Needing suggestions on how to start decluttering
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one room at a time....make save piles and pack away, make donate piles and move to another room, make garage sale piles and move to another room,utilize plastic totes for out of season clothes, shoes etc.Utilize the most space in every room
Whenever I need to declutter I make three piles , 3 bins , bin #1- give away , this holds what I never use , haven't used , forgot about ! #2 - PASS ON = there are SO MANY thing you have that still have LIFE in them ! Shelters needs them , drop boxes , love them ! You can share your blessing , empty your clutter , make more room and feel good all by filling this bin ! 💕ITS a WIN WIN #3 - ok at first you want to put everything in this bin but STOP ✋ , do you REALLY NEED to ?? How long has it been just laying around ? What's the purpose of it being in your life except taking up space ? Out with the old in with the new !!! You can do it !!!❤️
You need to think up ways of putting things away so you need clear containers, shelves, small boxes. Throw away or recyhcle stuff that you are not using and will never use. It is amazing how much we accumulate over our life time.
Anything you haven't used in a year is clutter or that no longer gives you joy is clutter. Anything still usable can go to a charity shop, otherwise toss out shop-worn or damaged items. Pare down duplicates. If you haven't used the (insert item here) in a year, it can go.
3 bins..keep, trash, donate, it’s a good start
If you have lots to declutter, start with one wall at a time of a particular room. If you haven't used it in a year or don't just LOVE it, get rid of it, NOW!
I like to hear what clients would like there home, room etc. to be cause it gives me a vision of what needs to change. And as we proceed through the home we make that happen. I like my client's to read this article, cause it explains what clutter means..... https://fengshuiforreallife.com/Detailed/252.html
I first make 4 boxes marked, donate, keep, gift, recycle and a trash bag, and put where you will be working first. I start with clients on countertops first, and dust and clean as we complete each surface. Everything we take off the counters must have a home. Ask yourself if you've used it in the last year, and can you let it go, put it in one of the boxes.
Throw out boxes and papers in the recycling box, if your hoarding mail cause it has info and your name - you need a shredder. And I usually put a bag on the door knob or a basket on the wall to throw junk mail in as you come in the door, so it never winds up on the counter. This will be your homework at night, put the shredder next to your chair, a trash bag and shred while you watch TV. Throw the trash bag in the recycling bin or trash.
Clean out drawers and organize them with small trays and containers, Dollar Tree is a good source. One lady I did had tons of crafting stuff she hadn't used in 10 years, we donated it to the Boys & Girls Club. We were able to make small bookcases with plastic shoe boxes to store what she did use, labeled each one, to clear a crafting area.
At the end of each day, the trash goes out, the recycle box either goes out of the house or in the car to be recycled, and the donate box to the drive-in of your local thrift shop. Nothing comes back in. Be realistic about the gift box, your children and grandchildren may not want your things but if they do mail it off at once or drop it off when you out next time.
Once people begin purging the excess in their homes and finding a place for the things they choose to keep..... they feel so much freer. Not to mention if you have allergies, all the accumulated dust in clutter can make your home unhealthy and you will physically feel better.
Sharon's tips are great!! I need help in this area myself and have started by one area at a time. It helps prevent me from getting overwhelmed! Donate items and feel great about knowing you're helping someone. This has helped me 'let things go!'
I always start with books, magazines & things I know I can easily part with. Then I move on to clothes, shoes that I no longer wear/fit, use. Then I'll move on to housewares, craft supplies, stuff in the garage & so on. By that time you have enough for a garage sale. I just had one this weekend & all the left overs went to Goodwill.
Even if you followed all the above suggestions to the individual letter(s) remember you are you. You need to find what will work on a permanent basis for you. You need a lifestyle change, not a temporary change. You need to start living a life that will be permanently free from clutter, not a temporary fix. While there is nothing the matter with ridding yourself of things as suggested above there are much smaller things you can do to start. I would take one area in each room and keep that neat, say no clutter on the sofa. No clutter on the counter in the kitchen. No clothes in the bathroom, Make the bed every day and have nothing extra on it. Put shoes and boots in neat rows where you enter the house. It is very possible to have a very large number of things if they are organized. Look at a grocery store for instance. It is order not necessarily number or amount that is important. Good luck.
THERE ARE ALSO GREAT IDEAS ON PINTEREST!!! ( under declutter)
Start with your closet... Give yourself a minimum amount of hangers and start chucking. You might enjoy this read >> http://www.gardenupgreen.com/2017/07/how-to-downsize-for-tiny-living.html
First you need to break this enormous project into manageable tasks by doing a room at a time. Then get rid of everything you haven't used in a year. You have 3 ways to dispose of this stuff - trash it, donate it, or sell it/give it away. After you've purged everything you can, then sort it all by function. Finally, corral and confine - use boxes, drawers, shelves, and any container you can find. After everything is sorted and boxed, you can concentrate on coordinating the containers by color, material, etc. DON'T DO THIS ALL AT ONCE - DECLUTTERING IS AN ONGOING PROJECT. It is a work in progress.
Decluttering never, never stops. We have to keep it up all our lives or we end up on programs like Hoarding: Buried Alive. I have cleaned out three homes or apts. of people who have passed away, and thank goodness I was 30 yrs. younger because my mother-in-law never threw anything away. She still had the clothes her husband died in in the late 1950's and I cleaned out her home in the mid-1980's. I worked, went to her house and sorted for a few hours, then went home to tend to my family. It was an awful time in my life. Thank goodness my then husband (her son) helped me.
Purge! Lol. Get rid of anything that you don’t need or want so there’s less to organize.
I love the bins at Dollar Tree for organizing