Nothing gives me more anxiety than clutter. I HATE clutter of any kind- piles of paper, overflowing drawers or surfaces in your home completely covered with things.
If there’s any one of these self care posts that you read (find more here), please read this one. I cannot stress this enough- clutter effects you both physically & mentally. I truly don’t think anyone likes living in a clutter filled home. It’s not conducive for a productive/healthy living space plus honestly it’s just not cute. I come from a background in the home industry & there’s nothing I love more than a clean, put together home where everything has a place.
Mentally clutter brings about stress, feelings of inadequacy, shortened attention spans & overall negative feelings. Think about it- coming home to a house piled high with stuff is not going to put a smile on your face. Coming home after a long day at work to a clean, tidy house where everything is put away will give you a sense of relief & happiness.
Collecting “things” is not going to make you happy. Having five of the same item is also called hoarding- there’s no need for it, keep one & donate the rest. We might be holding on to things for sentimental reasons, which I agree there are some things just worth keeping. However, you need to choose these items wisely and not keep every piece of clothing you’ve ever had or every stuffed animal you had as a kid.
I’ve been going through phases of decluttering in my life as well.
If you’ve been following along on Instagram, I am re-working our spare bedroom upstairs. It’s a shared space that is my home office & Alex’s man cave. It has slowly become our “junk” room & we’ve just been piling shit in there for months. I simply cannot take the mess anymore & have slowly been decluttering & getting rid of stuff. I threw out 4 garbage bags of crap! And it felt damn good! It’s still a work in progress, but it’s slowly taking shape.
Decluttering your home/life/closet will give you a feeling of a fresh start. Let’s start this season out on a positive note & create a fresh beginning for the last quarter of this year.
So what are some ways you can declutter your life?
- Clean out your closet. Donate or sell anything you haven’t worn in the last year. I do this at least twice a year.
- Clean out every drawer in your kitchen. Only keep one junk drawer & organize all other drawers. Buying drawer organizers helps!
- Donate books you’ll never read again.
- Go through our old mail, magazines & junk mail.
- Donate or throw out any old holiday decor.
- Clean out your linen closet- get rid of any old sheets & towels.
- Donate toys your kids no longer play with.
- Buy file folders & bins to keep important paperwork (keep these hidden away in closets).
- Clean out your fridge/pantry & throw out any expired products.
Want a clear checklist of every area in your house that you should be cleaning out? Click below to get my FREE 30 Day Declutter Challenge worksheet!
Can’t wait to look over your declutter sheet. I can’t throw away anything of my kids, parents, or anyone else in my family. I have my sons games from when he was a little kid and he’s in his 20s now ?? i use the excuse that I’m saving them for my grandchildren one day ?
Thanks Rhonda! My sheet breaks down the decluttering process into 30 separate days. Each day you can tackle a small section of your home without feeling too overwhelmed. Trust me, it will feel so good to get rid of some things you are holding onto & free up some space in your home!
I would love To Have my basement decluttered Any suggestion on this issue?
Make a goal (either go through one box a day, focus on a section at a time) & break up the job into smaller jobs to make it easier to manage.