How to start decluttering?
Knowing how and where to start to declutter your home is often the hardest part of getting organised. So don’t feel bad if you find yourself staring around your space and all you feel is dread and overwhelm.
Clearing the clutter in your life makes space, not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.
Freeing up space makes room for your favourite things to shine and also for new experiences and adventures to come your way.
DECLUTTERING MAKES SPACE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO SHINE
I’m going to give you my tips to get started that will make it easy for you to work your way through the problems areas in your home that are causing you stress and possibly even embarrassment.
The process I’m sharing with you has been honed over many years, bringing with many clients, they are easy to implement and I’m sure you’ll have great results if you follow them.
1. START SMALL
🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜
Always Start small, remember the saying you can’t eat an elephant in one bite? it’s the same with decluttering and organising - You might have multiple areas in your home that need some love and it can feel overwhelming when you think of everything that needs doing.
TRY THIS - Sit down with a cup of tea and think about what is bothering you the most. Really nut it down to the area that’s the biggest pain point you have. This is your starting point.
2. SET A VISION FOR THE SPACE
Next, have another sip of you tea, and maybe a chocolate biscuit too 😊 Now I’d like you to set a vision for the area - tell the space how it's going to serve you, if you don't it will continue to attract all sorts of clutter!
For example think of your spare room, it’s no longer the junk room, or the kids old room. Maybe it will be the craft room, or the reading room, now you have chosen what the vision is for that room it becomes easier to know what belongs in there and what doesn’t.
3. GETTING PRACTICAL AND STAYING FOCUSED
🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍🔍
Now it’s time to get started! My most important tip is Stay focused - don't wander off to other rooms or get distracted with something you've found, even though it can be very tempting to look through the photo album of the trip you took when you were 18!
Remember Tip number 1 where we talked about narrowing down your focus? This is another time for it to be used.
Set aside some time that you won’t be interrupted and make a start. (If it’s a big job you may not finish it all in this time you have-remember it’s OK to take bite size chunks of the project)
Remove any items that don’t meet your vision for the room
Using big garbage bags and labels - Make a donation bag, a rubbish/recycling bag and a pile of items that belong in other rooms.
15 minutes before your allocated time is up, stop working. Use this 15 minutes to do a quick tidy up, take the rubbish and recycling out, put the donations in your car to be dropped off and return anything that belongs elsewhere to its correct place.
Now stand back and congratulate your self on your hard work and progress. Staying focused will allow you to make real progress on any space, whether it’s a room, a cupboard or even a drawer. By resisting the temptation of distraction you can see the real difference you have made to the space.
TIP - USE THIS SENSE OF ACHIEVEMENT AND HAPPINESS TO KEEP YOUR ENTHUSIASM HIGH TO FINISH THE PROJECT OR REPEAT THE PROCESS ON OTHER AREAS OF YOUR HOME.
Narrowing down your focus allows you to concentrate on one area at a time. This makes decluttering fun, with quick visible results to keep your enthusiasm high, and giving the space a purpose allows you to focus on what your goal really is.
If this all seems too hard and you'd like a hand to get started or you are just too busy and want to get the job done quickly, book a free call with me! I offer a variety of packages to suit different budgets and I'd love to help you be calm, be organised and be in control!