It’s the perfect time to hit the reset button and create a home that feels peaceful, organized and aligned with your goals. And decluttering your home is a great way to do that! Today’s post will give you 10 simple steps to declutter your home and give yourself a fresh start.
Decluttering can sometimes feel like a big task to take on. But decluttering your home doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By breaking it down into manageable steps to declutter your home, you can make significant progress toward a clutter-free home.
If you’re ready to do some decluttering and simplify your home and your life, today’s post will help. Here are 10 simple steps to help you get started creating a clutter-free home you love.
10 steps to declutter your home for a fresh start
Step 1: Start with a clear vision
Before you begin decluttering, take a moment to visualize what you want to achieve. Ask yourself:
- What do I want my home to feel like?
- How will a decluttered space improve my daily life?
Having a clear vision of what you want to achieve by decluttering will motivate you and guide your decisions as you declutter. The clearer you can get with your vision, the easier it will be to be decisive and ruthless as you’re decluttering.
Step 2: Decide where you’ll begin
There are two different approaches to take when deciding where to start decluttering.
If you’re feeling completely overwhelmed, I recommend starting somewhere easy. An easy space to declutter is usually smaller in size, with few sentimental or difficult items to declutter.
Some great examples are the bathroom, the pantry, a coat closet, your cleaning supplies cupboard, etc. A smaller, contained space will make it easier to start and finish without getting overwhelmed. And somewhere where you can make more logical and less emotional decluttering decisions is a great way to ease into decluttering too.
The other option is to start decluttering in the space that’s causing you the most stress. Tackling this area will remove a big source of stress from your life, free up time and give you a great boost of motivation to keep going.
Look around your home and decide which spaces or categories of stuff are causing the most stress in your life. Where do you spend the most time tidying, but it still feels messy or out of control? Is there a space that makes you feel stressed every time you’re in the space?
Tackle this stress-inducing space and simplify your life significantly right away. You’ll not only make your life less stressful, but you’ll also free up time to continue decluttering the rest of your house too!
Step 3: Work on small, manageable decluttering tasks
The quickest way to get overwhelmed and burnt out when you’re decluttering is by taking on too much too fast. Have you ever felt motivated to declutter, pulled everything out, then ran out of time or energy halfway through sorting it all and are left with a big mess?? Breaking the decluttering work down into small, manageable tasks is the best way to avoid this.
Break the space you’re decluttering down into small tasks you can tackle one at a time. For example, tackle one drawer, one shelf, one box, one pile, one cupboard, etc. at a time.
Completing each of these small decluttering tasks will give you a sense of accomplishment and build your motivation and momentum to keep going. As well as avoid ending up with a big decluttering mess and no time or energy to tackle it!
Step 4: Set up sorting categories
Keeping yourself organized as you’re decluttering is another great way to avoid ending up with a big mess each time you try to declutter.
As you declutter, sort items into four categories:
- Keep: items you use, love and will earn a place in your home
- Donate: items in good condition that you can donate so they can benefit someone else
- Trash: items that are broken, expired, or no longer usable
- Relocate: items that belong in another part of your home
Use bins or boxes to keep these categories organized as you’re decluttering.
When you finish each decluttering session, deal with the contents of each box to avoid ending up with a decluttering mess. Find homes for the items you’re keeping. Take your donations to your holding zone where you collect donations in between runs to the donation center. Dispose of the trash right away so it doesn’t pile up. And put anything that needs to be relocated in its proper place right away.
Step 5: Use the “one-year rule”
As you’re decluttering, if you come across something you’re unsure about, ask yourself if you’ve used it in the past year.
If you haven’t, it’s likely time to let it go. If you haven’t used it for a year or more, you likely won’t use it again in the future.
This is a great way to help put into perspective if items are adding value to your life or just taking up space in your home. This rule is particularly helpful for things like clothes, kitchen gadgets and hobby supplies.
Remember, if you don’t use something regularly, it’s usually not worth holding on to.
Step 6: Adopt the “one in, one out” rule
When you’re decluttering, working to maintain your freshly decluttered spaces is important too. To maintain a clutter-free home, practice this simple rule: for every new item you bring into your home, remove an old one.
This habit keeps clutter from creeping back in over time.
Step 7: Tackle sentimental items last
Sentimental items can be the hardest to let go of. Save these for the end of your decluttering journey, once you’ve built up your decluttering muscles and decision-making skills. Practice with the easier categories of stuff so when you get to sentimental items, you’ll feel more confident to make those decluttering decisions.
When you do address sentimental items, focus on keeping only the most meaningful pieces. When you have too many sentimental items, they become overwhelming and get lost among each other. But when you narrow it down to the most special pieces, it’s easier to value and appreciate them more.
Step 8: Set a timer to avoid overwhelm
Decluttering for hours at a time can lead to burnout. Instead, set a timer for 15 – 30 minutes and work on one small area. When the timer goes off, take a break or stop for the day.
Decluttering requires making lots of decisions. If you work for too long at one time, you can become decision-fatigued and the quality of your decision-making skills starts to decrease. Keep yourself fresh so you can be as ruthless and decisive as possible by focusing on decluttering for short bursts of time, then taking a break.
Step 9: Create a donation plan
Avoid the temptation to let donation bags linger in your home. Decide ahead of time where you’ll take your items and plan for a drop-off within a few days of decluttering.
Not only does holding onto donations keep the clutter taking up space in your home. It also gives you or members of your family a chance to second-guess your decluttering decisions or look through the donations and spread the stuff back into the house, undoing all of your hard work.
Trust your initial decisions and get the donations out of your house as quickly as possible.
Step 10: Celebrate your progress
Every decluttering session is taking you one step closer to your goals. Celebrate your progress by enjoying the newfound space and simplicity you’re creating. Take a moment to appreciate the effort you’re putting into improving your home.
The best way to stay motivated to continue decluttering is by noticing and appreciating the ways decluttering has already benefited you. Notice when a space is easier to keep tidy, functions better or makes you feel more peaceful rather than stressed.
Steps to declutter your home for a fresh start
Decluttering doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Follow these 10 simple steps to declutter your home and you’ll create a space that feels lighter, more organized and ready to support you rather than stress you out.
Remember, progress is more important than perfection. Start small, stay consistent and enjoy the benefits of a clutter-free home.
What area of your home will you tackle first? Share your plans and successes in the comments below!
I will start with my crafting room. It needs a good refresh.
Thank you for your tips; they have served me very well over the years.
Good for you! I'm so glad my site has been helpful for you. Thanks for reading!