TOP 9 DECLUTTERING TIPS - MINIMALISM

OUT OF CLUTTER FIND SIMPLICITY

Hey lovely angels weekend is here and decluttering is my favourite thing to do. I find organising and decluttering so therapeutic and gives me such a clear mind to move on with. Off course its expected that you can't just declutter your whole house in one go. Give just a couple of hours each day to do it. "Rome wasn't built in a day" and yes if you try and do all of it in one day you will get exhausted, bored and wouldn't do it properly just go in a rush and hence loose all the motivation to do it.

The idea of living a simplified, uncluttered life with less stuff sounds attractive to many. They have considered the benefits of owning fewer possessions: less to clean, less debt, less to organize, less stress, more money and energy for their greatest passions. They are ready to declutter but the very next question quickly trips some up is where in the world do I begin?

Many begin to feel overwhelmed, anxious, and defeated around the idea of decluttering their homes. The decluttering journey doesn’t need to be as painful as some make it out to be. In fact, there are a variety of people who have come up with some pretty fun, creative ways to get started.

Hopefully the following tips will help you make your decluttering journey a whole lot easy and enjoyable.

1. Four box Rule:

Have four box for differentiating things into categories: Trash, Donate, Sell and Maybe. Having a maybe/keep box helps you not to get too much stress if you can't instantly decide about what you would like to do with a particular item. Other box categories a self explanatory. This will help to get started with your journey towards being minimalistic, having a simplified and decluttered life.

2. Play good music or listen to audible:

Listening to music will not only lighten your mood but will also makes the task feel like a pleasure rather than a chores. Even audible is a good option as you can listen to a nice read and hit two birds with one stone.

3. Organize First; Buy Second:

Do not go out and buy a ton of storage pieces and supplies before you sort through your home. All of those pretty bins, boxes and baskets at The Container Store are very enticing, but they won't do you any good unless they fit the space (on the shelf, under the bed, in the closet); hold what you need them to hold, and function properly for your particular space. I recommend cleaning out first, assessing what containers you REALLY need, and then buying a few bins to start. You can always add later, but you don't want a bunch of empty containers cluttering up your home while you figure out where you might use them.

4. Clear off the countertops:

You want to get your house so that all flat spaces are clear of clutter. Maybe they have a toaster on them, maybe a decorative candle, but not a lot of clutter. So start with one counter. Clear off everything possible, except maybe one or two essential things. Put it all in the cupboard! 

5. Designate a spot for incoming papers:

Papers often account for a lot of our clutter. This is because we put them in different spots like on the counter, on the table, on our desk, in a drawer, on top of our dresser, in our car. No wonder we can’t find anything! Designate an in-box tray or spot in your home and don’t put down papers anywhere but that spot. Got mail? Put it in the inbox. Got school papers? Put it in the inbox. Receipts, warranties, manuals, notices, flyers? In the inbox! This one little change can really transform your paperwork game.

6. Teach your kids where things belong:

This only applies to the parents among us, of course, but if you teach your kids where things go, and start teaching them the habit of putting them there, you’ll go a long way to keeping your house uncluttered. Of course, they won’t learn the habit overnight, so you’ll have to be very patient with them and just keep teaching them until they’ve got it. And better yet, set the example for them and get into the habit yourself.

7. Clear out your medicine cabinet:

If you don’t have one spot for medicines, create one now. Go through everything for the outdated medicines, the stuff you’ll never use again, the dirty-looking bandages, the creams that you’ve found you’re allergic to, the ointments that never had an effect. Simplify to the essential.

8. Pull everything out of a drawer:

Just take the drawer out and empty it on a table. Then sort the drawer into three piles: 

a) stuff that really should go in the drawer; 

b) stuff that belongs elsewhere; 

c) stuff to get rid of. 

Clean the drawer out nice, then put the stuff in the first pile back neatly and orderly. Deal with the other piles immediately!

9. T-Shirts Rolled and Filed:

You could get about a third more T-shirts in a drawer with a fold-and-roll technique. But the best part is that this method keeps logos, patterns, or labels displayed, making it a cinch for a kid to hunt down that top she so desperately needs on a given day. Use dividers to create precise rows. You can also lay then vertically in the drawers to save space.

Lovely angels let me know if you have any other decluttering tips and if you are trying to declutter let me know how it is going in the comments below!!