Our Favorite Decluttering Tips

A new year brings with it a clean slate, promises for the future and a renewed interest in bettering ourselves. Why not harness this opportunity to work on your home? Since odds are that we’ll spend at least the first part of the new year disproportionally at home, we all deserve to have a clean, nice space around us. Here are some tips for removing all excess clutter in your home:

Make a Plan

The best way to approach a big, impossible-seeming task (like reorganizing your entire home) is to break it down into smaller, simpler tasks. Create a list of what needs to be streamlined and decluttered, what rooms in your home are in the direst need of help, and different categories of items (like toys, books, or clothing) that you need to cut down on and organize. Focusing on one task at a time will make the whole process much less stressful.

Prioritize

Face it—while you’d love to tackle your whole house in one fell swoop, you likely don’t have the time to organize and declutter every room. So, figure out what space in your home is the most important and go from there. If you have friends and neighbors over frequently, make sure your front entryway is clean and has a clear path to the kitchen or living space, without the probability of your beloved guests tripping over stray pairs of shoes. If you love to cook, but a large excess of stuff in your shelves makes the process way more stressful, tackle the kitchen first.

Err on the Side of Tossing Stuff

Over the years, you’ve probably amassed a huge variety of clothes, mementos, and other knick-knacks that have varying levels of sentimentality. However, sometimes you need to grit your teeth and let something go if it no longer serves a clearly-defined purpose for you (or if you don’t use it in your day-to-day life.) When going through your scarf collection or pile of outdoor toys, ask yourself “do I or my kids love this?” If not, toss it out. Better yet, donate all your second-tier or below items to charity; you never know who could benefit from it!