Here’s How to Declutter Every Room in Your Home
Decluttering can be stressful, but if you tackle it in stages, you'll surely finish the job well
Thinking of clearing out the clutter in your home but don’t know how to go about it? Or are you feeling intimidated by the huge task? Don’t be—as stressful as decluttering may be, if you tackle it in stages, you’ll be able to finish the job well. Here are some tips on how to clean out and organize every area in your home, once and for all.
Make some preparations
Before you start on your decluttering, first prepare five containers. Label each container according to its specific purpose: Return, for items that you only need to put back to their proper storage spaces; Recycle, for items that can be recycled; Fix, for items that need to be repaired; Trash, for items that will be thrown out; and Donate, for items that you believe can still be used by other people. When you begin clearing out the clutter in every room in your home, organize them into these containers, so that you can take care of them accordingly later.
Living room
Start out with your living room, which is one of the most difficult rooms to always keep neat since it’s always being used. Unless you regularly declutter this area, you may find that you have plenty of junk hidden there.
If you have any cabinets or drawers in your living room, clear out their contents and stash them in the boxes or baskets you’ve prepared. Put throw pillows back in place. Take away all the junk that may have accumulated on your coffee table and make room for your remote controls. Remember to only leave behind the things that actually belong in the living room, and to set permanent storage spaces for those that you always use when you are in the room.
Kitchen
The kitchen is yet another area in the home that can pose a challenge in decluttering, since so many activities are done there regularly. Start off by going through each storage space—your cabinets, drawers, and shelves. Whatever should be taken away, put into the boxes you had prepared beforehand. Keep commonly-used items stored at eye level, so that you can easily find them whenever you need them.
On the other hand, countertops should be left as clutter-free as possible, since these are the areas where you do most of your food preparation. Use the space there to store only the kitchen tools and equipment that you use every day.
Bedroom
Inside your bedroom, first look at your nightstand, which will likely have different kinds of junk stashed there. Organize those items using the five containers, then do the same with your desk and other storage spaces in the bedroom. If there are clothes that have been left strewn about on the floor, put them in your Return box first.
For those who have vanity tables in their bedrooms, don’t forget to declutter them as well. The things you keep there that you have not used in more than six months should be placed in the Trash box, or in the Recycle box if you intend to use them for other purposes.
Closet
Most of us will agree in saying that decluttering the closet is always a stressful, daunting task. It’s just so easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of items that we keep there. But a simple way to go about it is by looking at the contents of your closet by type (for example, shoes first, then tops, then pants, etc.). Using the five containers, organize your things and decide which you will keep and which you can do without.
Tackle your shoe collection in the same manner. Look at your pairs and pick out those which you will still be using, and for the rest, divide them among the five containers. Hopefully, by the time you’ve finished decluttering your closet, it will look much less intimidating.
Bathroom
Finally, go into your bathroom. If you have a medicine cabinet in your T&B, start there. Throw out any expired products and medications, and stash the items you use most regularly at eye level. Next, clear out your other storage spaces, such as your cabinets and drawers. Take a look at your shower area as well, and get rid of any empty bottles or sachets that may still be lying around there.
Source: The Spruce
