There are two common struggles when it comes to decluttering and organizing your home. The first is figuring out where to start decluttering. And the second is figuring out how to maintain your momentum and motivation to keep going after the initial excitement wears off.
Whether you’re struggling to get started decluttering, or you’ve already started, but have lost some of your momentum and aren’t sure what to tackle next, today’s post will help!
I’m sharing 10 simple decluttering projects you can tackle today, no matter where you are on your decluttering journey.
These decluttering projects are all relatively simple and quick. They’ll help you get started, build your momentum and give you some quick decluttering wins to encourage and motivate you to keep going!
Challenge #1: where and how to start decluttering
Sometimes figuring out where to start decluttering can be one of the biggest obstacles when you’re trying to declutter and organize your home.
Maybe you feel overwhelmed with clutter. Maybe you don’t have much time to declutter and aren’t sure where your limited time would be best spent. Or maybe you find you get easily distracted while you’re decluttering. Bouncing from one spot to the next, and never really making any progress anywhere!
But often, once you can get over the hurdle of getting started, and actually start decluttering, you build momentum and confidence and it becomes easier to keep going.
Challenge #2: maintaining your decluttering momentum
Other times, the problem isn’t so much getting started decluttering. It’s keeping your momentum going.
You start off excited about the idea of decluttering and simplifying your home and dive in. But somewhere along the way lose your motivation and momentum. You need some simple ways to get back in your decluttering groove and keep your progress going.
Come back to this list, again and again, to keep your decluttering momentum going
You can come back to this list any time you need a simple place to start to get your decluttering momentum going again.
The 10 decluttering projects in today’s post are all places where clutter has a way of creeping back in overtime, and will likely need a little decluttering touch up every so often. Come back to them whenever you need a quick project to boost your decluttering motivation again.
Whether you’re just starting out, or have been decluttering for a while, these 10 projects are great ways to get started decluttering and keep your momentum going.
10 simple ways to start decluttering today!
1. Declutter your pantry
Looking for an easy way to start decluttering and give yourself a quick decluttering win? Look no further than your pantry!
The pantry is a great place to start decluttering (or declutter again to boost your decluttering motivation) for a couple of of reasons.
First, the pantry is usually a relatively small space in your home. Smaller spaces mean less time to declutter and organize, compared to a full-sized room.
Second, the decluttering decisions are usually easier to make when you’re tackling a space like your pantry.
You don’t usually keep your most precious or sentimental possessions in your pantry. You’re probably not emotionally attached to your canned goods, the same way you might be emotionally attached to your kids’ baby clothes.
Decluttering your pantry requires more logical, less emotional decluttering decisions. Which are usually a lot easier to make!
Start by tossing anything expired, gone bad or no longer fresh. Anything unopened and unexpired that you know you won’t use can be donated to the food bank.
You can group like items together and declutter each category. Once you’ve cleared anything expired or no longer needed or wanted, organize what’s left in a way that makes sense for you and your family. Then take stock of what you have and plan meals and your grocery list accordingly.
Decluttering and organizing your pantry gives you a quick decluttering win you’ll notice and appreciate anytime you’re cooking or eating. This is a great way to help build your momentum and motivation to declutter and simplify other areas of your life as well!
2. Declutter your fridge and freezer
Another great place to start decluttering and give yourself a quick decluttering win is your fridge and freezer.
Like your pantry, the fridge and freezer are two highly used spaces. Taking a few minutes to declutter and organize them will have an immediate positive impact on your life. Making it easier to find what you need, see what you have, use the food and put food away.
Quickly declutter your fridge and freezer by taking everything out and wiping down the shelves. Then get rid of anything expired, gone bad or no longer needed. Organize what’s left in a way that makes sense for you and your family as you put it back in the space.
3. Declutter your entryway closet
The entryway closet is another great place to start decluttering.
This is likely one of the first and last spaces you see and use when you enter and leave your home. And possibly one of the first places guests see and use when they come into your home as well. And who wants to be greeted by chaos, mess and clutter every time you walk into your house!
Not only that, but the entryway closet is usually a hard-working space in most homes. Used multiple times a day and holding all of your essentials like coats, shoes, hats, gloves, umbrellas, etc.
Taking a few minutes to declutter, organize and tidy up the space can make life a lot easier when you’re coming and going from your home. And is another great way to inspire you to carry your decluttering efforts on to other spaces in your home.
And, much like the pantry, you probably don’t keep your most precious, sentimental or emotionally attached items in your entryway closet. So, your decluttering decisions can be more logical and less emotional, which are easier decisions to make!
Quickly sort through your entryway closet. Get rid of anything you no longer need or want. Put things that don’t belong in the entryway closet away where they belong. Then take a few minutes to straighten up and organize what’s left so it’s easy to find, use and put away when you’re done.
4. Declutter your car
Your car is another space you likely use frequently and spend a fair amount of time in. So clearing the clutter and freshening it up can be a great way to make your time in the car more pleasant, and inspire you to continue on your decluttering journey.
Even if you don’t have the time (or inclination!) to deep clean your vehicle, taking a few minutes to clear any clutter or garbage from your car and put everything back where it belongs can be a great way to keep your decluttering progress going.
5. Declutter your purse
Purses are another hard-working item for most of us, but they can easily get a little messy and out of control!
