How to start decluttering: Essential tips for busy mums
Are you sick of the clutter in your home, but need some tips on how to start decluttering so you can finally find the time and energy to declutter once and for all?
The good news is that with some simple strategies, you can begin decluttering your home whether you’ve got a spare five minutes, or a whole afternoon.
Here are some tips on how to start decluttering so you can clear your clutter, and reclaim your home and sanity.
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What is decluttering?
Decluttering is the process of removing stuff from your home, so you have less things to care for, clean, and tidy.
The benefits of decluttering
If you’re thinking about how to begin decluttering, some of the benefits of decluttering that may encourage you to begin include:
- Less stress – less clutter creates a more peaceful home environment, reducing stress, and mental overload.
- More time – having fewer items in your home means less time spent cleaning and organising things, freeing up time for more important things.
- Easy to find things – when everything has a place it’s easier to find what you need, when you need it.
- Encourages mindful spending – minimising what you own, and what you bring into your home, helps you to become more intentional about what you spend your money on.
How to start decluttering
Here are some tips for how to declutter your home, that will help you achieve the clutter free house you’ve always wanted.
There are a variety of tips here that will help you start to declutter your home, the best way to approach them is to choose the ones that best suit the amount of time you have, or that appeal to you the most.
No matter which of the below tips you choose, the goal is to get you into a decluttering mindset, so you can tackle start your decluttering projects.
Make a decluttering checklist
One tip for how to start decluttering your home is to make a decluttering checklist, which is a list of the rooms or areas within your home that you want to declutter.
You can list the areas in your home in order that you want to declutter them, or work through the areas in your home in any order you want.
Some areas you may like to add to your decluttering checklist include:
- Decluttering kid’s bedrooms
- Decluttering kid’s toys
- Fridge and freezer
- Garage
- Home office
- Storage areas
- Towels and bedding
- Wardrobes
Schedule it in
Scheduling decluttering sessions into your calendar, and treating it like an appointment, is a great way to ensure that you actually spend time decluttering, and that you are mentally ready for it.
You’re less likely to avoid decluttering your home if you’ve allocated time for it.
Start small
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by clutter in your home, and feel like you don’t know where to start, or if you want to start at all.
My favourite way to start decluttering is to start small, starting with a cluttered drawer, wardrobe, entry way, or any area within my home that doesn’t feel too overwhelming.
It may also help if you set a timer for 15 minutes, and declutter a small area of your home in that time.
It’s amazing how much you can declutter in a small amount of focussed time, which will motivate you to continue on your decluttering quest.
Create keep, donate, sell, or throw piles
I love this decluttering tip, and find it’s the most practical one when it comes to actually getting items out of your home.
For each item in the room you’re decluttering, pick it up and add it to one of four piles, which are keep, donate, sell, or throw away.
You can use cardboard boxes or storage containers to help with this, or simply create piles on the floor.
To help you decide what pile you want to add an item to, ask yourself if you love the item, and if you don’t donate or sell it, if you do keep it and put it where you want it to be kept.
Once done, put any items in the donate pile in a large garbage bag and place it in your car immediately, so you’re not tempted to keep anything. Take this bag to a donation centre the next time you’re out.
For anything in the sell pile, list them for sale as soon as possible, and throw items in your throw pile out immediately.
The 12 months rule
Another way to decide what pile to place an item in is to think about whether you’ve used the item in the past 12 months.
If you haven’t chances are you won’t miss it, so donate these items to get them out of your home.
Have a permanent donation container
Another great tip to help you think about how to declutter your home is to have a donation container in your home, that you place items in any time you decide you don’t want it anymore.
You can place your donation container in your wardrobe, in a corner of a room, or anywhere in your home that you can see it, and once full, take it to your local donation centre.
Overcome your feelings towards items
Sometimes it’s not the how to begin decluttering that’s difficult, but the actual decluttering of sentimental items that can prevent you from starting.
You may find it hard to declutter items that have sentimental value, that you want to keep just in case you need them, because you spent money on them, or they were given to you as a gift.
If this happens, acknowledge your feelings, and emotionally detach yourself from the item so you can declutter it from your home, and create the clutter free space you’re seeking.
Get your kids to help
The task of decluttering doesn’t have to fall solely on your shoulders, getting your kids to help not only takes the pressure off you, but teaches your kids the value of items, and the importance of being organised.
Make decluttering a habit
A great way to keep your home decluttered is to make decluttering a habit.
You can do this by:
- Decluttering your home at the start of each season
- Donating clothing as soon as it no longer fits
- If you buy something new, remove something old from your home
- Make sure all your items have a place, and that they’re in their place at the end of the day
- Regularly donating items that no longer serve their purpose, or that you no longer want
How to start decluttering – a recap
Decluttering doesn’t have to be overwhelming, there are some decluttering tips that will help you start decluttering, even when you’re a busy mum.
Creating a decluttering checklist, and scheduling decluttering into your calendar, both help you to start decluttering.
Other things you can do to help you start decluttering is to start with small areas in your home, use keep, donate, sell, or throw out piles to remove items from your home, donate anything you haven’t used for 12 months, and keep a donation container in your home to regularly donate items.
Overcoming feelings towards sentimental items, getting your kids to help declutter, and making decluttering a habit are additional ways to help you create a home that’s calmer, easier to keep tidy, and create more time for things that truly matter.
Are there any areas in your home that you want to declutter?
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