Are you surrounded by clutter? Do you feel stress? Clutter and stress go together and can affect your ability to focus, sleep, and relax.
Our brains like order and having visual reminders of disorganization can drain our cognitive resources and reduce our focus ability. This distraction causes cognitive overload and reduces our memory.
So, feeling overwhelmed with clutter? Don’t be! Follow these tips to declutter your home.
- Break It Up
Looking around at all the clutter and thinking you have to tackle your entire house can be a lot to handle. Break your goal into smaller parts to make it much easier to tackle.
Make a declutter checklist of the rooms and areas you want to work on. Start with one room and break down each area, for example, closets, drawers, medicine cabinet. This list should be small tasks, like organize silverware drawer, and not something vague like clean the kitchen.
Set a timer and work for one hour a day or fifteen minutes—whatever you want to commit to. If you feel like you want to do more, go for it. If not, you will enjoy checking things off your list to give you a sense of accomplishment.
- Use a Four Box Method
As you go through things, grab four boxes and label trash, keep, re-locate, and give away. Enter a room and place everything in one of these four boxes—it doesn’t matter how small or insignificant you think the item is.
Make sure you get rid of any duplicates. This is an easy way to start getting rid of things.
For larger areas like an attic or basement, you may want to consider dumpster rental to get rid of your trash.
As you go through your giveaway items, you can decide which things you want to donate or sell. You may want to have a garage sale if you have a lot of items you want to giveaway. It’s a great way to make some money while getting rid of things you no longer need.
- Focus on Surfaces
Flat surfaces are popular dump spots. Focus on areas like your desk, nightstand, coffee tables, counters, and tables. If you notice that you need more storage, you may want to organize your habits and add a basket for keys, a wallet, or other small necessary items.
- Set Up Natural Declutter Stations
In addition to surfaces, if you notice other problem areas, you may want to create declutter stations nearby. This includes setting up a recycling bin in the kitchen where your mail typically piles up.
You can also use bins and baskets to put toys away.
- Declutter Regularly
The most important thing you can do is set up regular decluttering times. You can set aside five minutes a day to look around and get everything in its home. If you can’t find a home for something, it may not belong in your home.
It’s important to stay consistent with tidying up. Accept that clutter is normal, and commit to regular cleanups to minimize it.
Use These Tips to Declutter Your Home
Your home is your fortress, so don’t let clutter take over. Follow these tips to declutter your home. Make a plan and do a little at a time.
Keep checking out our site for more ways to spruce up your home, home storage solutions, and other home organization ideas.
