7 Tips To Declutter Your House ⋆ Lana Pummill

The word declutter doesn’t sound appealing to some. However, sometimes I think it is needed for your sanity. Clearing clutter helps you feel more centered, organized, and less overwhelmed. Here are 7 tips to declutter your house.

“Clearing clutter—be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual—brings about ease and inspires a sense of peace, calm, and tranquility.” -Laurie Buchanan, PhD

Feeling Overwhelmed

Recently, I woke up feeling like I needed to let go. I just felt this urgency. With everything going on in my life this past year, I have felt so weighed down. I feel like I have had no control over anything. I was sitting on my couch, watching Hoarders (which might have had something to do with it. HA!), and I decided I was going to go through our storage building, throw away or donate, reorganize the boxes, and make sure they were all labeled. So I DUG IN!!

I felt ridiculous as I was going through all of our things, and I will be honest most of it was my stuff from before we were married. It is crazy to have that much stuff that you aren’t using. I kept the things that have a lot of sentimental value and the baby stuff and clothes because we might have another baby, but anything else I trashed or donated. Every time I threw something in my truck, I felt myself getting lighter and lighter. It was so cathartic. The clutter might not have anything to do, directly, with everything that has been going on this year, but it is a great metaphor. With each choice of, keep, donate, trash…I felt like I was moving forward. You can’t let situations or material things weigh you down. Take a deep breath and let go…let go and grow.

LET GO AND GROW!!

Six empty containers, two full truckloads of trash/donation, and I finally have an organized storage room. I might not be able to control the situations going on in my life right now, but I can control how I react and what clutter (mental and physical) that I hold on to.

“You’re the boss of clutter, not the other way around.” –Monika Kristofferson

7 Tips To Declutter Your House

The beginning of a new year is always a good time to reevaluate your life. I encourage you to do the same, but I know it isn’t always easy so here are 7 tips to declutter your house.

Create An Action Plan

An action plan is a must need, especially if you find it difficult to let certain things go or if you are feeling overwhelmed. Here are a few questions to ask yourself while creating an action plan:

What areas need to be cleaned?
Are there certain times/days that you have time to work on this?
What is your end goal?

Create A “Maybe” Pile

I learned about this tip here. Once you start going through things, create a pile that is for “maybes,” and then hide them away somewhere. If you don’t use them in a month, then get rid of everything in the box.

Questions To Ask Yourself

When you are going through ideas, ask yourself these questions to decide whether you are going to keep, trash, or donate:

How often do you use it?
Is it a want or a need?
Is it easy to replace?

If Possible, Digitize

This is something I have just started doing recently, but I really love it. Anything that you can scan, do it. It will take up less space than a physical hard copy. It might take some time to get caught up, but once you do it is easy to keep up.

Check Expirations Dates

Food, medicine, makeup, perfume, cologne…check the dates! An easy way to get rid of stuff.

Go Through Closets First

If you are like me I tend to cram a lot of stuff at the bottoms and tops of my closets. If you are having trouble deciding what clothes or shoes to get rid of try using the “maybe” pile technique. Getting your closets cleaned is a good motivator to keep going.

Work A Little Each Day And Claim Small Victories

Decluttering really is a marathon, not a sprint. So take your time, work a little each day, and be proud of the progress you make.

“Having too much of anything results in chaos, confusion, and clutter.” –Geralin Thomas

I hope these tips have inspired you to deal with whatever clutter you may have head-on. I promise you will feel so much better after you are finished.

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” -Isaiah 40:31