everything that can no longer be used.

Put all the expired and broken products in the trash carton. Do not put all the items back on the tabletop; a crowded vanity table ruins the entire room’s look. Only put a few things on the top that you will use every day. Any item that you have not used in a while goes into the donation box. The rest of the stuff goes neatly into the drawers in sections. Make a section for your makeup palettes, lipsticks, etc. Make a separate portion for all of your hair accessories, so they do not get jumbled with the makeup.

The Closet

Decluttering closets is a tricky task for both men and women as it requires getting rid of clothing items, and nobody loves parting ways with their beloved clothes. Start by taking out all the clothes from the hangers. This may take the longest time as you will need to go through each clothing article. First, make a pile of all the articles with any tears and rip that can be fixed. Put all the items in the mending carton.

Then comes the tough part; you need to let go of all the items that no longer fit you or you do not use anymore. Toss them in the donation box. Now that you have separated the ones that need tinkering and the donation ones that will not go back in the closet, it is time to put the rest in their places. A good way to organize a closet is to hang all the clothes in either a color-coded manner or by sectioning the clothes by their type.

All the long dresses go to the back on hangers and the tops and shirts to the front. Fold the jeans, and put them separate from the yoga pants. It is better to have a basket for your belts and buckles rather than putting them in a drawer. Similarly, add individual baskets for all of your socks and undergarments so that you do not have any trouble finding them in the morning. Lastly comes the shoes; all the pairs that have a ripped lace or a broken heel need to be taken out of the closet and into the mending carton.

The Bathroom

Take a quick scan of the bathroom once you enter it. Start decluttering the bathroom by taking out the empty shampoo bottles and the toothpaste and put new ones in their place. Restock the toilet roll basket as well. Once that is done, move to the medicine cabinet. Remove all the expired products and put the rest of the medicines back in the drawers.

All of your skincare items should also be checked for expiry and then put at the top in a neat manner. Only place the ones you use twice or thrice a day at the front, placing the rest into a designated drawer. Clean the sink with a wet cloth and detergent to get rid of any stains. Lastly, spray some air freshener into the bathroom before stepping out.

The Living Room

Keeping the living room tidy can become a source of headache, especially if you have kids in the house. Start small, and remove all the things from the couches and the tables, whether it is a toy or a laptop charger. Everyone knows decluttering and cleaning go hand in hand, so take the vacuum out. Vacuum the floor and the couches to get rid of any dust and crumbs. Wipe the tables with a clean cloth to get rid of dust.

Once the room is clean, start fluffing the cushions and putting them back on the couches. Put a small mat or a tablecloth on the coffee tables to add a little oomph to the living room. Put the tv remotes on the entertainment unit or on the side table. Pick up books from all the living room areas and the entertainment unit, and put them neatly back onto the bookshelf. Get rid of everything that does not work, whether it is an old charger or a broken remote. Put a box in the corner of the room with all the kids’ toys.

Entryway/Foyer

Every house, no matter how big or small, has an entryway. An entryway is like the face of your house, so it needs to be less messy in order to be more welcoming. The first thing is to make sure your entryway does not have a large number of tables and stands. If there are any tables, clean the tops and the drawers and get rid of everything that no longer serves its purpose. Add a small vase to the top of the table with some flowers in it to add a welcoming touch to the entryway.

After that, make your way to the hanger in the corner with the jackets. Remove all the jackets and coats that have been hanging there for weeks. Only hang the ones that get used frequently and put the rest into the closet. Now it is time to deal with all the shoes lying around. Take out the ones that need to be mended or cleaned, and put them in the mending carton. Make sure you do not have more than 3 pairs of shoes at a time at the entryway. Put the rest of them into the closet.

Perks Of Decluttering

Decluttering is a good way to get a sense of organization and achievement. It is also a good way to amp up a person’s mood and make them feel better. An overcrowded house with items spilling from every corner is enough to stress a person out. By decluttering, you can not only get rid of the useless items, but you can also alleviate stress and anxiety. Through decluttering the home, you can get rid of everything that is not in use and make room for new items.

Conclusion

Decluttering the house once or twice a year is an excellent practice that will bring peace to your life and to your home. It is a great way to get rid of all the broken and damaged items and separate the ones that you do not need, but somebody else can put them to use. I hope you found this article helpful.

How To Declutter Your Home – The Ultimate Guide