As we are in the middle of spring I've been spring cleaning the past few weeks. I am completely opposite of a hoarder and tend to throw almost too much out! My general rule, except sentimental items, if we haven't used it in a year in a half or even a year than it is out the door! I can not stand a cluttered house and it makes for one happy wife getting rid of bags of clothes and boxes of items we aren't using! I just can't function in clutter, bye bye!
Ten Ways to Declutter Your Home
O N E: Start Small
I like to pick one area of our house at a time to start riding of clutter. When I try to conquer the whole house in one day I just get overwhelmed and tend to get far less done. Just pick one room at a time or even part of a room and start making piles. Start clearing one drawer, shelf, closet, etc.
T W O: Make Piles
Once I have started to go through one section I make piles. One pile to for sure keep, one to donate, one to sell and one to trash. And sometimes it is needed to make a 'think about pile'. This pile is made up of items I just can't make my mind up on but is always gone through by the end.
T H R E E: Get Rid of Distractions
We don't have kids but even the smallest things like my phone can be a distraction. If a text comes through across the room I tend to wonder who it was or if it was important and then before I know it I am sitting in the middle of a pile of clothes in the middle of our closet checking Snapchat. I crank the music and set my phone out of sight.
F O U R: Don't Let Your Husband Know
Ok ok kidding...kind of. If your husband is like mine then he tends to want to keep things that you KNOW he will not use or EVER use but he still wants to hold on to them. I'm not talking about sentimental things again, I'm talking about for example...two brass ducks that weigh about ten pounds each that have been in the closet for close to four years now. Kyle refuses to let me get rid of these ducks and this man has a whole office to himself to store things in like this...but these ducks aren't even it! I have a feeling they will be in the garage sale pile in a few weeks. Shh!
F I V E: Use Dividers
Lets face it, every house has a junk drawer but does it have to look cluttered? Nope! I'm a huge fan of drawer dividers, baskets and storage tubs. You can store so much in one small space by keeping it all organized. I think Kyle thought I was a little crazy the day I brought home tiny clear plastic tubs with snap lids so I could divide up our 'pen and pencil drawer'. Everything is now stored away and the clear tubs makes it easy to grab the one you need!
S I X: Don't Forget the Bathroom
Ladies, we are the worst with hoarding bathroom products! At least I know that I am. Lets face it, if we reject a product once for another then we probably aren't coming back to it and it can be tossed! I know a lot of times I will try out a new product and I decide I don't love it but 'I'll keep it just in case' and that just in case time never comes. Guilty! Also most of our products have an expatriation date on them so this is a perfect time to check those bathroom shelves.
S E V E N: Have a Place for Everything
This tip drives Kyle INSANE. He is, in my eyes, super unorganized but to him it looks unorganized but he knows exactly where everything is. Lies, he asks me approximately 321 times a day where something is! I'm constantly saying "Well find a spot for it!" He is king of coming in the house and setting down a box on the kitchen counter full of important things like fishing lures and I'm queen of coming behind him asking him to find a spot for it. If it has a spot it's not clutter and it's not on my radar!
E I G H T: Broken Items
We tend to hold on to broken items and after each cleaning spree we are still left with that broken item taking up space with the idea we will fix it. If you have broken items then set a deadline for getting them fixed and if we don't get it done then do we even really need it? Probably not.
N I N E: Use Files
Another huge difference with Kyle and I. I keep all of our important items in folders, or try to, in one closet. Kyle is always asking me where some important document and it is nice to say in the office closet. However; sometimes a folder doesn't get made or a file doesn't get put back and then let chaos commence. We just recently got a large gun safe so this is a reminder for me to get all files organized and created to be moved to the safe.
T E N: Utilize Attic Space
We also try not to clutter the attic as well but I do store all holiday and sentimental items up there. I did recently just buy tubs to separate all decor by holiday so my mind is a little more at ease. I also like to try and go through all decor after each holiday before storing it in the attic again. If I don't do this and get rid of items we no longer use than I tend to just throw them back up there and we don't see them again for a year.
These are just a few tips I try to keep in mind when decluttering our home. I hope some of these helped you! Please let me what works for you and your family, I'm always looking for helpful tips!
