HOW TO Declutter Your House!
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Wow, I am so excited to start this series about moms guide to decluttering your home and how to do it!! Because this decluttering has many many benefits of it’s own – especially for we moms!!
I call this whole decluttering thing as – Keeping it simple at your home!! And I really like to keep it simple at my home.
Because, as I said about decluttering – keeping it simple has so many benefits that I absolutely love!! And let me tell you, mamma, these benefits will also change your life as a mom and will help you to make the cleaning and organizing task a lot easier and faster and ultimately save some of your time and energy!!
But first, if you haven’t come across any of my posts yet and probably wondering what’s this “keep it simple” thing I am talking about, then let me put some light on it.
Keep it simple at your home means – Own Less Stuff and keep it well organized!
In simple words, you can keep it simple at your home by following two steps :
- De-clutter your home.
- Organize the remaining stuff neatly!
But before you think that’s A LOT of work is going to be there, then don’t worry mama, It’s completely a doable thing even for a mom!! Because I have found a way to do it and make it completely possible to keep it simple at my home while being a SAHM of a 2-year-old girl!!
Since I have kept it simple at my home, it has really helped me in so many ways that I have written a post about it!! It has not only simplified my life but also has saved me a ton of time which I have been able to spend on the things that are really important to me and make me feel happy and refreshed!!
And I honestly want you to have all those benefits and simplify your life. Because as a mom we already have so much on our plate and if something is making it easy for you then you should definitely try it and save yourself a great amount of time and energy!!
So I wanted to write a step-by-step guide for you which will take your hand and show what you should do first and what next and next and next. So that it would be really easy for you to de-clutter your entire house taking one step at a time and completing it.
And that’s why I am doing it as a series. One step each week will lead you to your end goal of decluttering and keeping it simple at your home without fail!!
So, if you are ready to try it out then we can really get started!!
But first, let me tell you how this series is going to lead you throughout the process.
This week, we are going to focus on how you can make it happen and how you can find time for this task throughout the week! It’s very easy and you’ll be surprised to see that you actually have time in your day to do the decluttering task!! Then next week we’ll focus on what you’re going to need for the tasks coming in the next weeks. Don’t worry, the things you’re going to need are very simple things, no fancy gadgets and all!!
And then the rest of the week we’ll focus on where and how! That means every week we’ll go through one room and declutter it for the entire week ( slowly but steadily), making it really simple and easy for you!!
So, are you ready to find out how you can make it possible for the next few weeks?
Let’s get started then!!
How to find time to declutter your home
I know, this whole task looks like a huge project for you and you are probably thinking that there is no way you can be having any time for this task in your already busy day, right?
As I am writing a moms guide to decluttering your home, I have made it as mom-friendly as possible, because I know we moms don’t get enough free time for the things we want to do. But I know one way to make it happen!
So, here is the thing, a simple trick can help you out here to find that time in your already busy day, mamma! And here is a piece of good news for you – you are going to need max 30 -45 minutes a day to do the given task.
And it’s completely possible to find this much time every day by doing a little planning!!
Yes! That’s what we are going to do this week – Planning your days!!
Because planning works!!
Planning is a really effective and crucial tool! It’s really important -especially for we moms! And the best thing is it’s not difficult at all, in fact, it’s the easiest thing you would do in your whole day as a mom!! Really!!
So, here is how you can plan your day and make time for the decluttering task for the next few weeks –
- First, on a paper write down your everyday routine (the tasks you do in your normal day) and all the tasks that you need to do in the next 24 hours.
- Now, write down your 3-5 highest priorities for the next day. Here include those tasks that must be done. Include your 20-minute decluttering session here as one of the priorities.
- Now go through your routine and look for any unessential that could be cut down on time or completely eliminated. For example, you can avoid spending too much time on social media in your free time, instead use that time to do the other important task like our decluttering session.
