How To Declutter Your Home – Simple Steps for Cleaner Spaces

Decluttering your home can be pretty easy to do-as long as you’ve got the right mindset and a plan.  I’m going to spend some time looking at different ways to plan and execute decluttering in a way that suits you.

Getting rid of stuff is hard, and decluttering your home starts with a plan.  You’ll need to decide where to start, what the timeline is, and how to ask for help in difficult situations.  Whether it’s quick or takes time, any home can be decluttered with checklists, guidelines, and help from others.

Do you feel like the stuff is taking over your home or need help shoveling your way through all the clutter and getting rid of it?  We’ll get more into detail about how to declutter your home as we tackle getting started along with timelines and of course-decluttering tips!

How to Declutter Your Home

It’s easy to collect stuff, but it’s not always easy getting rid of it.  There are many ways to declutter, but finding one that works for you is the easy part.  It’s about coming up with a plan and starting small.  Here is a guideline on the steps to declutter your home:

1.     Pick a room to start.

2.     Decide on your timeline.

3.     Feel overwhelmed or like you might need help?  Ask!

4.     Create piles or boxes of stuff: donate, sell, dispose.

5.     Clean up and reorganize.

It seems simple enough in theory-until you look at the room you’d like to tackle perhaps?  The more stuff you have or the longer it’s been since you’ve cleaned out your belongings, the more difficult it can become.  That’s why I mention asking for help-there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!  

Getting Started with Decluttering Your Home

Getting started with decluttering your home can feel overwhelming, but breaking it down into manageable steps can make the process more attainable. Gradually move on to other areas, applying the same process. Remember to approach decluttering with patience and self-compassion, allowing yourself time to adjust to the process and celebrate the progress you make along the way.

After deciding that it’s time to declutter, the hardest part is just getting started.  Where to begin?  How to go about doing it?  Special circumstances for decluttering?  Let’s dive right in! 

The most common places to start are the bedroom, closet, and kitchen.

How to Get Started Decluttering Your Home

Look around and see which spaces are the most cluttered.  Which room do you spend the most time in?  Where would you like to relax the most?  That’s a great place to start-someplace to get away from it all.  So create a plan, take an inventory, and figure out what your goals are. 

The most common places to start are the bedroom, closet, and kitchen.  But start where you can see yourself winding down at the end of a busy day, where you can relax, and where you like to spend time with family and friends or alone.

How to Declutter Your Home for Hoarders

It can be really difficult to even think about decluttering for hoarders.  It’s most important to have a support system in place to help them see there’s a problem, there’s a need to declutter, and you’re there to help them out and be a strong support for them. 

There may be hazards involved due to the volume of stuff.  There may be mental illness, usually due to a loss of some type.  It’s important for you to be sensitive to their feelings and their needs, guide them throughout the process, and support them while keeping them focused on decluttering.

How to Declutter When You Feel Overwhelmed

It’s challenging to declutter your home when you are overwhelmed-which is why you should ask for help.  Take a step back, take a deep breath, and realize you’re human and need support.  There’s nothing wrong with that!  If you need to, take a break for an hour, a day, as long as you need.  We want you to be successful and part of success is being ready to tackle the clutter.  I’ll say it again-ask for help if you need it!

Decluttering Timelines

You can probably see how important it is to have a plan for decluttering, and a feasible timeline is most important to a decluttering plan that works for you and your situation.

Pick one room, or one category if you want to start smaller, and start with little things.

How to Declutter Quickly

If you want to get a room cleaned up in a hurry, you’ll need to know how to declutter quickly.  This is easy if the room isn’t so cluttered, and perfect for preparing for friends and family coming over.  Start with the stuff that doesn’t belong. 

Then take out the stuff that doesn’t fit your taste anymore, hasn’t been used in 6 months or more, and the things you just don’t need.  Put them where they belong, or in boxes in your car for donation, or in a box for a future garage sale.  According to Academic Coach Lilia Chavez of University of Southern California, if you’ve got a minute to do something, just do it!

