Do you want to declutter your home but get quickly tripped up when thinking where to begin? Living a simplified, uncluttered and minimalist lifestyle sounds attractive to many people. Considering the benefits of owning fewer possessions: having less to clean, less debt, less to organize, less stress, more money, and energy for your passions- why wouldn’t you want to declutter?
Declutter the Fun Way!
Though the thought of minimizing your belongings and getting rid of memories seems daunting, there are several creative ways to declutter your home that can help make doing so an easy and painless process.
1. Make a List
Create a list of places or rooms in your home that you want to declutter- beginning with the easiest first. Having a plan of attack makes cleaning up easier and keeps you on task. The list could be as detailed or as vague as you desire based upon what you want to declutter (drawers/closets/rooms), but by being written down, it can easily fit into any schedule and you’ll always know where you left off.
2. A Change In Perspective
Bring in an outsider’s perspective. Ask friends, family, coworkers, or a neighbor to come into your home and give their opinion on your most cluttered areas. Or, take photos of your house as a way to see your home in a new light.
3. Give It Away Once A Day
Give away one item each day. Whether you donate it, give it to a friend, a church, or the trash bin, simply reducing your stuff by one item at a time, one day a time, you’ll notice a major difference in closet space.
4. Fill a Trash Bag
In your journey towards simplicity, one of the easiest decluttering techniques is to grab a large trash bag and see how quickly you can fill it. Decide where the bag will go to once filled (Goodwill, trash, donate, etc) and once it’s filled, stop what you’re doing and take it to the decided destination immediately. Out of sight, out of mind.
5. Color By Numbers
Challenge yourself to keep a certain number of clothing articles in your closet. You can break that number down by colors, keeping only a certain number of items per color. It’s like a game against yourself where you can adjust the rules as you need, picking a new number whenever appropriate. The important thing is to challenge yourself to live with a smaller number than you started with and to keep that number to a minimum.
6. Get Creative by Imagination
Use your imagination to help declutter objects that might seem difficult to remove. You can ask yourself questions like, “If I were going to buy this now, how much would I pay for it, and is it worth keeping for the price I actually got it for?” Or, “If I were to sell this, is it worth the effort, or would it be easier just to let it go?” This self-contemplation technique can prove helpful for those who have difficulties removing unneeded clutter.
Bottom line
No matter what you do to help you get started on your path to a more minimalist lifestyle, the goal is to find creative ways to declutter your home. How you remove the clutter is up to you, but once it’s gone, there is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh beginnings waiting for you!