- Likewise, find your ‘kids-free” time blocks where you don’t have to attend your kids and are completely free from them like their afternoon nap time or their independent playtime or when your husband takes care of them in the evening. And try to assign these time blocks (one or more) to these decluttering session.
- Now you know when you can find time for these tasks, now write down your plan of the day and stick it somewhere you can easily see. It will make it easy for you to follow the plan.
- In this plan, try to include each and every task for that day and the order of them in which you’ll do them. It really makes it a lot easier when the order of the tasks is already set and all you have to do is follow it!!
Voila!! Your plan is ready!!
Read : How to plan your day as SAHM.
Now follow this process everyday for next few weeks so that you’ll be able to do all the decluttering within weeks!!
I’ll encourage you to practice this planning thing for next two weeks where we are not going to do any actual decluttering. for the next two weeks you can include your other priorities in your plan and be done with them so that you can fully focus on the decluttering coming in after these two weeks.
Practicing it will make you more used to the process and all the planning will then be the easiest task for you, you’ll see!!
So, that’s all for today. Your today’s (and for the rest of week’s) task is – Plan your day (every day from now on) and recognize the time blocks where you can completely focus on the important tasks without any noise in the back of your mind!! Your aim is to find a time block of at least 15-20 minutes that’s free from your kids and any other tasks.
Prepare a decluttering kit!
So, in this part, we are going to talk about the items you’re going to need to declutter your home. I call them my decluttering kit!! Don’t worry, you won’t need any kind of fancy gadgets or any costly products. In fact, the items we are going to use are the ones which you most probably already have them in your home!!
And even if you don’t have them, they are super cheap to buy!! So, no worries here!! I am not gonna cost you any money to declutter your home successfully!!
So, let’s dive in and see what you’re really going to need for the next few weeks to do the task!!
Items you’ll need to make your own decluttering kit
So, here the list ( a really short one) of the items you’re going to need:
1. Laundry basket(s)
You’ll need a laundry basket that’s big enough to keep things in it while you sort the things from your drawers/cabinets/wardrobes. Things that you are going to keep will go into this basket.
As we’ll be doing just one room for a whole week and each day we’ll be focusing on one area of that room to declutter (for ex. one drawer of the study table or just one shelf of the bookshelf or just one cabinet in the kitchen), you won’t need more than one basket if it’s big enough.
But if you have a lot of stuff in your home then you should probably think about having another basket available for the task. You know, just in case!!
2. Bin bags.
Of course, there is going to be a lot of trash!! You are going to purge it all ruthlessly and trash the things that you don’t need at all or the things that are not in good shape to keep them.
For all those things you’ll need the bin bags to collect them, so, it would be better to stock them up before we start the decluttering sessions.
3. Boxes.
It’ll be good to have a few boxes at your hand to store the things that you’d want to donate.
Or you can also use storage bags for this purpose. I have found that boxes usually take up a lot of space to keep in the house and hence we try really hard to get rid of them, and it ultimately gears us up to donate the things as early as possible and get rid of those boxes to clear the space!!
It always works for me! My husband never likes the stack of boxes kept in the house waiting to be donated and always takes the initiative in getting rid of them!! Maybe it’ll work for you too. Or just see what works for you -boxes or bags?
4. Labels.
Labels are great help. You’ll need labels to stick them on the sorting devices (laundry baskets, boxes, bin bags) you’re going to use to put the sorted items while decluttering.
Don’t worry, you won’t need a tons of them, in fact you’ll need exactly six kinds of labels!
- Keep
- Fix
- Donate
- Trash
- Maybe
- Give Away
Labels will also be helpful if you’ll be getting a helping hand from your family or kids and they will know what goes where without you telling them for .. maybe…20th time! Even though if you won’t get any helping hand ( which is the highest possibility) still the labels will make it easy to know what the boxes and bags have inside after the work is done, and you don’t have to open every box to see which hold the things that you need to donate.
