We’ve all been there. It could be a particular room in your house, or maybe your hoarding habit has taken over your whole home.
You may not think of yourself as a hoarder, but has that ever become a topic of contention between you and your adult children or grandkids? Do you have a box you’ve been keeping in case you need to use it, but haven’t opened it years? You’re not alone, we’ve all faced the daunting task of decluttering our house.
Staring at a pile of junk, knowing you have to throw away, organize, or otherwise clean the contents of said junk pile can be downright overwhelming. With anything in life, the best way to join ‘Hoarders Anonymous’ and declutter your life is strategically. You’re not insulting old memories by organizing your life. Think of it as making more room to have your grandchildren spend time with you.
Start Slow
Take a deep breath, you don’t have to get everything done in one day. Giving yourself enough time to take things slow, do it right, and little by little get it done will help you stay calm and focused on the task at hand. If you try to declutter a house or even just a room in a matter of a day you will likely end up feeling overwhelmed and you may not even finish. So start slow and move steadily to keep your momentum.
Stock Up
You’re going to need a few things in order to effectively declutter your life. A few of the essentials are: garbage bags (lots of them), cardboard boxes (to hold donation items), and cleaning supplies (decluttering can reveal some pretty gross things), a music playlist (for motivation), and a list. The list is to help keep you on track.
Plan, plan, plan
It may sound weird, but plan out how you’re going to attack the clutter. If you step in knowing exactly what you’re going to do, all that’s left is to do it. If you try to clean house and declutter with no plan of attack you can end up getting sidetracked or worse, not finishing at all. So before you start, make sure you write down which room you will start with. You can even get as detailed as to write down where in that room you’re going to start. Plan a day to go to a thrift store or donation box to get rid of the things you don’t want, or plan a garage sale. If you are getting rid of old appliances you can contact scrap metal buyers, who will buy and pick up items from your house. Planning really is the first step toward a decluttered life.
Get to It
Now you can get down to the nitty gritty. Start in one corner of the room and work in the same direction so you make sure you cover every inch that needs decluttering. Don’t leave a single drawer unopened.
If you don’t even know what you have stored, or where to find it then it’s not of any service to you.
Soon you’ll be able to open up your home so your grandchildren want to be in your living space. They’ll have more room to play and you may even open up space to set up a guest bed for them that didn’t fit before. These memories you can create now can be more rewarding than finding use for that 40 year old toaster oven. If you’re like the rest of us and you’ve let your life get cluttered beyond repair, don’t worry. If you start slow and move steadily, nothing is impossible to declutter.
Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from West Jordan, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max.
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