How to Declutter

Decluttering can be an all day process, depending on how many rooms you're doing. First things first, make 4-5 piles and/or get 4-5 bins. You will need one for donations, trash, recycling, and (if you're into fixing things instead of throwing them out) a fix it pile.

The first thing you want to do in all the rooms is find all of the obvious garbage such as wrappers or water bottles. Once that's all out of the way, you should move onto dishes. Start to get them rinsed off and leave them for now.

Next, I get all my dirty clothes and start a load of laundry. As that's going, it's time to declutter. Start with small sections instead of everything at once. That makes it easier if an emergency came up or it took longer than expected, you don't have everything laying around when you want to go to bed.

The first thing you want to do is stand in a spot and visualize what you want to see that room look like. How many changes are you going to have to make? And, what are the steps it will take to reach that goal?

My first thing is always my desk. I will look for makeup that isn't being used, q-tips, empty lotion bottles, etc. Once all that is gone I simply organize everything the way that works for me and I'm done! Next, the closet!

My rule is if I haven't worn it in 6 months, throw it out! I'm probably not going to wear it again. It helps me not have a closet packed with things that I only wear half of! This could take some time depending on how many clothes you have. This is where you want to pay attention to which clothes are in good enough condition for Good Will or anywhere else you'd like to donate.

Completely empty your closet. Make a pile for donations, a pile for keeps, and of course throw any clothes in the trash that aren't in good condition. Once you've done all of that, check your laundry status! Set the clothes you want to donate into the washer. Washing clothes before donating them is so important! Then, of course hang up your keeps.

Do you have a dresser? Well, I'm guessing you have a junk drawer... It's okay, I do too! This is the perfect time to see what's in there and get rid of any unneeded receipts that were just in your pocket that one day.

Let's move to the underwear & bottoms. I always check my socks and underwear while I'm decluttering. If there's holes, ones with bad dirt stains, any tears I cant fix, etc. For my bottoms, I check that they all still fit. Anything that doesn't, donate!

Your room may be different, but I have an area in my closet that's three shelves. One of those shelves has storage items, shoes & one has things like perfumes/mail/other misc items. Things always stack up because I don't pay much attention to that area on my day-day basis. I check my shoes! If they need to be cleaned, if they're worn out, or if any have holes.

That's all I really do any of my rooms. If you want to declutter any room, there's really only one pattern you need to follow that will make it not stressful & pretty quick! Maybe even fun.

1) Scan the room. What do you want to see?

2) Take out any obvious trash.

3) Take out any dirty clothes, throw them in the washer.

4) Take out any dishes in the room & place them in the sink to be washed after.

5) Pick a shelf or area to start at, and don't move on to the next shelf until this one is complete!

6) Create a "donation" pile and add things to it along the way that you no longer need around.

7) Wipe down all surfaces when you're done doing steps 5-6 are done in all areas of the room!

I really hope this can help some of you not stress yourself out so much over this process! It's so easy to once you realize how much stuff you actually have, and how many times you'll have to repeat these steps. But it gets easier, and you won't have to push it off so much anymore!