Is it possible to declutter your home without losing your mind? Yes! In this post, I’ll discuss simple and effective ways to declutter your home and bring peace and sanity back to your home for the new year. Your home didn’t accumulate clutter overnight and you won’t eliminate it quickly. It could take days or weeks to complete this task. Here are some tips for decluttering your home for the new year.
Focus on Your High-Priority Areas First
To simplify the decluttering process, spend a week or two on your high-priority areas of the home first. If your kitchen has the most clutter and chaos, spend a day in this room. Maybe you can start by taking everything out of the cabinets and cleaning the cabinets. Then you’ll toss out all expired pantry staples and organize the ones you still use. From there, you may clean and declutter your refrigerator and freezer. On the second day, tackle another high-traffic area such as the bathroom or living room.
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
Who says you need to declutter your home by yourself? Reduce the stress by delegating tasks to others in the home. Have your spouse be in charge of decluttering the garage and attic while your kids will declutter their bedrooms. This saves you time and the job gets done faster when everyone is involved.
Put Your Favorite Music or Podcasts On
Decluttering gets boring at times, so put on your favorite music or podcasts while completing those tedious tasks. You can also set a timer for each room you declutter and reward yourself with a cool treat once you’re finished for the day. This keeps you motivated and on task if you’re someone who is easily distracted.
Toss Out Broken, Unwanted, and Outdated Items
Don’t save items for sentimental reasons. If your blenders and other small appliances no longer work, throw them away. Donate or sell if your closet is full of clothes you can’t fit and you know you won’t wear over the next few months. If there are books, stationery, or bedding items you don’t want, give them to relatives and friends.
Give Everything A Home
Items that are scattered everywhere add to your home’s chaos. Solve the problem by giving everything a designated spot in your home. It keeps you from losing items easily and your home looks better. Teach and demonstrate this lesson to your kids so they’ll be more organized.
Follow The One-In, One-Out Rule
Every time you buy new items, eliminate your old unwanted items at the same time. This is crucial when you declutter your home because you reduce excess piles of things and it frees up space for the new items you love. When you buy new makeup sets, get rid of your old ones.
Switch To Paperless Billing
You don’t have to do this for every bill, but you can decrease the paper clutter in your home by switching to paperless billing. If you need old bills for documentation purposes, you can print them out from the websites.
Purchase Multipurpose Furniture
When you declutter your home, look for multipurpose furniture that saves space in your home and provides excellent storage. Place ottoman stools in every room and put excess small items inside the ottomans that you don’t use daily. For example, place magazines and newspapers inside the ottoman you’re using for the living room. You can put a sofa bed in the kids’ rooms and guest bedroom. Use large bins for shoe storage under your bed.
Adopt A Minimalist Mindset
Adopting a minimalist mindset can help you declutter and maintain a cleaner home. Focus more on buying what you need rather than what you want over the next few months. Do meaningful activities that don’t involve spending money. These include reading good books, working on your side hustle, calling friends, volunteering at local nonprofits, and having a backyard picnic with the kids. Learn how to repair buttons and zippers on clothes. Learn how to repair small appliances such as toasters and blenders.
Take Inventory of What You Have
Duplicate items cause clutter, and you can avoid this by taking inventory of what you already have in every room. As you do this, write down the items you already have by category. Then place these lists in a binder to refer to before you buy new items. Do you need five cast-iron skillets? If you see any duplicate items, eliminate them immediately.
Minimize Bulk Purchases
Don’t buy things you don’t use frequently in bulk since these purchases contribute to more clutter in the home. Only buy items you use the most in bulk if doing so saves you money and time.
Pass On Your Heirlooms Now
You don’t have to wait until you pass away for your children and grandchildren to receive your heirlooms. Give your most treasured items to loved ones now. Invite them to your house and ask them to look through your things to see which ones they want to bring home with them. You’ll declutter and pass on treasures at the same time.
Bring Unused Non-Perishable Foods to Food Banks
If you have a surplus of non-perishable foods, bring them to local food banks and nonprofit organizations. These places are dealing with a shortage of food staples and your items can help families eat well this holiday season and throughout the coming year.
Decluttering is a great way to begin a new year. As you eliminate what no longer serves a purpose for you, you’ll have a neater and more peaceful home.
