Are you feeling overwhelmed by clutter? Is your home overflowing with clutter? Are you feeling overwhelmed by stuff? Do you need to get your house in order? Today we’re sharing tips to declutter your home!
Feeling Overwhelmed By Clutter
You are not alone. Most people are feeling overwhelmed by clutter, and feel like their homes are too messy or cluttered.
Sometimes our homes are so out-of-control, it’s impossible to know where to start.
The good news is that any work you do to declutter your home will benefit you and your family. Any work at all.
So, don’t feel like you have to take two weeks off of work to declutter your home.
If you’re deliberate and consistent, you can declutter your entire home by working at it a little bit each day!
Feeling Overwhelmed by Clutter?
7 Tips to Help You Start Decluttering Your Home
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- Start small. Choose a small area of your home, and spend 15 minutes decluttering it. Don’t take out any more than you can put away within the 15-minute period. When I started decluttering my own home, I started with my sock drawer. It was easy and manageable.
- Get rid of trash first. As you start to declutter, throw out the trash around your house first. This makes it easier to see the other things you want to declutter, and it gives you an easy win in the beginning of your decluttering journey.
- Be prepared. Each time you start a 15-minute decluttering session, be armed with a garbage bag, and a box or bag for the items you want to donate. It’s also nice to have a glass of water to sip on as you work. If you have everything you need for the task, you’ll be able to focus for 15 minutes.
- Don’t be discouraged if you don’t finish. Remember, any work you do to declutter your home will benefit you and your family. After your 15 minutes of decluttering are up, you can take a break and continue, or you can return to the same area the next day and pick up where you left off.
- Focus on progress, not perfection. You are creating a real, calming space for yourself. Don’t feel like your home needs to look like something you’d see on Pinterest. If you consistently work on decluttering each day, you will be making slow and steady progress towards your goal of a less-cluttered home.
- Schedule your decluttering time. I have small children, so I do a lot of my 15-minute decluttering sessions early in the morning before they wake up. This way I’m not overwhelmed by clutter, or stressed about when the decluttering will get done. Try to declutter at the same time each day so it becomes a habit.
- Remember that decluttering is a constant process. There will always be clutter to manage and get rid of. Keep that in mind, and make decluttering part of your daily routine.
UPDATE: I just felt I wanted to update with my own thoughts today –
I look at our home as our sanctuary filled with love, peace and harmony – and a place we can go to – when we just can’t deal with that old world
out there. But to have peace and harmony – I believe you have to have at least a half way – organized home.
When our kids were small – I had a sign that hung in our hallway just inside the front door – and it said “Please excuse the noise and mess – our kids are making happy memories.”
I’ve always been a fan of signs and anything that would promote the feeling of family love and harmony. And at least in our home – I try to do that by keeping things as picked up as possible and making our home as warm and cozy as possible. Now I’m not talking ‘expensive furnishing’ – I’m talking about ‘doing what you can – with what you have – right where you are.”
We had a sign in the kitchen – just as a reminder for any room – and that sign said “Don’t put it down – Put it away” – BECAUSE – if you don’t have time to do it right the first time – WHEN are you EVER going to have time to do it over 🙂
I studied the Sidetracked Sisters back in the 1970’s and they changed my life. I KNOW NOW and have for decades – how to quickly and easily stay on top of things in our home. They made it SO easy for me – that I now keep their book – prominently displayed in our home – BECAUSE it is so inspiring to me. It’s thin – a pretty quick read – and will absolutely change your life. And it’s still available today – on amazon.
I also learned that for a ‘sidetracked home executive’ to be efficient – she must work with a kitchen timer – a LOT – and I have 3 of them – that I keep going on really busy days – to keep me focused and on target.
I’ve also recently discovered Mrs Meyers Household Cleaner and I LOVE that stuff. It cleans better than anything “I” have used in recent years for general clean up and leaves the best citrus scent … SO I highly recommend that …
SPEED CLEAN – and get’er done – and you’ll have a cozy and relaxing evening when the family all gathers together at the end of the day. And now WHAT could be BETTER than THAT?
What decluttering project would you like to start with in your home? Please let us know in the comments!
This was a guest post by our blogging friend Kate Marie of The Beautiful Useful Project …
You’ll ALSO want to read How to Speed Clean Your House in One Hour!
Keep reading for more Remedies for the Home!
Sidetracked Sisters Books on Amazon
when de cluttering I start in the kitchen. Our island seems to be a dumping ground.
Sara recently posted…Peppa Pig Sandcastles Digital Review & Giveaway
Hi Sara and sorry for the delayed reply. We’re actually working flood clean up at our son’s home. Been there since July 7th … So talk about being OVERWHELMED .. lol Thanks for reading!
This house is open-plan for the public areas: living room, dining area, and kitchen. I always start there, since the other rooms have doors that can be closed.
And you have a glitch in your software. Does not recognize my gmail address.
What house are you talking about karen? 🙂 Our kitchen, dining room and living room are also all open one to the other. Thanks for reading … and this blog you read was a guest post by a friend blogger. Thanks for stopping by …