Getting rid of the clutter in your home is the first step towards maintaining a clean and tidy home. Where there’s less stuff, there’s less to clean, right? Below, you’ll find practical tips to declutter quickly so you’re prepared for those unexpected moments. Plus, you’ll learn the benefits of decluttering and where to start decluttering when you’re overwhelmed.
There are so many experiences in life that lead us into the overwhelming thought of: crap! I need to clean this house NOW! The guests are on their way. You’ve been so busy preparing the food that you haven’t had a chance to clean up yet. Your in-laws just booked a trip to your area and have asked to stay with you. There’s a busy season of life around the corner and you’re struggling to keep up with your home now.
Whatever the case may be, cleaning your home quickly is much easier when there’s less stuff to clean. Not to mention, maintaining a clean space is much more practical when you’ve done the work of decluttering your house.
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Get some help. Before I discovered the life changing act of decluttering, I felt like I was constantly cleaning. I was so frustrated about things not having their own place, odd ‘bits and bobs’ scattered over the surfaces in my kitchen, tons of products in my bathroom that just took up space, throwing everything into the junk drawer (we all have one!) just to get it out of the way and never feeling truly ‘zen’ in my home.
Then I discovered YouTube videos of moms like me cleaning and decluttering their homes and my life was forever changed. That might sound dramatic, but it’s the truth. Since those first few videos, I’ve found so many more amazing resources to help with keeping my ish together.
The amount of free decluttering resources is practically endless: Podcasts, blogs with guides and checklists, YouTube videos, this list goes on. But actually doing the decluttering work is where the magic happens.
Try listening to a podcast while you’re doing housework, or watch Marie Kondo on Netflix or a Youtube video about decluttering. These actions can really get you in the motivational mindset of decluttering. Sometimes being motivated to clean or declutter is half the battle, right?
So get some help from someone who’s been right where you are. You’ll discover so many new ideas from people who have actually done this already and live this clutter free lifestyle. Decluttering alongside someone else will have you decluttering your house in no time at all! Hopefully you will be as inspired as I have been!
Here’s three podcasts about decluttering to get you started: clean.simple.free, The Minimalists Podcast, The Art of Decluttering. If videos are more your thing, I love Do It On A Dime and Clutterbug on Youtube but there are TONS of others, too
Give them a shot, they truly changed my life and how I see my material belongings more than I thought possible.
Can decluttering your house really make you happier?
Decluttering your home has so many benefits. I don’t know about you, but I find it much easier to choose happiness when my environment doesn’t feel overwhelming. It’s no secret that our physical environment has a great impact on our mental environment.
How decluttering your home can help create a calm mind? It’s simple, really. Less stuff in your physical space requires less work in your mental space. By reducing the amount of stuff in your physical environment (your home) your mental environment carries less stuff, too.
Whether you realize it or not, every item in your home takes space in your mind. The papers on the counter, the extra clothes on that chair in your room, or maybe it’s just the random things you don’t know what to do with, they all require a thought at some point, whether you realize it or not. Can decluttering change your life? Absolutely! Lucky for you, there’s no better time to start than now!
Benefits of decluttering:
- Quicker and easier to clean your home
- Live in a less stressful environment
- Be able to find things quickly
- Have more space
- Gain clarity and a sense of control over your surroundings
- Reduce anxiety
- You will finally LOVE your home!
So how do you tackle what seems like an absolutely mammoth sized task? The same way you eat an elephant: one bite at a time.
How do I start to declutter?
1. Make a plan
Start with the room that you spend most of your time in. Is that the kitchen? Living room? Office? Wherever it is, we’ll start there.
Why? Once you’ve finished decluttering the busiest room in your home, the sense of well-being you’ll get will be so great that you’ll be driven to get the rest of your home decluttered – fast. Okay, so it’s not always quite as magical as I just made it sound, but think of it like the snowball method of decluttering. Get one room checked off the list and you have the motivation to move onto the next.
This is especially important if you’re decluttering quickly because guests are coming over. Obviously, focus your attention on where the guests will primarily hang out, first. It’s a sort of ‘fake it till you make it’ strategy, but you can always tackle the rest of your home after the guests leave.
Related: FREE Weekly Cleaning Schedule Printable – use this to keep track of your weekly cleaning plus jot down areas you can declutter quickly. It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we have a plan!
If you’re just starting out and decluttering a room feels overwhelming, pick one small portion of the room. Maybe it’s a pile in the corner or on the shelf. Maybe it’s an area by the door to the room. Maybe it’s one drawer or one shelf. Whatever it is, pick one small part to begin with.
How do you declutter when overwhelmed?
2. Block off some time.
Even if it’s just 20 minutes at a time, working in small chunks keeps me on track. When you can really focus on the task at hand without getting distracted, everything moves faster. It’s easier to tackle tiny bits at a time instead of focusing on the whole project. Tip: apply this helpful hack to nearly every aspect of your life and watch the magic unfold.
