Daily Decluttering: keep the stress away by decluttering each day

Having an organized, clean space to live in is essential to maintaining a good, positive mood. When you have clutter and messes around you, it won’t be long before your mind starts to feel that way, too. A simple declutter that can be incorporated into your everyday routine, daily decluttering is the best way to stay on top of things. 

This guide will give you some tips on how to do daily decluttering.

Set goals and a timeline

Before you start decluttering your living space, come up with a plan that you can stick to. No matter how much clutter you’ve accumulated, setting realistic goals will help you reduce frustration. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you draw up a plan for decluttering your space:

• Write down all of the areas of your home you want to tackle
• Grade each room or space based on the severity of the clutter. This will help you determine how to prioritize your time. 
• Tackle one room/space at a time
• You don’t have to tackle the whole house in a day. To make it easier, you can set completion dates for each phase of decluttering and choose attainable timelines. For example, you can tackle the bedroom one day and move on to the bathroom the next day, cleaning each room for an hour.

Your decluttering timeline will depend on the size of the rooms and your home, as well as the number of items you have to work through. How long it will take depends on if you’re doing surface decluttering or more detailed stuff like decluttering closets. Daily decluttering for at least a few minutes a day is much easier and more attainable than trying to clean up everything in a single day.

Set up a system to sort your items

As you go from one room to another, you’ll need to create a sorting system to organize the items you come across. You can use any method of your liking or try the 3 Box Method. This decluttering method involves gathering three boxes and storage bins and labeling them as “Keep”, “Dispose of”, and “Put in Storage”.

Keep

These are items that you regularly use in your daily life. After you finish decluttering, empty this box and organize the items in their newly designated home. Ideally, you want these items stored neatly in a drawer, container, or any other easily accessible storage space. 

Dispose of

Items stored in this box or container are no longer needed. After you finish decluttering your home, you’ll need to decide how you’ll get rid of these things.

Put in storage 

These are seasonal or sentimental items that you don’t need frequent access to. Empty this box into labeled storage containers or neatly stack the items in a designated storage area with an inventory sheet on top.

Getting rid of clutter

There are several ways you can get rid of clutter in your “dispose of” box:

Recycle

Paper, plastics, and recyclable glass can be disposed of in your recycling bin. Otherwise, put your recyclables in garbage bags and take them to your local recycling drop-off point.

Donate

Shoes, clothes, utensils, and furniture are just a few of the household items that you can donate to local charities if they’re in good condition. You can also post ads online so that people in your area can come to collect the items.

Rent a dumpster

Not all your items will be recyclable or in good enough condition to donate. Consider renting a dumpster if you have a lot of clutter to get rid of or want to get rid of larger household items. 

Host a garage sale

You may be able to make some fast cash off your clutter by hosting a garage sale. 

Decluttering room-by-room

The easiest way to declutter step-by-step is by going room-by-room. Here’s how you can tackle different areas of your home:

Bedroom

The bedroom is often the most cluttered room in the home and daily decluttering can go a long way. 

Declutter drawers

Empty your drawers and sort items using the 3 Box Method to determine what you want to keep and get rid of. Once you’re ready to organize the item back inside the drawers, try adding small containers or dividers so you can store like-things together.

Keep flat surfaces mostly clear

It’s okay to have pictures, a couple of decorations, or lighting fixtures on top of your nightstand or dresser but try to limit each surface in your bedroom to less than five things on top.

Utilize storage bins

Store seasonal clothing, decorations, toys, and bedding in plastic or cloth bins that can fit under the bed or in the closet. Use comforter bags or space-saver bags to fit bulky items into smaller spaces.

Sort through clothes and shoes

Toss items that are damaged, don’t fit or haven’t been worn in the past year. Seasonal clothing/shoes/jewelry and occasionally worn items with sentimental value should be kept in a storage bin to free up space.

Clean up closet shelves

Clear your closet and wipe down the shelves. Avoid stacking clothes or storing items that can get concealed behind hanging clothes – you should be able to see everything in your closet without having to move too much out of the way. Utilize the shelf space to store smaller items in bins and boxes.

Living room

Remove items that don’t belong

Start by relocating any items that belong in another room (dish-ware that belong in the kitchen, toys that belong in kids’ rooms, etc.). Hang pictures to declutter your tabletops and sort through books, DVDs, and CDs to determine what you want to keep or get rid of. 

Add more storage

Add floating shelves to the walls for extra storage. You can also look for storage furniture like ottomans and trunks where you can discreetly stow away items. Pieces of furniture like behind-the-couch chests or entertainment centers with shelves can also double as storage space.

Bundle wires together

Remove visual clutter from your living room by tying up and hiding your cords and cables.

Kitchen

Clear countertops

Clear everything off the countertop except for essential items such as a coffee maker. Put away or find a new storage space for everything you remove from the counter.

Divide kitchen into zones

Assigning strategic zones can help you with your daily decluttering and improve organization in your kitchen. Pots, pans, and cooking utensils can be stored near where you cook. Aluminum foil, storage bags, cling wrap, and similar items can be stored together in another zone, and cleaning supplies should also get their own zone. There are also kitchen essentials that will help you keep items organized.

Bathroom

Clear bathroom counters and drawers

Empty drawers, clear bathroom counters, and clean out your linen closet. This will help you figure out what you need and what you need to get rid of or keep in long-term storage.

Group like-items together

Once you’ve sorted out your items, group like-items together. Make neat piles of toiletries, towels, medicine, makeup, and cleaning supplies.

Incorporate organization systems

Set up dividers, small boxes, drawer organizers, and baskets where you can store your grouped like items together.

A declutter a day keeps the stress away

We hope you gain a few tips on how to maintain a tidy and organized home throughout the year. For the best advice on how to eliminate post-holiday clutter to set your home up for success in the coming months read Minimalism Co’s feature in Redfin: Reset Your Home: Experts Share Productive Tips on How to Eliminate Clutter.