How to Declutter in 30 Minutes

If you’ve got a little more time, you might be surprised how much you can accomplish!  To declutter in 30 minutes, start small.  Take one category of things (trash, dirty laundry, accessories, décor, etc.) and take care of it.  Put things where they belong.  Make the bed.  Organize your mail.  Place items in bins, bags, cubbies, or boxes behind closed doors.  You can make any room look fantastic in only 30 minutes!

How to Declutter in One Day

You can declutter a larger, more complex room in a single day-take the kitchen for example.  How to declutter a kitchen in one day?  Start with removing the things you don’t use or haven’t used in 6 months or more.  Reorganize with baskets, bins, shelves, or whatever you have on hand to maximize the storage space you have.  Go one shelf or cabinet at a time, and you might find it’s actually pretty fun (and maybe a little addictive) to clear out all of the clutter!

How to Declutter in 30 Days

If you’ve got 30 days, you can declutter several rooms-maybe even your whole home!  To declutter in 30 days, take it a day at a time.  Pick one room, or one category if you want to start smaller, and start with little things.  Take out trash, dirty dishes, dirty laundry. 

Take out the unused things and prepare them for donation or sale.  Pick an organization system that works for you to maximize your space and you actually want to use.  Then clean up, make a home for everything, take a picture and move on to the next space.  Think of how nice it’ll look when you’re done!

How to Declutter Your Home Tips

Our homes should be a place of positive energy, or life energy the Chinese philosophy refers to as qi, according to author Charles Shahar.  Here we find our life energy, our positive flow, our feng shui.  Let’s look at some decluttering tips to help you find your feng shui again.

Declutter Your Home Checklist

A declutter your home checklist can be super helpful with creating a plan and sticking to it.  The decluttering checklist will include what you want to keep, sell, donate, and trash, the rooms that need decluttering, and of course the place where you’d like to start the decluttering process.  A declutter your home checklist can also help you keep track of what’s been done and what needs to be done.  This can make decluttering much easier than flying by the seat of your pants!

Declutter Your Home Pdf

There are many resources to help with clearing out your stuff, and one you might find helpful are pdfs.  With this type of form you can have a pre-made checklist, guideline, or even picture guide to help you organize and get motivated to declutter your home.  Great thing is-you can save it on your computer or even print it out-the choice is yours!  If you think a declutter your home pdf will help you, I’d encourage you to use it!

Check out this video that offers 5 simple tips to help you get started decluttering your home quickly and efficiently. 

Related Insights

What should I declutter first?

The first thing you should declutter is the spot you spend the most time in, or where you like to relax.  It’s much easier to relax in a tidy, comfortable, uncluttered space than in a room surrounded with stuff.  So choose your bedroom, your living room, your study, wherever your favorite spot is!

 What should you not do when decluttering?

One thing I would suggest not doing when decluttering is reminiscing about the past.  An item may stir up a memory of a fun event, a major milestone, or a lost loved one-and that makes it much more difficult to let go of things.  It’s fine to think about it for a moment, then keep moving.  Memories are in your heart and your brain-not the stuff.

How do you declutter your home when you are overwhelmed?

Decluttering your home when you are overwhelmed can be very challenging, so ask for help.  Take a break, brainstorm with a friend, or just step away for a bit.  The clutter will still be there when you’re ready to tackle it.

The Top Decluttering Approaches That Real People Use in The Most Cluttered Areas of Their Homes

I asked friends and family to list the area of their home that is most cluttered.  Then, to list which decluttering approach would work best for them.  Here is what they shared and what I learned from the poll, and the percentages of their responses.  

Other Resources:

• Declutter – Feel Happier with a Decluttered Home and Office
• Decluttering Tips – My Experienced Guide to Cleaner Spaces
• Clean Out Closet – Steps to Making Space and Enjoying Less
• How to Get Rid of Paper Clutter – My Approach and Success
• Decluttering Tips For Seniors – A Simple Approach to Less
• How To Declutter – Thoughtful Techniques for Simpler Living

Decluttering the home can seem daunting at first, but it helps to come up with a plan and stick to it.  Whether you’ve got 30 days or 30 minutes, you can achieve some level of decluttering.  Ask for help when you need it, think of who you can help with your donations, and celebrate along the way!  Which room will you declutter first?