We’re in the new year, but the same problems have sneaked in with us. While resolutions were being drafted for the new year, a lot of people forgot to chip in the one issue that lingers in every home, the one issue that springs up almost too easily we’re talking about the issue of a cluttered home.
While a cluttered household can’t be as bad as damp or fire accidents, you shouldn’t underestimate the level of stress that comes with it. Believe us, only a few things annoy homeowners more than having to navigate through messes and choked-up rooms.
So, if you need a quick fix, we’re glad to tell you that you’re in the right place and right on time, too, because the quicker you act, the faster you are at decluttering your household.
But first things first, to learn how to declutter your home fast, you must learn to know when it’s necessary to do so.
How Do You Know You Have A Clutter Crisis?
Once again, there’s a difference between a simple mess and a clutter crisis. A lot of people mistake one for the other and in so doing, leave things to pile up and make things harder for themselves. If you don’t want to be left with a mountain of clutter to climb, here’s what you should look out for:
· Less Space in the Home: The most common sign of a home that needs immediate decluttering is the lack of space in and around the household. When there are too many items in the living room, bedroom, and so on, it’s increasingly difficult to store new items or even walk around your home. Knowing how to declutter your room becomes even more important when you’re a student and live in a dorm.
· Crowded Storage Spaces Like Closets and Shelves: Knowing how to declutter your home fast depends on monitoring your storage compartments to see when they’re choked up. At some point, your cupboards and drawers will be bulging, waiting to explode with all the items cramped into them.
· More Useless Items Everywhere: Many people fail to organize or get rid of items properly and as a result, you’re left constantly kicking or tripping over toys and misplaced items as you walk. BTW, you can sell unwanted items you got as gifts.
· Difficulty Finding What You Need: The final nail in the coffin is when searching for items becomes a thing of sweat and tears. You hardly remember where they are, and even when you do, they’re most likely lost in a sea of clutter. That’s when you know you have to declutter your home immediately.
What Are The Simple Ways To Declutter Your Home Fast?
So let’s dive right into it – how to declutter your home fast. What do you need to know? How do you get started? Here’s a 10-step guide for the easiest and quickest decluttering process your home badly needs:
1. Create A Fool-Proof Plan
Firstly, your decluttering mission can’t proceed without a well-thought-out plan. This first step forms the blueprint for your cleaning process. Just like this article guides you on everything you need to know about decluttering, the plan you make will guide every step of your sorting and organization.
The plan should consist of:
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It serves as a checklist to work with and saves you time and energy while giving you a more accomplished feeling.
2. Create A Decluttering Schedule
Once the plan has been drafted, take your time to create a cleaning schedule. This will ensure your decluttering is more systemic and better organized. You don’t want to waste time or energy so be sure to choose a day that works best. The weekend is best advised, especially on Saturday that’s a natural cleaning day.
Your schedule should consist of start time, end time, timers for each room, and breaks in between to keep the energy levels high.
3. Decide The Areas That Need To Be Decluttered
This next step is part preparatory and part action. What you do is take a look at each room and decide where your focus will be. In most cases, you can’t declutter your home in one go. However, dividing the process into sections makes it less bulky and more achievable.
For example, upon examining your home, you find bookshelves overflowing with books. You have several options:
Then, it’s time to organize your books to foster a sense of clarity and orderliness in your living environment. Curate your collection and only keep books that truly resonate with you to create a more harmonious space. For more information, see a detailed guide on how to declutter books. |
Once you note the rooms, you decide where to start, set a timer for each room, and work towards meeting those set times. To boost your cleaning process, take a picture of the rooms before decluttering and work to improve the visuals for a good “before and after” effect.
4. Organise The Clutter Into 3 Categories
Once the decluttering process starts properly, organization becomes key. You’ll need to sort out every item in every room into 3 separate boxes or baskets depending on what you have. Each is labeled differently with Keep, Toss, and Donate. By creating these labels, you can easily sort your items, retain what’s dear to you, and get rid of what’s lived past its use.
5. Know What You Want To Keep
While the boxes will help you organize your items better, you still need to know what is important and what needs to be thrown away. A lot of times, we allow items to stay beyond their time due to sentiments and so on. However, with your home space on the line, it’s time to sort out what you need from what you feel like keeping.
6. It’s Time To Move On From Old Items
Moving on from the 5th step, you should also decide what needs to go. There are two ways to get rid of items you don’t need anymore. The first is to look for places and people you can donate them to. For instance, old books, toys, and clothes can be given to the nearest libraries, schools, and community centers. That way, there’s a feeling of satisfaction that nothing is going to waste.
On the other hand, you should also toss out things when the need arises. For example, used-up bottles, plastics, and so on, can be recycled instead of taking up space in the house.
7. Get Rid Of The Trash Immediately
Once the items have been sorted into Keep, Toss, and Donate, you should ensure you toss out what needs to go immediately. Emphasis on immediately because the longer you stay without getting rid of the trash, the more vulnerable your home is to more clutter.
So, get a trash bag, say your goodbyes, and throw in everything that has served you well into it. You might even need more than one bag, especially if you’ve been swimming in clutter. The bottom line is that you should toss out trash as soon as possible to create more space in your home.
8. Create A Storage System For Easy Organization
Storage compartments are cheat codes for any decluttering process. They make the difference between random cleaning and efficient decluttering. Here are the tips for creating optimal storage systems:
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For all bookworms, we recommend checking out the article with 7 creative book storage ideas.
9. Tackle The Decluttering Process One Room At A Time
To truly learn how to declutter your home fast, you must master the art of tackling your clutter one room at a time. Start with the bedroom to get rid of books and clean your workspace before moving on to the closets and drawers.
From there, you can move on over to the kitchen to sort out pantries, cupboards, and storage compartments. Finally, the bathroom supplies and every other room in the house follow. Using the one-room-at-a-time approach ensures a fast and efficient process.
10. Take A Break Once In A While And Reward Yourself After
Don’t forget to take water breaks and rest when you’re cleaning for the whole day. While you might think it’s a good idea to take on the cleaning process in one quick sweep, it’s only a recipe for instant fatigue that, in turn, reduces your efficiency. Once the work is done, don’t forget to treat yourself for a work well done.
Why Is Decluttering Your Home Necessary?
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Feel free to explore the power of decluttering books as invaluable resources for achieving an organized living space. You may also be interested in practical tips for properly packing books when moving to a new home.
How to Declutter Your Home Fast: Bottom Line
Learning how to declutter your home fast has no doubt been made easier with these 10 easy steps. Those steps highlight the core aspects of decluttering, which are proper planning, organization, and time management. When you combine these factors, it becomes easier to transform your home from a cave of clutter into a sight to behold.
To declutter and organize your space, start by sorting your items into three categories – keep, donate, or discard. Focus on one area at a time and use storage solutions to maintain order. It is also important to revisit and declutter regularly to prevent clutter buildup.
