Start Simplifying Your Life By Following These Easy To Do Decluttering Tips

Many people I speak with are interested in simplifying their life; however, they just don’t know how to begin.  My advice to them is to start with some simple decluttering tips because I know that as people get rid of clutter, they will be well on their way to finding a simpler life.

This article lays out a framework of basic easy-to-do decluttering tips for your home.  One of the most effective way to declutter your home is to take things one step at a time.  For many people trying to go through their entire house in one day or one weekend is way too overwhelming.  Instead set up a schedule for yourself that commits 15 minutes to one hour every day until you have decluttered your home.

  • A place for everything and everything in its place.  This decluttering tip should apply to every area of your home. The goal is to know exactly where something needs to go when you find it lying around the house. Often, we don’t know where to put things so they end up in one of many junk piles. Once you have a place for everything it’s easy to pick up the house because you no longer have to find a “place” for things.  You just put them back where they belong.
  • Cleaning supplies.  Does your cleaning supply area look like a bomb hit it?  Are there miscellaneous bottles and cans, of who-knows-what, lurking around?  If so it is time to get rid of all the old stuff.  If you have spray cans of cleaner that are rusting and matted shut, get rid of them, the only purpose they serve is to take up space.  Place your cleaners, dust rags. etc. in a caddy.  Caddies are easy to carry around the house with you.  If you can’t fit all your cleaning supplies in one caddy, you have too many cleaning supplies so get rid of what you absolutely do not need.  The caddy should easily fit into a storage area so when you are done cleaning, the entire thing can be slid into storage.
  • Photos.  Photos can be the downfall of many an organizing system.  Even with digital photos, storage and organizing can become unwieldy.  A major problem for many people is finding storage solutions for prints.  One solution is to set up a collection bin for all photos.  As you declutter your home, take all the loose photos you come across and put them in the collection bin.  Once you have gathered all your photos try these decluttering tips to determine what to do with them:
    • Give them away to your children or other family members.
    • Put them in a photo album, box or scrapbook.  Photo boxes work well and you can find nice wood box that fits hundreds of photos inside.
    • Placing your photos in albums keeps them much more organized than photo boxes; however, it takes time to slip your photos into the sleeves of a photo album.
    • If you are planning on scrapbooking,  set up file folders for each subject which will have a scrapbook.  For example, have a file folder for each of your children and as you receive prints, sort them immediately into the corresponding file folder.
    • Scan you photos into your computer for digital storage.  The trick for digital storage is to set up file folders.  Here are decluttering tips for how you can set up a directory:
      • Family /Birthdays
        • Sam
        • Tammy
        • Mom
        • Dad
        • Family Christmas
        • Family Vacation
        • Work Activities
  • Mail – Don’t let incoming mail get the best of you.  The way to keep this beast tame is to sort through every piece of mail as soon as you bring it into the house.  I sort my mail right by the trash.  Junk mail does not even make it to my kitchen table.  Here are decluttering tips for categories you should use to sort your mail:
    • Trash
      • Throw away immediately.
    • Shredding pile
      • Items that may have personal information, such as credit card offers.
    • Personal correspondence.
    • Immediate action required
      • Appointment reminder cards, bills and invoices requiring follow-up.

By following these decluttering tips you will begin the process of making you home more manageable and your focus will improve.   Following these decluttering tips is a fantastic way to become organized and improve all areas of your life.