Lift that weight off your shoulder and your valuable furniture and closet shelves! Since many of us are spending time at home, it’s a great time to work in the house and reorganize and declutter. Whoever said ‘a clean home is a happy home’ must of had a decluttered home. It takes time yet it is time well spent. By personal experience, decluttering has improved mood, energy level, anxiety from looking for things and promoted problem solving skills. It can be taken as a challenge, in what, how, and where to organize household items. Discarding ‘stuff’ can empower you by taking control of your life and making decisions on what is useful and what isn’t. In the process of reorganizing and discarding, you may even find a piece of a lost treasure. The end result is a home you can feel good about and enjoy.
So how to take the plunge? There are several theories on where and how to start. Best idea is to have supplies ready, such as STURDY heavy mil trash bags, containers with lids, empty cardboard boxes, pop up laundry baskets, stackable bins, various resealable bags and a sharpie pen (labeling). Be smart about how you pack or discard since ‘stuff’ can easily get heavy.
When decluttering, discrimination skills will be polished. A decision will have to made about what needs to be donated/given away, sold, discarded, recycled, stored or to be kept. You may also relocate some items to other areas of the house. If you can’t decide, set aside. At some point a decision will have to be made. Most likely if the item has been out of site or mind for a while, it is not needed.
A potential problem with a ‘sell’ box is that we tend to accumulate ‘sell items’. Make a decision on whether it is worth keeping in storage (taking up valuable space) or is it an item that is worth selling. Rethink about storing in garage or home or it may become a potential trip or fall hazard.
How long the decluttering process takes depends on how much time you have. Some people choose an allocated amount of time to declutter…. anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours a day. Best advice is to start with a room and focus the attention in the room. Have a systematic approach to decluttering. Some people may start left to right and others may start with the most or least challenging area. When you start decluttering, it will motivate you to keep going. The results are exciting.
After you have went through each item in the room and decided what and where it goes, put the item in the proper location whether it be discarded, used, recycled, etc. Make sure to give time to cleaning up since the process is multi tiered. Try not to come back to the room later, as it is best to stay focused. If an item is being relocated to another area that has not been decluttered, put the item in the corner of that room of where it goes.
The process of decluttering is challenging and can at times be overwhelming but a necessary step towards a freer lifestyle. Going through the process brings up memories and challenges decision making skills. In the end it is a process that will make your home more functional, pleasant and healthy.
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