The Best Decluttering Advice You’ll Find All Week!
You want decluttering advice? Great, here we go:
Ready, Set, Go
Smart decluttering starts with a quiet moment and a list. Experts agree that decluttering becomes overwhelming when we think it all has to be done immediately and completely. Nothing could be further from the truth. Decluttering is an ongoing process, best done by making a plan. Starting with a list will help you get yourself ready, it will clearly set your priorities and it will give you the confidence to get going. Focus on your clutter priorities, set achievable goals and schedule your declutter in time increments that fit your lifestyle and commitments. Remember you are in complete control of your list.
Prioritize Your Cluttered Areas
Just like you prioritize your busy life, set priorities for decluttering your home. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you can’t eat an elephant in one bite (or so once said a philosopher who must have had a strange taste in food!). The same is true when you start decluttering. Prioritizing your clutter zones is personal to you. Some cringe when opening a cluttered pantry door, others can’t relax if the family room is full of junk. Think about how good it will feel to have your top priority area clutter-free, organized and peaceful.
Count to 12
Donuts aren’t the only good thing that come by the dozen. You can also think in 12s for some decluttering fun. One of our best tips is to make decluttering a fun event rather than a dreaded chore by turning your cluttered home into a fun challenge for your whole family. Assign an area for each family member and give them 12 minutes to find 12 items they want to keep, 12 items that need to be tossed out and 12 good condition items they want to donate. Watch your team in action, decluttering 36 items in 12 minutes. Once you have completed the challenge, celebrate with a yummy box of donuts!
Making of a Habit
Living a clutter-free lifestyle is all about implanting new habits. What does it take to make new habits stick? Our advice is to be patient, take small steps and do those steps repeatedly over time. What is a small step when it comes to decluttering? Throwing out an item that is broken and no longer of use, putting one item in a donation box or placing one item back where it belongs. That’s right, one item at a time will create the habit of living a clutter-free life. If you did one of these small steps, over the course of 66 days you will find your habit taking root and your space being transformed.
Tried and True 3 Box Method
Our quick and easy 3 Box Method is some of the best advice we have to give to folks on their path to living a clutter-free life. Simply have three boxes or bags labeled “Keep,” “Donate” and “Toss.” This method will allow you to tackle your clutter zone quickly and easily. Picture opening an overstuffed closet with your three boxes ready to go. As you pick up each item, ask yourself “Do I use or still value this item?” If the answer is ”Yes” put in the “Keep” box. If the answer is “No”, ask yourself “Would someone else use or value this item?” If the answer is “Yes”, put it in your donation box. If “No”, it’s time to put in in the “Toss” box. Your clutter zone is now empty and ready for just your usable and valued items to be returned to it. What to do with your “Donate” items? Here is where you can donate them, easy and free, while helping America’s veterans and their families: pickupplease.org
A Donation-A-Day
Transformation of your living spaces is ongoing. We purchase new items and out grow others on a daily basis. In our tried and true 3 Box Method, we suggested having a donation box ready and labeled before you start your declutter. How about always having a donation box at the ready in your easily cluttered areas. That way you can easily decide to donate an item on a daily or semi weekly basis. A great bit of advice is to donate one item for each new item you bring home. Since you can donate as often as you want to, keeping a labeled donation box makes it all the more easy.
Change Your Clutter Type
Whether you are a nostalgia, can’t let go, or too busy clutterer, it is never too late to change your type. You can become an organized, prepared and motivated declutterer type. It takes time, patience and good tips to develop new habits. As the great Stephen Covey said, “Every human has four endowments – self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.”
The best decluttering advice you’ll find this week or ANY week is to put your unwanted stuff to good use helping America’s veterans and their families by scheduling a PUP donation today!
America’s Best Donation Pickup Program
