How to De-clutter Any Room or Space in Your Home

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Whether you're moving, downsizing, spring cleaning or just have the urge to simplify your life, de-cluttering is always a great idea. It's a good way to take stock of the items you own in your life and pair them down so you can live in a more clean and peaceful environment. That being said, de-cluttering can be a big job depending on how much stuff you have and how big of a home you live in. That's why it's always good to make a plan before you begin so that you don't get too overwhelmed during the process. The good news is, you don't need any experience or expensive items to organize your home and get rid of some of that clutter that's been keeping you up at night.

The best way to manage de-cluttering is to take it one step and one room at a time. But, before you get into it, it's also best to create a plan for how you want to tackle your home organizing. Take out a piece of paper or a notebook and write out your plan of action by creating a list of the rooms in your home and areas within each room that you would like to de-clutter. For example, write out each of the rooms and spaces in your home including the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining area, office space and other miscellaneous areas like laundry rooms, front entryways and mudrooms. You will also want to add your garage to that list, but sometimes that can take an entire weekend or two on its own. Also, write out the areas in each room that need to be organized including closets, drawers, tables, shelves, under beds and furniture.

Then, create a realistic time frame for each room and each space within the room assigning days and times to work on that room and space. Depending on how much stuff you have to go through, it could take anywhere from a few hours to a day to organize each room and space in your home. You also really want to take your time with this and not feel rushed or pressured, so schedule it accordingly so that you won't have any interruptions or distractions. It also helps to turn off your phone or leave it on silent while you're working too.

Once you have your list ready you can then help yourself out even more by getting some bins, bags or boxes to put the items you're sorting into so that they are easy to manage. Label the bins with Keep, Toss, Donate and then bring them into the room you're organizing. Now, you're ready to get to work, so put on some good tunes, a podcast, someone on YouTube you like to listen to or even a movie or show you like that can be good background noise while you work. Also, make sure you have water and snacks on hand too.

Start by going through your items by removing them all from the closet, shelf, drawer or surface you're organizing first making a pile of items to sort through. You can use the famous and genius advice of Marie Kondo to hold each item and ask if it "sparks joy." Do you feel happy or calm when you hold the item? If it does, add it to the Keep bin. If not, you can then decide which other bin to add it to. If it's dishevelled beyond repair, then toss it, if it still has some life in it, add it to the Donate bin so someone else can enjoy it. Keep going using these tips and watch how gradually your space becomes the oasis you've always dreamed of. Remember, take your time, there's no rush.