So let’s quickly see where these labels will go:
- Keep: This one label is for the boxes or laundry baskets in which you’ll keep the items that you really want to keep. You’ll keep only those items in this labeled box/basket about which you are 100% positive that you want to keep them, without any doubt.
- Fix: Stick this label to the bag/box in which you can store anything that you need to keep but needs some kind of fixing and can be used again after fixing. You can use relatively smaller bag/box for this purpose as there won’t be that much of such items that need fixing.
- Donate: You can use this label on the boxes in which you’ll store the items that you’ll be donating. Always make sure that the items are in good condition before you put them into this box.
- Trash: You can use a box with this label to store the items that can immediately go into the trash and then pour them into the bin bags once you’re done sorting. Or if you are going to use bin bags directly ( I prefer this) then you can skip this one label as the bin bags convey the same message and you don’t need to label them!
- Maybe: This label is super helpful. You’ll use a box or bag (in case of clothes) with this label on to store all those kinds of things about which you are not so sure if you want to keep it or get rid of it. Of course, we all have such items (especially clothes) that we are not really ready to give away or donate even if you haven’t used it in the last six months or maybe even the whole last year but still, you are too attached to them to get rid of them. All such items can go into this ‘Maybe’ box/bag.
But here is the rule about this ‘Maybe’ box – once you’ve put all the ‘maybe’ items in it, you’ll immediately close the box with tapes and keep it somewhere out of your sight. And if you pass 6 months without opening this box and without needing anything from this box, then you’ll get rid of all the items from this box!
5. Give Away: This label goes for the boxes in which you’ll store the items that you want to give away. For example – if you have a sweatshirt that doesn’t fit you but is in really good shape then you can give it away to your sister or someone who will willingly accept it. Just make sure that it’ll serve them well and won’t add extra clutter to their home. Always ask if they need it and if they’d like to have it before giving away.
And 6th type of label you might need – if you are a pro at decluttering – is Sell! But it’s a completely optional thing. If you’ve anything that’s in really good shape and you want to get rid of and can sell (like old study books or old mobile phone or anything that’s of no use for you anymore and you are confident about selling it), you can use this label to stick on the box in which you’ll put all these sellable items.
5. Duster/rag/ cleaning cloth.
To quickly get done with the cleaning while you’re decluttering, you’ll need a duster/rag/any cleaning cloth that can work.
It’s really easy to clean while you’ve emptied the space to declutter it rather than making the ‘cleaning your house’ a different project of itself! You get the cleaning job done in almost no time!
6. Oil soap: furniture cleaning and polish.
Ok, I am not turning this decluttering session into a cleaning session, but it’s only wise to quickly wipe it clean when you’ve done half the task of emptying that drawer to declutter it rather than doing it all again only for cleaning purpose!!
So it’s good to have these few basic cleaning supplies at your hand when you’re going to purge items from some area in your house!!
One of my favorites is Murphy’s oil soap. It keeps the furniture well polished and in good condition for the coming years.
7. All-purpose cleaners.
All-purpose cleaners can be really handy when it comes to quick cleaning. You can clean everything from your kitchen counters to mirrors by these cleaners. So I’d recommend you to stock up some all-purpose cleaner if you don’t have any.
You can try this – Mrs. Meyer’s clean day- it’s a really great product and goes really well with all surfaces.
These cleaning supplies are completely optional as they won’t play any part in the decluttering process but they will help you get done with all the cleaning while you’re at it and you won’t have to visit the same area again just for cleaning!!
That’s it!! You’ll need only these things to do the decluttering in the next few weeks!!
In the next week, we’ll be starting with the decluttering of your living room. In the next post, I’ll tell you the easiest way to declutter your living room step-by-step. We’ll be focusing only one room per week and each day you can focus on different areas of that room so that at the end of the week you’ll be done with decluttering the whole room!!
So, before we start next week, be ready with all these items!!
See you next week!!
Until then, have a happy time and take care of yourself :)!