With summer in the air, this action plan will help you get rid of the clutter quickly and efficiently.
You’ve woken up on a Saturday morning, and it’s Summer! Knowing you’ve blocked off the day to organise your kitchen, bathroom, living areas, bedrooms and garage, now what? Rather than getting bogged down by the thought of an unending day of admin, win the mind game by giving yourself 40 to 60 minutes in each room. This will depend on how desperately your home needs decluttering. This time cap will afford you just enough time to decide what you don’t need and absolutely no time to second-guess yourself.
Before you get started, remember:
- Be precise – set your timer and once the alarm has sounded move on to the next room.
- Avoid doing finicky things such as cleaning or hammering in hooks – you are decluttering and organising.
- You’ll need recycling bags, biodegradable refuse bags, large labelled storage containers, preferably see-through. Plus a head full of resolve to get rid of anything that you are sentimental or indecisive about (but were only reminded of when you came across it).
To keep or not
Have four large containers ready for the room you are tackling. Label them Keep, Donate/Sell, Recycle, and Move. The items in Move are strays things from other parts of the house that need to move back to their original place. The items labelled Keep are those that belong, but have landed up in the wrong part of the room.
Throw away items go into heavy-duty black refuse bags. The bags will not only hold lots of broken or discarded items, but will also keep items “out of sight, out of mind”. This includes anything you haven’t used, worn or thought about in the last year.
One at a time
Tackle one shelf, drawer, counter or cupboard at a time and sort it in its entirety. Each item will either be pulled onto the nearest surface area, ready to be stacked neatly back in the space you are working on, go in one of the four marked containers, or be thrown away.
Only once you have decluttered all the zones in the room should you reorganise the space using that Keep container and the items that are ready to be stacked back.
A place for everything
Contain the madness by finding a place for all the items laying around. Yes, it may be used daily, but it’s clogging your countertops and floors. So create realistic homes for all of them – if your blush brush, eyeliner and lipstick continuously end up on the bathroom basin counter. Then perhaps move them from your dressing table to the bathroom cabinet. Loved toys should be scooped into easy-to-reach baskets. Keys put back on those unused hooks and loose change placed in bowls. It becomes easier to find homes for all the items, once you’ve discarded stuff, as there’ll be more space for storage. This is vital for sound home organisation.
Read more: How to DECLUTTER YOUR LIFE
If you need help, contact a professional to help you declutter.
