What’s your next decluttering project?
Every home is different, and every place has its own challenges, of course.
And we ‘declutterers’ are all unique, we all have our special requirements and preferences and our personal ideas about how our home should look like.
Only you can decide which areas in your home or which categories of belongings need some decluttering, and in which order you wish to organise the work.
If you are not sure where to begin, you could first do a little awareness-exercise:
Walk through your home and create a list of all those areas you don’t feel happy about because they look cluttered or disorganised.
And then – don’t overthink it – choose the problem area you wish to tackle first.
Areas to declutter – Some suggestions
Focus on the very personal stuff
You may decide to concentrate on the very personal areas in your home first. This will let you experience the benefits of your decluttering work immediately and personally.
Examples:
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- the content of your briefcase/handbag (click here for some inspiration);
- the top of your dresser;
- the drawer with your underwear;
- your email inbox;
- the make-up drawer;
- etc.
Focus on open areas
It’s a good idea to focus on open areas in the beginning because you’ll very quickly see positive results of your work. This will keep your motivation up.
Examples of open areas:
-
- the top of the dresser;
- the top of the kitchen counter;
- the dinner table;
- the window sills;
- the stuff in and around the shower and the bath tub;
- etc.
Focus on one room
As soon as the open areas are clear and clean you could choose one room to declutter, step-by-step, over the course of a couple of days.
Divide the room into several smaller areas. During each decluttering session you work on just one area until it’s completely decluttered and re-organised.
Example – the kitchen: the fridge, the freezer, one or several drawers or boxes in the pantry, the cabinet under the sink; the pet supplies/toys, one or several drawers or cupboards with the pots and pans, the cutlery, the dishes, glasses, flatware, the drawer with the herbs and spices; etc.
Focus on one category
It is also possible to work on one category or sub-category of belongings at a time.
Examples:
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- gardening tools/equipment/supplies;
- medicine, vitamins, and supplements;
- linen and towels;
- shoes;
- the boxes/bags with the holiday decorations;
- photo albums and lose photos;
- hobby/craft supplies;
- sports equipment;
- the files and folders on the computer;
- etc.
Have you got some ideas for your next project?
Pick up your calendar and schedule the first decluttering session. And then stick to that appointment with yourself.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed now?
What if you feel like freaking out now because your list of projects seems to be overwhelming? Not doable? Exhausting?
Take a deep breath and calm down.
Remind yourself that you don’t have to do your decluttering projects in one go.
You can decide to take the small-steps decluttering approach.
Click here to learn how you can get all the work done, step-by-step.