I’ve talked a lot about simplicity and decluttering (I can’t help it– I’m passionate about it!) and I’ve discovered that a lot of readers share my ideal of having a clean household or office, but do not understand where to start.
When your home is filled with messes, trying to take on a mountain of stuff can be quite overwhelming.
So here’s my guidance: start with just five minutes. Baby steps are necessary. Sure, five minutes won’t hardly make a dent in your mountain, however it’s a start. Commemorate when you’ve made that start!
Then take another 5 minutes tomorrow. And another the day after. Before you know it, you’ll have opened up a whole closet or a room and after that half your household and then … who knows? Maybe eventually your house will be even more uncluttered than mine. We’ll have a challenge!
For those who are overwhelmed by their clutter, here are some terrific ways to get started, 5 minutes at a time.
Designate an area for incoming papers.
Papers typically represent a lot of our clutter. This is due to the fact that we put them in various areas– on the counter, on the table, on our desk, in a drawer, on top of our dresser, in our automobile. Not surprising that we can’t locate anything! Designate an in-box tray or area in your home (or at your workplace, for that matter) and don’t put down papers anywhere but that spot. Got mail? Put it in the inbox. Got school documents? Put it in the inbox. Invoices, warranties, handbooks, notices, flyers? In the inbox! This one little change can really transform your paperwork.
Start clearing a beginning zone.
What you want to do is unblock one area. This is your no-clutter zone. It can be a counter, or your kitchen area table, or the three-foot border around your sofa. Wherever you begin, make a guideline: nothing can be placed there that’s not really in use. Everything needs to be put away. As soon as you have that clutter-free zone, maintain it that way! Now, each day, slowly expand your no-clutter zone till it envelopes the entire household! Sadly, the next-door neighbors do not appear to like it when you attempt to expand the no-clutter zone to their home, and begin carrying away their unused workout equipment and torn clothing when they’re not in the house. Some people do not value simpleness, I guess.
Open up a counter.
You want to get your house so that all flat areas are clear of clutter. Possibly they have a toaster on them, possibly a decorative candle, but not a great deal of mess. So start with one counter. Clear off whatever possible, other than possibly a couple of necessary things. Have a mixer you have not used since jazzercise was all the rage? Put it in the cupboard! Clear off all papers and all the other scrap you’ve been tossing on the counter too.
Choose a shelf.
Now that you’ve done a counter, try a shelf. It doesn’t matter what shelf. Could be a shelf in a closet, or on a bookshelf. Do not deal with the entire bookshelf– simply one shelf. Clear all non-essential items and leave it looking orderly and clutter-free.
Schedule a decluttering weekend.
Possibly you do not feel like doing a big decluttering session today. However if you put in the time to arrange it for later on this month, you can clear your schedule, and if you have a family, get them included too. The more hands joining in, the better. Get boxes and trash bags ready, and plan a trip to a charity to drop off contributed items. You might not get the whole household decluttered during the weekend, however you’ll most likely make excellent progress.
Pick up 5 things, and find places for them.
These ought to be things that you really utilize, but that you merely seem to put anywhere, because they don’t have good places. If you don’t understand precisely where things belong, you need to designate a good area. Take a minute to think it over– where would be a good area? Then constantly put those things in those areas when you’re done utilizing them. Do this for everything in your household, a few things at a time.
Invest a couple of minutes picturing the space.
When I’m decluttering, I like to take a minute to take a look at a space, and think about how I really want it to look. What are the most important furniture pieces? What does not belong in the room but has simply gravitated there? What is on the flooring (tip: just furnishings and rugs belong there) and what is on the other flat surface areas? As soon as I’ve envisioned how the space will look uncluttered, and found out what is essential, I get rid of the rest.
Create a “maybe” box.
