How to Get Started with Decluttering Your Home
If you’ve ever tried to declutter your home only to feel so overwhelmed you pushed everything back into cabinets and closets, and piled up boxes in the basement and the attic, you know that decluttering can be tricky.
The best way to approach decluttering is with a solid plan. In this post, I guide you through not only how to decide what to declutter, but also how to approach the decluttering process in a way that sets you up for success by avoiding overwhelm!
Until recently I moved every year or two. I think the longest I’ve been in any apartment as an adult is four years. Each move gave me the opportunity to declutter both as I was packing and unpacking.
Although we purchased our house last year (and don’t plan on moving again anytime soon), I still periodically like to declutter areas I know are prone to getting out of control (clothing, I’m looking at you.
After decades of refining my technique, here are the simple guidelines I use when decluttering.
Do you find it to be useful.
The way you define this is going to vary from person to person. You might say that if you haven’t touched it in 3 months, it isn’t useful. You might draw a line if you can’t think of any way you will use it in the next 3 months. Maybe you focus on 6 months or a year depending on the seasonality of the item.
Pick a guideline that works for you and stick too it!
If you worry about possibly needing something in the future, Rose Lounsbury’s 20/20 rule is a great tool. If you can replace it in under 20 minutes, for less than $20, then let it go!
Feel free to adjust this rule based on your available time and finances – for example you might use a 10/50 rule – ten minutes and $50 or a 60/5 rule – sixty minutes and five dollars.
Do you find it to be beautiful.
Another way to look at this is does it bring joy to your life?
These are things we want around us not because they’re practical or useful, but because each time we look at them, they bring up positive emotions.
Take a first pass
Simply knowing what to keep is only the first step in the process. If you’ve ever undertaken a whole home decluttering, you know it can quickly become so overwhelming you just push everything back into closets and cupboards, into boxes in the basement and attic, and give up.
I’ve discovered a technique I love which helps make the initial phase of decluttering feel more manageable.
Take a photo of the space you want to start decluttering. Try to blow the photo up as large as possible – on either a computer or your television.
You’ll start to notice items you’ve become so familiar with you don’t see them anymore in real life. Begin to declutter based on what stands out to you in the photo as not belonging.
I call this technique decluttering through the camera, and because it doesn’t involve pulling everything out at once, it allows you to do a first pass with less stress. Check out this blog post for more details on this process.
Have your game plan before you start
Another place where decluttering can become overwhelming is figuring out what to do with everything you’re ready to let go of.
Before you start decluttering, make sure you have a plan for how you’ll handle the items you decide no longer need to be in your life. Check out this blog post that guides you through how to get rid of everything you’re decluttering.
Remember, just because something no longer has a purpose or use in your home, doesn’t necessarily make it trash.
Trying to find another home for it instead of tossing it into a dumpster is not only environmentally friendly, it can help you bring in a little extra money!
Step-by-step decluttering
To set yourself up for success, break your decluttering into multiple steps. I like to picture it like peeling back layers of an onion – working from the surface down deeper.
Before you dive in and start to empty every drawer in your kitchen or every shelf in your home, make sure you have a plan for what you’ll do with the stuff you get rid of.
Work room by room. Do an initial pass with the camera technique. And then dive into the rest.
It might feel like more work to move through each of these steps, but by taking it in manageable pieces, you’ll set yourself up for success instead of getting overwhelmed and giving up before you’ve even really started.
I’m sending you a great big hug – you’ve got this!
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