How To Declutter Your Home
Life can often feel overwhelming with many responsibilities whether you’re a parent juggling multiple tasks like managing your children’s activities or even a young professional struggling to find time to cook throughout a busy week. And of course, if you’re working on managing your already busy life, finding the time to declutter your home may seem nearly impossible. However, it can be worth investing the time and energy to declutter your home as having a clutter-free home can significantly improve your overall well-being.
At XYZ Storage, we understand the challenges that come with maintaining a clean and organized home, especially when life starts to take over. To help you achieve a clutter-free home, here is an ultimate guide on how to declutter your home, including our top decluttering tips and tricks to ease the process. Let’s get started!
What is Decluttering?
Before diving right into how to declutter your home, let’s discuss what exactly decluttering is. Decluttering is the process of getting rid of belongings that no longer add value to you or bring you joy. You can do this for all of the belongings in your home, like books, clothes, kitchen appliances, gardening equipment, patio furniture, sports equipment, etc. It can be a challenging and time-consuming process, but can be well worth the result.
Reasons to Declutter Your Home
There are plenty of reasons to want to declutter your home, but here are some to name a few:
Downsizing
Deciding to downsize can occur for many reasons including, retiring or becoming an empty nester as your children leave the home. Through decluttering, you’ll have a much easier time when moving since you’ll only be moving items that you want to keep moving into your new home. And if you are choosing to downsize as empty nesters, a tidy home is easier to maintain and gives you more time to enjoy other activities.
Becoming a Minimalist
Minimalism is a lifestyle choice that many work towards adopting through decluttering. You can create a cleaner living environment that promotes mental clarity and reduces stress. Living with less allows you to become more mindful when it comes to purchasing only what you need and appreciating what you currently have. As a result, saving you both time and money. Having a minimalist lifestyle also means having a home that’s easier to clean.
Benefits of Decluttering Your Home
Decluttering your home has many benefits beyond having an organized, clean, and clutter-free space. Here are some additional benefits of decluttering your home:
Create More Space
One of the most noticeable benefits of decluttering your home is being able to create more liveable space. By removing unnecessary areas, you create a more spacious environment. Having more space allows you to maximize your wall space, and floor space, and improve functionality. For instance, clearing out a cluttered living room can provide more space for other activities, such as family gatherings.
Improve Your Mental Health
Did you know that having a clean and organized living space can significantly reduce your stress levels? Having a messy and cluttered home does not add value to you and harms your mental health. Therefore, taking the steps to minimize your physical clutter can do wonders for your mental health.
Improve Your Physical Health
While decluttering your home certainly has its benefits for your mental health it also benefits for your physical health as well. Cleaning your home and reducing clutter can help eliminate dust and allergens that have accumulated in your home over time, which ultimately creates a healthier living environment for you and your household.
Increased Productivity
What helps you be productive with your tasks? Well, decluttering can help make it easier to find items you’re looking for, reduces distractions, and helps you be more organized. All of which can lead to increased productivity in your work. According to the Business Harvard Review, “a study on the effects of clutter in the home found that individuals who felt overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in their homes were more likely to procrastinate.” This emphasizes the importance of decluttering to lead a more productive lifestyle and accomplish working tasks with ease.
Have a Game Plan
Now let’s talk about the first step to take to learn how to declutter your home quickly, which is to have a solid game plan so you know exactly where to start decluttering and how to proceed. A game plan allows you to make time in your schedule and can make the process much more manageable to accomplish. This can include cleaning your home office, organizing your winter clothes, or clearing and creating more space in your garage. Find time slots in your week that work best for you based on your busy schedule. Having a game plan helps figure out the easiest way to declutter your home and how to declutter your home quickly.
Here are some steps you can take to get started:
Step 1: What Are Your Goals and Priorities?
The first step is to ask yourself what are you aiming to accomplish throughout the decluttering process. Are you aiming to organize one room in your home or your entire house? Once you have identified the areas you want to focus your attention on, start prioritizing which one of those areas takes top priority so you can better organize your time and schedule. A pro tip is to prioritize the areas of your home that can be the most time-consuming or high-traffic areas in your home such as the kitchen or living room.
Step 2: Create a Checklist
The next step is to create a declutter-your-home checklist to help guide you throughout the process so you can check tasks off as you complete them. You can include all of the rooms and areas in your home you’d like to declutter. For example, the garage, kitchen, laundry room, living room, master bedroom, bathrooms, and basement. Think about how satisfying it’ll be to check off each area – very satisfying.
Step 3: Create a Schedule
Set yourself up for success by creating a schedule while also ensuring it’s a realistic and reasonable one. Don’t try to do everything all in one day without taking breaks as that can overwhelm and quite possibly demotivate you during the process. Break down each area of your home into manageable chunks and tackle room by room. For example, if you are tidying your garage, you can break the space into different sections and tackle one at a time with breaks in between.
