7 Concrete Action-Steps to Take If You Want to Declutter Your Home

Clutter can take over a person’s life and leave him or her feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Don’t let this happen. If the clutter in your home has gotten out of control, follow these steps to rectify the situation and get your life back once again.

Establish Goals

A plan is needed to declutter the home. First, determine those areas most in need of attention. Choose the one to begin working on and set a date for its completion. Be realistic when doing so. If the room is filled floor to ceiling, going through all of the items will take some time. Setting a deadline of 24 hours simply will not work and will only discourage you. Contact a home organization specialist, such as those at Urban Clarity, if you need help determining where to begin and how to move forward with the process.

Set Up a System for Sorting Items

A system is needed to handle the clutter. Many people find they do best if they organize items into one of three piles. The first pile is for those things that will be kept, the second for items to sell or donate, and a third pile for trash. However, certain individuals need a fourth pile for items to move to storage. It’s all a matter of what works for you.

Begin Sorting

Handle each item and consider when it was last used. If the item hasn’t been touched for six months, it needs to go. The only exception is seasonal items and a home needs to be found for these things when they aren’t in use.

Remove Trash

Items that have been designated as trash should be removed from the home as soon as the sorting process is complete. If family members may pull something out of this pile, place the items in black trash bags and take them to the landfill. This ensures they don’t come back into the home.

Donate or Sell Items

Certain items may still be usable but the family no longer needs them. Donate these items to a local charity and do so immediately. Again, items that remain in the home are simply clutter and family members may decide they need to be kept. If items are to be sold, put them up for sale right away and set them aside until the sale is complete. It never hurts to work with an outside organization to handle this part of the task.

Find a Home for Those Items to Be Kept

Any items that are to be kept need a home within the home. This way everyone knows where to put them when they aren’t in use. Bins and other containers may be needed at this time. Until they can be purchased, use boxes, crates, and other items around the home to keep these items in their designated areas rather than allowing them to clutter up the home.

Create a Plan to Keep the Clutter Away

When everything has been trashed, sold, donated, or put in its home, the area will be much cleaner. Determine what steps must be taken to keep it this way. This may involve buying containers for the items and finding a way to display them. Regardless, make certain everyone knows where each item goes so the mess can stay away.

Clutter can quickly overwhelm a person. By following these steps, it becomes easier to bring this problem under control once and for all. Once you see how amazing the home looks when the clutter has been removed, you’ll want to keep it away for good and doing so will be much simpler.