If you have little ones under foot, this may mean cleaning up a little at a time after they go to bed. You can enlist the help of the kiddos, but sometimes that makes a bigger mess than you started with! Just try to remember that getting as much done as possible in that little section of time is the goal.
It’s amazing what you can accomplish in 20 minutes, really. This tip is especially helpful if you find yourself thinking a lot about the items you’re decluttering. Setting a timer and challenging yourself will help you declutter fast without much extra thought.
What is the fastest way to clean and declutter?
3. The 4 bag hack
Many years ago, I read a blog post titled something like How to Clean Fast When Company is on Their Way Over. I read about the “four bag hack” and adapted it to make it my own. I use totes or dollar tree bins for belongings we are keeping, a box for belongings we are donating, and one trash bag for trash.
- Things to go in the trash
Broken things, sentimental items that you’ve been hanging on to for years, expired food, junk mail, clothes that don’t fit anymore – you get the idea. All things trash go in the – you guessed it – trash bag.
- Things to recycle
Do your part to save the planet! What can you recycle instead of throwing out? Look around and I’m sure you’ll find something. Then, give yourself a pat on the back for going the extra mile rather than taking the easy option of putting them all in the trash.
- Things to give to charity
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? The beauty of giving things to charity is that there might be someone out there who couldn’t normally afford quality clothes, furniture, or books, and because of your donation they’re able to buy it at a reasonable price.
If you are in need of extra cash, take the items you could donate and sell them instead. This requires a little extra work, but can pay a bill or two if need be – or the cash can go straight into your savings account.
- Things you want to keep
If the item you’re keeping doesn’t bring you joy or make you feel fantastic when you’re wearing it, do you really want to keep it? Be ruthless here. The aim of the game is to declutter and get rid of everything that isn’t currently necessary in your life.
4. Finish the job
That wasn’t so bad, was it? But your job isn’t done just yet!
- Put the trash bag… in the trash!
- Take the recycling to your local recycling center.
- Contact charities close to you who would be willing to take or even collect your things, then list the things that are worth selling on eBay or some other marketplace.
- Find a home for all the things you’re keeping, or put them back where they came from.
Now you can use this exact set of actions on the rest of the rooms in your house. Simply rinse and repeat! Don’t feel like you have to do all of this in one day, but if you do feel like you can – that’s great, go for it!
When you’ve finally finished this task, the next habit you need to get into is not reversing all of your hard work. How can you keep your house clutter free? What systems can you put in place to ensure the clutter doesn’t stack up again?
This is where those resources we talked about above can really come in handy. Be sure to check out more decluttering tips from one of those resources to find even more ways to maintain your clutter free space.
How can I declutter my house in one day?
This all depends on the amount of clutter. Personally, I think to declutter your home in one day seems unnecessarily overwhelming. If you’re just starting out or maybe starting again after some time, stick to smaller timeframes. This will still help you to declutter quickly without the overwhelm of tackling the whole house in one day.
But, if you’re maintaining your clutter free space, it’s likely not as overwhelming to declutter fast or even declutter your whole house in one day. Setting up systems to prevent the clutter from piling up is key, here.
Related: How To Clean Your House and Keep It That Way
Keep a small box in each room for clutter. It will accumulate quicker than you think! You will start looking around like “how did all of this new stuff get in here?” At the end of every week you can go through this in just a few minutes and figure out where all these things belong. There’s the ‘declutter my house in one day’ secret, give your clutter a home in each room. Then, in just one day, you can easily empty those clutter “homes” from each room.
Invest in the right kind of storage for your space. Once everything has its permanent place, you’ll find it far easier to keep on top of things and you’ll never have to go hunting for something you need. Dollar Tree bins are AMAZING for organizing your clutter free space! I have them all over my home and I’m always impressed with how long they last given they’re only a dollar and I have four children beating them up year after year.
If you live with other people or have children, show them around and explain where things go now. Getting everyone involved will make this way of living simpler and less of a chore for you all. Especially with kids, making it fun and clear (using pictures or pretty letters) is key to keeping everything in its place. Studies have shown if you repeat an action over the course of two months it will become a habit. I know, I know, two months seems like a long time, but it will have long term benefits – so stick to it!
Does decluttering make you feel better?
Little by little, you can tackle the clutter in your space if you stick to it. The benefits of decluttering are so worth the effort. When your home is clean and tidy, you’ll feel better and less stuff means more time for the other things you enjoy in life. In this case, less really is more.
If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, remember why you’re doing this in the first place. You’re on a journey to a much simpler, stress free life where you can reclaim your time to do the things that matter the most to you. Your home should feel like a sanctuary, not another chore to add to your list. So put your favorite music on, turn up the volume and let’s get to it!
What are your favorite decluttering tips? How have you conquered the clutter in your home? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!
Until next time,
Stay courageous!
