Give in to the urge to purge: how to start decluttering your home

The thought of cleaning or decluttering your home can be incredibly daunting, there’s no denying it. That’s why so many people leave it off for weeks, months, or even years. We know that taking the time to declutter and organize our stuff will make our lives easier, so why do we wait so long? Maybe it’s the emotional attachment to the objects that keeps us from getting rid of them, or maybe it’s gone on for so long, we don’t even know where to start. Either way, with the right state of mind, decluttering can be a huge weight off one’s back, and we’re going to give you some advice on where to start when deciding to declutter.

First things first, make things easy for yourself by not tackling everything at once. Sit down and map out the places in your home that tend to collect clutter. Is your garage overflowing? Does your closet cause you stress when you’re getting ready in the morning? Write down all the places in your house you’d like to work on. Remember, keep it simple. You don’t have to attack the whole garage in a weekend, or your whole bedroom in one go. Write things on your list like, “the bookshelf in the master bedroom” or “underneath the bathroom sink”. It’s okay to start small, and if you finish one area and are feeling motivated, you can move onto another. If you’re tired and feeling drained from all the decluttering, you can still feel accomplished knowing you checked something off of your list.

Once you’ve written down all the places you’d like to declutter, schedule the time to do it. Just like scheduling an appointment or meeting with a friend, you have to plan time to declutter if you’re ready to commit. Start by plugging in an hour or two on your next free day. Or even start smaller! There’s tons of suggestions online for time management or using your cleaning time effectively. Check out UFYH‘s 20/10 theory. 20 minutes of work and 10 minutes to relax!

When the time comes to get at it, prepare yourself to have an organized declutter session. Get a garbage bag, and two laundry baskets. The garbage bag is for stuff that’s unsalvageable. Stuff that’s worn out and no one could ever use (clothing, bedding, towels, old toiletries are all culprits we keep around too long!) You’ll be surprised at how fast you can fill up a garbage bag. For laundry basket number one, fill it with stuff you know you want to keep. When deciding if you’re going to keep something, ask yourself these three questions: Do I use this often? Do I need this in my house? Do I love this item? These three questions will help you decide if something is worth keeping. For the second laundry basket, fill it up with stuff you no longer want in your home and don’t need, but you know someone else could use. Maybe you have tons of extra stationary and school supplies you know you’ll never need, or tons of wall hangings that were good for your old decor, but since redecorating, don’t fit anywhere. These are things you can stand to lose, but someone else might benefit from. Re-home those items!

Once the items are in their respective bags and baskets, get rid of the extra stuff! The garbage is easy. Take that and throw it out. Take the basket of stuff you’re keeping and find new homes for the items. Make sure the items go somewhere they fit in, and you’ll remember to use them. Finally, take the basket of stuff you’re ready to re-home and have a quick photoshoot. Selling items online is a lot easier than you think. There’s tons of platforms to sell stuff on, and Curbza is one of the most simple to use. We’ve made it so if you have a basket, a box or even a room full of stuff to sell, you can take your mobile phone and make your way around the room quickly and efficiently. Set everything out, and quickly use the on-board camera on your mobile phone to snap pictures of your items and create an ad. There’s always people looking for deals on Curbza, so you’ll be able to make some profit from the stuff that was previously taking up valuable space in your home!

Do you have any crucial decluttering steps that help you make the process more bearable, and, maybe even fun? Comment below and share your tips!