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Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you think about decluttering your home? Maybe you don't know where to start because there are so many places in your home that need your help? I have felt the same way, so many times! I was often afraid it would take forever to get it all done, so I didn't even start. If you have been wanting to freshen up your home for spring, I know it's tempting to try to sneak past all that clutter and bring in new things to distract you. But if you deal with the clutter first, you'll feel so much better. Then, you'll be able to get rid of the wince... Decluttering Tips for Getting Started If you're ready to get started, here are some easy decluttering tips you can use today, to start decluttering your home without feeling overwhelmed. Start with the room you most want to clear. I recommend choosing your favorite room or the one you'll enjoy most once the clutter is gone.) Put an empty box in that room, within easy reach. (1) Look around the room at everything there - every clutter spot, every pile or stack - and ask this question: is it living in the right room? If it really belongs somewhere else, whether you know where its real home is, or not, put it in the box and keep doing that until all that's left in the room, belongs there. Now, take that box and remove everything you know has a specific home somewhere else in your house or apartment. It wandered in by accident and now needs your escort back to its true home. After that, what's left in the box will be things that don't have a home. This is decision-making time. (2) Will it stay or should it go? It's already taken care of, in what could become a donation box. If you kept it in the box, you'd be done with your clutter-clearing for that room. Think ahead to quick and easy decluttering your home, room by room, without overwhelm. By leaving as much as you can in the box. I know that's the hard part, though. Here is the best reason for keeping something that is still in that box: you know you need it & will have to buy another one in the future if that one is tossed out. Not I might need it someday but "what will I do next week when I need it again?" If you don't even remember buying it, or you know in your heart you don't need it, get rid of it. It's not your friend. And it's in the way of the decluttering you finally feel ready to tackle. Never waste a decluttering moment! But what about gifts or meaningful moments from the past? You don't love it but it holds emotion from the giver or from your history. I encourage you to take a picture of it for your memory book, but don't keep it. I promise that looking at it there will be just as meaningful. Plus, you get the relief of not having to find a place for it anymore. But if you just aren't ready to let go of some of those things you found lying around, create another box for temporary storage. It still needs to leave the house, but could live for a while in the garage or storage unit where so many things go to die. These two decluttering tips (and that get out of jail free card) are an easy way to get started with decluttering your home. Hopefully, without the overwhelm you usually feel. But we're not done yet. I've got decluttering homework for you...  Take the decluttering challenge & start clearing clutter somewhere in your home today. Even if it's just one item, moved to a new and better home. You'll get a decluttering tips checklist for clearing clutter without overwhelm and access to Dana White's challenge. She's a blogger, author and decluttering expert whose wisdom I am excited to share with you. She's offering a 15-minute video where she will show you how to declutter your craziest space, plus you get free printable decluttering worksheets you can use for every room in your home.  Get started by clicking the highlighted link or the image above, and then, share your progress with a whole bunch of ambitious declutterers. We'll be using the hashtag: #tackleyourscariestspace. After you sign up, tell me in a comment: where in your home does clutter bother you most? See you tomorrow! Love, Jeanine ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Don't forget to sign up for the decluttering challenge, so you can start today, to declutter your home without overwhelm. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
18 Comments
4/23/2019 10:01:31 am
The problem with decluttering is that clutter seems to appear the second after one has decluttered. 4/23/2019 10:25:27 am
I know what you mean, Roy! It seems to multiply in secret and then surprise you right out in the open. The dream is not only to get rid of it all, but to know where everything goes, so if anything new creeps in, you can walk it right to its intended home, especially if that's the trash can. The discipline to do that every single time, and to avoid bringing in shiny new things you don't really need or have a home for is the hard part, I think. 4/23/2019 01:31:44 pm
Hi Jeanine. Clutter is my other name and nemesis. I've tried so hard but maybe not hard enough to clear. I've read the books and took up challenges. Now I have to not try and start from where I am now, to deal with things as they come and go from there. 4/23/2019 05:53:56 pm
I understand. And I agree; start where you are and in the space you most wish was clear of clutter. I'm one of those odd people who love decluttering. I love it so much that I really do live quite a minimalist life and there's not much clutter in most parts of my life and home. My two teenagers bedrooms are another story, but I have to get them to cooperate before I can declutter those. Either that or wait till they leave home! :) 4/23/2019 05:56:19 pm
That is so cool that you love it, Karen! And I know what you mean about teens and their rooms. 4/23/2019 02:41:32 pm
I struggle with decluttering because of my lack of organizational skills. Also, I have an issue with Distraction Action. But I don't like the way that the mess and chaos looks. I must declutter. But how to start and... how to maintain my attention. I need to work on that... 4/23/2019 05:57:54 pm
The challenge will help you get started. And she shows you how to break it up into smaller steps, which might help with the attention problem.
Hmmm this is indeed bad news for my husband. He sneaked into my office recently because its nice and now his stuff has sneaked in after him........ and he has a lot of stuff.... he's a gadget freak. He's also a musician and we have a garage the size of a house filed with his stuff.... all of which he needs ( says he). He also has his own office/ music room. ( yes that's full too) 4/23/2019 05:59:11 pm
Sounds good to me, Dee! :) Maybe there's a way to contain it in his space. 4/23/2019 05:29:53 pm
I am a great accumulator of junk and clutter. I recently renovated my kitchen and was forced to part with quite a few things. If I know I can re-home things, I'm much more likely to give them up. Throwing anything away just bothers me. 4/23/2019 06:07:00 pm
I know what you mean, Karen! I hate to think of wasting something. But I don't want to be its storage unit, either. And I do love it when someone else wants it, but sometimes, it's a relief just to get it out of the house. 4/23/2019 06:08:33 pm
I've done it a lot when I moved, too! But you're right - it tries to sneak back in. Maybe designate an empty clutter box that you'll use once a month or so to clear clutter? When I sold my home in California in 2015 there was so much junk that had been collected before I moved in by my late husband...and then I added to the junk with my own stuff and memories. However, when I moved to AZ I had to seriously think about what needed to come with me and what needed to be thrown out or re-homed. I then moved into a very small apartment. And even the stuff I thought I wanted didn't all fit. More purging. Now, three years later, I've kept the junk and clutter at bay. I can honestly say that there are only two places that are cluttered - my desk and my art table....and I like it like that. LOL Otherwise, I refuse to collect more junk - and if I do bring something into the apartment then I throw something else out. 4/23/2019 06:13:12 pm
That's a brilliant plan, Eydie!! We just went through my mom's things and were surprised to find all the things she kept all those years. 4/23/2019 09:41:53 pm
I really do think that's it, Martha, to just do one room at a time. Like you, it's the only way I have been able to do it without being overwhelmed. Glad it works for you, too! Leave a Reply. |
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