Ready to Declutter But Don't Know Where to Start?

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed by the stuff in our homes, that we have no idea where to begin decluttering!

If you find yourself in this place, remember the most important thing is to do something rather than nothing. Each day you delay decluttering you also delay living the life you long for. However, each day you do something you move yourself closer to the life of your dreams. 

Removing just one item from your home that is no longer loved or used or decluttering one drawer feels good and shifts the energy in your home and life. This newfound energy will motivate you to keep going. You will see that consistent action compounds overtime– you will feel better, your home lighter and more spacious, and the decluttering will get easier. 

Follow these steps to begin your decluttering:

1. Imagine your ideal home and life: Knowing the reasons why you are decluttering and how it will benefit you is essential.  If we are faced with a daunting task and aren’t clear about the benefits and gains, why would we want to tackle it? Understanding your why is what will keep you motivated and on track for successful completion. Set aside time to dig deep and clarify your vision for your ideal home and life. What will your home look like? How will you feel living in a clutter-free home? How will it improve your relationships, career, everyday living etc.? 

2. Make a clutter-clearing plan: make a list of all the rooms in your home and underneath each room list small areas. For example, under bedroom you may write bedside table, closet, dresser. 

Making a plan may seem simple and insignificant, but you will feel so much better! We often have inner clutter about our physical clutter. A list helps clear your mind-- where thoughts loom large because we think the same thoughts over and over, making ourselves think a task is bigger than it is. Once you see your list you will realize that decluttering has a beginning point and an endpoint, which makes the task less daunting. Also, you will have a map that gives you clarity about your next steps: the key to following through with any task is to be clear about your next step. If you find you are anxious about the next step (i.e. decluttering my dresser) then break your list down into smaller areas (i.e. the top drawer of my dresser, or my socks.)

Finally, a clutter clearing plan keeps you on track for completing your entire home. While you will feel better just by removing one item or decluttering one small area, in order to maintain a clutter free home and lifestyle you will want to address each and every item in your home– whether that takes 6 weeks, 6 months or a year– the plan will keep you on track.
Decide when you will declutter. Either build 15 minutes of decluttering into your daily routine, (setting a timer helps!) or schedule in your calendar blocks of time to declutter. 

3. Choose one small area from your clutter-clearing plan and place anything that is not loved or useful into a bag to recycle, trash or donate. Remember to check the box when you finish an area!

If you still feel overwhelmed then simply commit to removing one piece of clutter from your home every day. Each day, if you remove just one item from your home that's not useful or loved, by the end of the year you would have 365 fewer pieces of clutter!