Taking a few minutes to declutter your purse will not only literally lighten your load. But it is another easy way to inspire you to continue decluttering because it shows you how a few minutes spent clearing the clutter and the junk can make life so much easier!
Take everything out of your purse and sort through it, getting rid of any garbage or things that are no longer needed. Put things that don’t belong in your purse away where they belong. Then put what you’re keeping in your purse back in a way that makes sense for you.
6. Declutter your bathroom counter
The bathroom is one of my favourite places to start decluttering.
Bathrooms are usually smaller rooms and again, don’t usually hold your most precious or sentimental items. So, decluttering the bathroom is usually a relatively quick and easier decluttering project because you’re making more rational and less emotional decluttering decisions.
But sometimes when you’re getting started decluttering, even the thought of tackling the whole bathroom can feel overwhelming. So instead of starting with the whole bathroom, start by decluttering the bathroom counter.
Get rid of anything empty, no longer used or liked. Put things away where they belong and be very selective about what you choose to keep on the counter. Give the counter a good wipe and enjoy your clean and clear countertop.
Then keep going!
Try decluttering and organizing one drawer or one basket, etc. Each mini decluttering project you do builds your momentum and helps inspire and encourage you to keep going.
7. Declutter your makeup bag
This is another smaller space in your bathroom that’s a great way to keep your decluttering momentum going.
Makeup tends to be one of those things that can build up and get out of control. Maybe you buy a new product and start using it without using up and getting rid of the old one. Or you buy something to try, don’t love it, but keep it “just in case” you want to try it later.
Taking a few minutes to sort through, declutter and organize your makeup bag will help make mornings easier. And continue to encourage and inspire you to keep going by showing you the value of simplifying.
Get rid of anything old, expired, unused, unloved and used up. Be honest about what you truly use and get rid of anything you don’t love or use often. Try keeping your everyday makeup separate from your special occasion makeup to save you from having to sift through a bunch of products to find your daily favourites.
8. Declutter your junk drawer
I’ve often heard minimalism proponents say you shouldn’t need a junk drawer once you’ve decluttered and simplified your home. But I disagree. I actually think a junk drawer can be a really great tool – if you use it within some limits.
Most households have at least a few random items that are used and needed, but don’t necessarily have a dedicated “home”. Things like office supplies (stapler, paper clips, etc.), batteries, a screwdriver that fits the battery compartment on toys, etc.
Those kinds of items are great examples of miscellaneous items that might make sense to go in a “junk drawer”. It gives them a home, so they aren’t floating around the house causing clutter. And makes it easy to find them when you need them.
The trouble with junk drawers is they can often live up to their name. Meaning they become a place where random junk that you don’t know what to do with or don’t want to make a decision about can be shoved and forgotten about.
Even an intentional “junk drawer”, that holds things you do actually use and need, can become cluttered and chaotic over time and need a quick tidy, declutter and reset.
Plus, the more you do these smaller decluttering and organizing projects, the more you’ll be inspired and motivated to continue decluttering and organizing other parts of your home.
Take a few minutes to empty out your junk drawer. Get rid of the garbage, put things back where they belong and organize what’s left in a logical way for you.
Then give yourself a high-five when you know exactly where all those little miscellaneous items are when you need them!
9. Declutter your inbox
Clutter isn’t just the physical clutter in your home. Digital clutter can be just as stressful and time-sucking as physical clutter.
A great way to start tackling digital clutter is with your inbox.
Depending on what your inbox is like to start with, it might not be a quick or easy process to declutter your inbox and emails. But you can start working on it to slowly chip away at it and start clearing the digital clutter.
First, make an effort to only check your email when you have time to deal with email. And when you do check your email, make a point to deal with the new emails right then. Delete what you don’t need, reply to what needs a response and organize what you need to keep in a way that makes sense to you.
This will help your inbox from getting more cluttered while you’re dealing with what’s already there.
Then, you can start chipping away at what’s already in your inbox. Delete what you don’t need, file or organize what you’ll need to reference again and start unsubscribing to any emails you no longer wish to receive.
Digital clutter can be stressful. But making an effort to start decluttering and getting a handle on email clutter is a great way to start tackling digital clutter in general.
10. Declutter the photos on your phone
Much like email clutter, it’s easy to accumulate a massive number of photos and videos on your phone that quickly become stressful and overwhelming to deal with.
A great way to deal with photo clutter on your phone is by picking a set time or schedule to go through photos. Delete what you don’t need and transfer or save the photos you want to keep.
For example, maybe every Sunday you go through your photos from the week and decide what to keep and what to get rid of.
Depending on how many photos are currently on your phone, this decluttering project may take some time. But don’t let that discourage you.
Start where you are by staying on top of deleting and saving photos from this point forward. Then try to find 10 or 15 minutes at a time to work on older photos, until you get through them all.
How to start decluttering today!
I hope these projects will give you some simple ideas of how you can start decluttering your home and your life.
Repeat these projects whenever you need a way to boost your decluttering motivation. Most of these decluttering tasks are things that will likely need to be repeated from time to time simply because life happens and clutter finds its way back into our homes.
Use them as starting points to dive in and start decluttering for the first time. Or use them as ways to boost your motivation, momentum and inspiration to help you continue decluttering and start enjoying the benefits of a clutter-free home!
What’s your favourite way to get started decluttering from this list? I always love quickly decluttering and organizing our pantry to give myself a nicely organized and clutter-free space to enjoy! What about you? Leave a comment and let me know!