Often when you’re going through a stack of things, you understand exactly what to keep (the stuff you love and use) and what to trash or contribute. However then there’s the stuff you do not use, but believe you might want it or need it at some point. You can’t bear to get rid of that stuff! So create a “maybe” container, and put this stuff there. Then store package someplace concealed, out of the way. Put a note on your calendar six months from now to look in the box. Then pull it out, six months later, and see if it’s anything you actually required. Usually, you can simply discard the whole box, since you never required that stuff.
Put a load in your vehicle for charity.
If you’ve decluttered a lot of things, you might have a “to donate” pile that’s just using up space in a corner of your room. Take a few minutes to box it up and put it in your trunk. Then tomorrow, drop it off.
Develop a 30-day list.
The problem with decluttering is that we can declutter our butts off (do not actually attempt that– it’s unpleasant) however it just returns because we buy more things. So deal with that tendency by nipping it in the bud: don’t buy the stuff in the first place. Take a minute to create a 30-day list, and whenever you want to purchase something that’s not absolutely needed (and no, that new Macbook Air isn’t absolutely essential), put it on the list with the date it was added to the list. Make a guideline never to purchase anything (except requirements) unless they’ve been on the list for 30 days. Frequently you’ll lose the urge to buy the stuff and you’ll conserve yourself a great deal of money and clutter.
Teach your kids where things belong.
This only applies to the parents among us, naturally, however if you teach your children where things go, and begin teaching them the practice of putting them there, you’ll go a long way to keeping your house uncluttered. Of course, they won’t discover the habit overnight, so you’ll need to be very really patient with them and simply keep teaching them until they’ve got it. And even better, set the example for them and enter the habit yourself.
Establish some basic folders.
Sometimes our documents accumulate high since we don’t have good places to put them. Create some easy folders with labels for your major bills and comparable documents. Put them in one spot. Your system does not need to be total, however keep some additional folders and labels in case you require to rapidly produce a brand-new file.
Learn to organize them quickly.
Once you’ve produced your easy filing system, you simply require to learn to utilize it frequently. Take a handful of papers from your pile, or your inbox, and go through them one at a time, starting from the leading paper and working down. Make quick decisions: trash them, submit them instantly, or make a note of the action needed and put them in an “action” file. Don’t put anything back on the stack, and do not put them anywhere but in a folder (and no cheating “to be filed” folders!) or in the trash/recycling bin.
Pull out some clothing you don’t use.
As you’re preparing yourself for work, and going through your closet for something to use, invest a couple of minutes pulling out ones you have not used in a few months. If they’re seasonal clothing, store them in a box. Get rid of the rest. Do this a little at a time till your closet (and after that your drawers) just includes things you in fact wear.
Clear out your medication cabinet.
If you do not have one area for medications, create one right now. Go through everything for the outdated medications, the stuff you’ll never utilize in the future, the dirty-looking bandages, the creams that you’ve discovered you’re allergic to, the lotions that never had a result on your energy or your eye wrinkles. Simplify to the vital.
Pull everything out of a compartment.
Just take the drawer out and empty it on a table. Then arrange the drawer into 3 piles: 1) things that truly ought to enter the drawer; 2) stuff that belongs elsewhere; 3) stuff to eliminate. Clean the drawer out nice, then put the stuff in the initial stack back neatly and orderly. Handle the other piles immediately!
Learn to enjoy the uncluttered look.
When you’ve gotten a location decluttered, you need to make the effort to enjoy that appearance. It’s a beautiful appearance. Make that your requirement! Learn to hate disorder! Then capture mess and eliminate it any place it crops up.
Have a conversation with your SO or roommate.
Sometimes the problem isn’t simply with us, it’s with the individual or people we live with. An uncluttered home is the result of a shared philosophy of simpleness of all the people residing in the home. If you take a couple of minutes to discuss that you truly want to have an uncluttered house, and that you could utilize their assistance, you can go a long way to getting to that point. Attempt to be persuasive and encouraging instead of nagging and negative.
If you are in need of house cleaning and still don’t have the time, contact us today at McCarthy’s Home Services for a free house cleaning quote! (513-528-0814)