Top Decluttering Tips
For those who are looking for even more decluttering tips, here are a few additional strategies to help you maintain a clutter-free home:
1. Focus on One Drawer at a Time
Start small by focusing on one drawer at a time. This approach can make the task of decluttering feel less overwhelming and more manageable. For example, you can begin with the junk drawer in your kitchen and move on to other drawers in your home once you’ve completed that task.
2. Utilize Storage Bags
Invest in storage bags to store seasonal items, bedding, or clothing. These bags can be easily tucked away in closets or under beds, helping to free up space and keep your items organized.
3. Regularly Declutter Your Rooms
Regularly keeping the rooms in your home clutter-free is essential. For example, keep your bathroom tidy by regularly going through items stored in your bathroom sink cabinet and drawers. Dispose of expired products, and consider using drawer organizers to keep your toiletries neatly arranged.
4. Schedule Regular Decluttering Sessions
Set aside a few minutes each week to tackle household clutter. Regularly scheduled decluttering sessions can prevent clutter from building up and make the process more manageable over time.
5. Be Mindful of Throwing Items Away
When decluttering, be mindful of throwing items away. Consider recycling or donating items that are still in good condition. This not only helps reduce waste but also supports your community.
6. Use Storage Boxes
Storage boxes are an excellent way to organize and store items that you don’t use frequently. Label the boxes to make it easy to find what you need without rummaging through everything.
7. Store Items Properly
Ensure that you store items in a way that makes sense for your space and lifestyle. Use containers, bins, and storage bags to keep everything organized and easily accessible.
By implementing these decluttering tips and strategies, you can create a more organized, functional, and enjoyable living space. Remember, the key to successful decluttering is consistency and mindful decision-making. Whether you’re dealing with one room or your entire home, taking small steps can lead to significant improvements in your overall quality of life.
Decluttering Rules
As you go through all of your belongings, think about what you can sell, donate, or throw away to make your home look and feel less cluttered. For items you intend to sell, places like eBay and Facebook Marketplace are great websites to turn to for selling the belongings you no longer wish to keep. It’s also a good idea if you’re looking to make some extra money.
However, if you have items that aren’t worthy of selling, but are still worth giving away and donating to someone who needs them. Look for local charities or thrift stores in your area that will take your belongings so you can help support your community.
Lastly, if you have belongings that are no longer in any condition to be used or passed along to someone in need you can recycle or dispose of them.
The 12 12 12 Rule for Decluttering
Achieving a clutter-free environment is made easier with the 12 12 12 rule, a favourite among those who are a professional organizer. This decluttering checklist provides a structured approach to achieving minimalist living by systematically clearing unwanted items. This decluttering rule encourages you to find 12 items to discard, 12 to donate, and 12 to organize or store in storage space or storage containers.
By implementing these storage solutions, such as drawer organizers, you not only clear kitchen cabinets and other areas but also maximize vertical space for a more organized space. This method helps prevent items from collecting dust and promotes a mindful approach to material possessions.
Embracing the 12 12 12 rule ensures that every item serves a purpose, fostering a more organized space and simplifying your daily life with fewer items stored unnecessarily.
Rule of 5 for Decluttering
Another helpful method to complement the 12 12 12 rule is the rule of 5 for decluttering. Here’s how it works: if no one in your household has used an item in 5 years, it’s time to let it go! This rule speeds up decision-making and is especially useful for those who find it trouble deciding.
The rule of 5 encourages a practical assessment of your belongings based on their relevance to your current lifestyle. It prompts you to consider whether keeping an item aligns with your present needs and space constraints. By using this rule, you can efficiently reduce clutter and free up valuable space in your home.
Pairing the rule of 5 with the 12 12 12 rule creates a comprehensive strategy for achieving a clutter-free environment. They encourage a mindful approach to consumption and storage, emphasizing quality over quantity in material possessions.
Incorporating these decluttering techniques into your routine can lead to long-term benefits, including reduced stress, improved productivity, and enhanced functionality of living areas. Whether you’re preparing for a move, simplifying your home, or seeking to downsize, these strategies provide practical solutions for creating a space that reflects your priorities and supports your daily activities.
XYZ Storage Can Help
Decluttering your home can significantly improve the quality of life in many ways. If you can’t sell, donate, or throw away the items, think about option number four – self-storage. Are you someone who keeps things for nostalgia but has no space to store them? Or perhaps you’ve found seasonal or temporary items that could free up much-needed space in your home?
Think about taking your belongings to storage where they can be kept and not taking up any necessary space in your home. Remember, XYZ Storage has secure facilities all around Toronto and the GTA, which can serve as your belongings home away from home. Our locations include Toronto Downtown, Toronto Midtown, Scarborough, Etobicoke, and Toronto West.
Happy decluttering from all of us at XYZ Storage!
