Being busy might be productive for you, but it comes at a cost. Among all these costs, cluttering can be the most irritating. Things begin to pile up one after the other, and a well-built house can look like a warehouse just in a matter of a few months. Cluttering isn’t mainly due to your busy-bee lifestyle, but it is actually the result of your habit of procrastination.

In this article, we are going to tell you about some simple techniques that you can use to de-clutter your house like a pro. This may look like a futile task, but taking out only two hours of your day to de-clutter your home will make you feel much enlightened.

What is Clutter?

In simple words, clutter is anything that is lying around your house that doesn’t add value to your life. You might want to recycle or donate/throw it away. Doing this will make room in your home for the things that really matter to you.

When is Clutter a Problem?

In the beginning, it is just mess, but after some time when it starts getting difficult to find things, it becomes unmanageable clutter that can also cause depression, in extreme cases. Before your clutter becomes a big problem, you should find a solution instead of wasting inordinate amounts of time looking for things that you are unable to find.

Why Should I Declutter?

Many people love to declutter because it relieves stress and provides a sense of control and accomplishment. For others, decluttering can help in getting rid of the junk and freeing up a little extra space in the home that was not there before. Whatever your reason for decluttering is, you will love the results.

To part ways with your clutter, you should recycle or donate the following items that:

• You do not need anymore.
• Are a duplicate – and you don’t need them anymore as you already have similar that serves the same purpose.
• You haven’t used within the last two years.
• You would not notice if they were gone.
• Don’t fit your personality or living space.

Following are the tips that you can use to de-clutter like a pro:

Decide the Place

When you’re about to start de-cluttering, first determine which area you should begin with. Always start the decluttering of your house from the room that annoys you the most. This is important because arranging the most disorganized place feels like a big task, which will help you get motivated to do the smalljobs quickly.

Besides that, by decluttering the room that bothers you the most, you will be in a win-win situation. This is because even if you leave the de-cluttering of your house mid-way, you would have at least cleaned the most disorganized room or place of your home.

Corner to Corner

Once you have decided on the place from where you want to start the de-cluttering of your house, go ahead and begin from one corner of the room and make your way up to the other corner. Everything should have its right place. A Christmas tree storage bag on wheels, for example, should be stored away out of sight. While moving from one corner to the other, keep a bag with you in which you will put all the clutter that you come across. Keep a keen-eye, wherever you step; you should leave no stone unturned while getting rid of the clutter, which seems to make your room so congested.

Categorize Your Clutter

When you have started to pile up your clutter in the bag, try to classify your clutter into specific groups. This is important because you may want to sell or donate your clutter. You never know because “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The classification of your clutter should be done in such a way that there should be a pile of certain batches, for example, the clutter of books may go in one collection while the clutter of medication should be placed in another pile.

After categorizing your clutter, you can decide whether you want to sell or donate it. Once your clutter is adequately organized, you won’t have to worry about what to do with it. This is because if you have, for example, two piles of clutter; one for books and the other for medication – books can be sent to an old book shop while medication could be sent to a medical store (if not expired).

Analyze Your Settings

Keep a keen eye to see whether the things you have placed in your living room or any room makes your room look clean or fresh, or does your room look congested and uncomfortable? Sometimes people confuse clutter with trash, but that is not the case. Clutter inside the house is those unnecessary things that give a crowded look to your home. Therefore, reevaluate the setting of your house and look for that stubborn clutter with a hawk-eye.

Utilize Your Clutter

Don’t just give away your clutter without having a second look at it. It may be that one thing looks like a clutter inside one room, but in a separate place, it might fit as if it was made for that room. For instance, a toothbrush in your kitchen can be labeled as clutter, but that same toothbrush is not categorized as clutter in your washroom. Therefore, don’t just give away your stuff to others without having a glance at whether these items are surely unnecessary or not.

Finish Off With Vacuum

Just throwing away your unwanted items won’t give that finishing touch to your room. You must clean off the place with a vacuum where clutter was found so that it gets dust-free. By doing this, your room instead of just looking spacious will tend to look like a more organized and managed area. Cleaning can help you give that fresh look to your room.

Moreover, large amounts of dust accumulate with clutter. Therefore, don’t just vacuum your room directly. First, clean off your place with a duster, and after that, begin to sweep.

Following are some things that you should discard to declutter your home:

• The other side of a pair of lost earrings
• Scraps of wrapping paper
• Cards people have given you that don’t have any sentimental value
• Ticket stubs
• Old t-shirts that you no longer wear
• Dried flowers
• Old Magazines and books
• Extra photo prints
• Clothes that don’t fit
• Old toiletries
• Expired sauces
• Toys your pets don’t play with
• Expired medication
• Dried-up nail polish
• Old paperwork
• DVDs you don’t watch
• Outdated electronics or electronics that don’t work
• Necklaces and bracelets with broken clasps
• Cables and wires you don’t use or broken chargers
• Empty bottles of cleaning products
• Wedding invites
• Broken kitchen equipment
• Extra Tupperware you don’t need
• Old and junk mail
• Old artwork or old children’s artwork
• Broken or old mobile phone cases
• Old unused batteries

Conclusion

Cleaning up all the clutter from your room can sometimes be very overwhelming. However, there is no need to worry. De-cluttering your house may seem like hard work, but with the right mindset and tips, you can do it easily. It’s merely a few hours task, but the result of this labor is delightful. To do this, all you need to have is a plan. Follow it, and you are well on your way to set up a clean and well-organized room.

The steps that we have provided you in the article above will help you enough to get started with decluttering of your house. Knowing where to start and how to finish, surely is the fundamental requirement of getting any task done. You are now familiar with both these requisites. So, why don’t you gear up and start de-cluttering?

Love organizing your home? Check out our guides on Closet Organization and Laundry Organization.