Look around your home. Go on, take a quick scan. Do you have too much stuff? Do all your closets and drawers feel overfull and a little disorganized? You’re not alone if you said, ‘yes.’ The good news? You can turn that all around quickly with a 30-day declutter challenge.
The average American actually spends $1,487 a month on non-essential items, and while some are intangibles, like those streaming services, others take up space (cue that shoe habit).
Thankfully though, committing to decluttering doesn’t mean you’re getting rid of everything ‘extra’ in your home. A big part of corralling the clutter is organizing it.
So, without forcing yourself to take a minimalist approach if you’re not ready to, check out these seven helpful ways to get you on the road to decluttering.
1. Read a book
Starting any major project with a plan always ensures it goes smoothly. It may also help you complete the act of decluttering every room of your home rather than burning out halfway through.
If decluttering for you is a two-prong process, where you know you’ll need to get rid of stuff as well as reorganize, consider a book that can really get you started. You need to know how to prioritize what to keep, and that it’s okay to let go of without feeling guilty about your choices.
Once you have a plan, digging into all your stuff should be painless.
2. Find products that can pull double-duty
When deciding what to tackle first in your decluttering mission, go for the things that have the least sentimental value. All those half-empty bottles of cleaning products and bathroom soaps are easy to toss. This will free up space for what matters, and make it easier to find cleaners and shampoos when you need them.
Once you pull out what you don’t need, consider a more efficient strategy when it’s time to replace those items you use. Especially under your kitchen sink, where those cleaning products may live, try to find items that do the work of two bottles you keep under there now. Multi-purpose cleaners take up less space and do so many different jobs around the home.
3. Deal with the kitchen
Clutter lurks in many spaces within the kitchen, most famously, the junk drawer. But, organizing that beast depends on what’s actually in it. You may find that you toss most of it, or move it somewhere else that makes more sense. What’s left may not be that hard to organize, given the right assortment of bins.
Another source of clutter in the kitchen is that baggie drawer. This is the one that has plastic food storage bags, your foil and plastic wrap all crammed in together. Trying to pull one item out often leads to another coming with it, and trying to close the drawer always ends with something getting smooshed.
To get serious about decluttering, you need to think about how to make useful things easier to use, so why not organize your baggie drawer? Getting a pre-made organizer designed for your gallon, snack, quart and sandwich bags is the perfect solution to eliminating the frustration every time you open this particular kitchen drawer.
4. Get the closet under control
The next possible source of anxiety when it comes to clutter is your closet. Even if it started out perfectly organized when you moved in, by now, it might be a little chaotic. This is a great place to begin by eliminating the clothing, shoes and accessories you no longer want. Items that don’t fit, or aren’t your style anymore, should get boxed up and donated first. Then, you’re only organizing what you really want to keep.
The trick to closet clutter is finding tools that create more vertical space. This is especially true if you’re dealing with a tiny apartment closet with a single hanging bar. Look for vertical, space-saving hangers and hanging organizers that can hold anything from shoes to hats to nicely rolled leggings. Filling in the space below the closet bar, without having to throw it all on the floor, will go a long way in transforming your closet into a clutter-less space.
5. Put away the small stuff
From the dresser drawer holding all your jewelry to the drawers in your desk, it’s pretty easy to accumulate many little things. Harder to get rid of, what’s most important in organizing all this stuff is that nothing gets lost in the shuffle. It would be traumatizing to think you lost your diamond stud earrings simply because they ended up hidden under a tangle of bangle bracelets.
For the drawers that hold way too much, where everything is small, grab a storage box set that comes in a variety of sizes. All together, they’ll fit in a single drawer, but provide compartments to keep everything and anything safe and visible. No more pawing through a cluttered drawer for you, no matter what room it’s in.
6. Store it on a cart
Ever notice those piles that seem to creep up around your home? They could consist of papers, those puzzles you love doing or even the wrapping paper rolls you toss onto the floor of your hall closet. Again, piles equal clutter, and this project is about getting all this stuff up and off the floor.
A great way to do this is by storing similar items on a cart. Have an art cart or a wrapping station cart. You can even use one to hold your mail, keys and other items you like to set down right when you walk in the door.
Carts are great because they don’t have a huge footprint. You can wheel them to sit discreetly in a corner. And, if you need to get that stuff out of a room for one reason or another, it’s portable. Carts also allow you to go up instead of out when it comes to your stuff, which always makes it look less messy and distracting.
7. Clear off your counters
Specifically geared at those cluttered bathroom counters, an under-the-sink organizer can do wonders when trying to make space. They even have organizers with two tiers, expanding the space you have to work with. The bottom tier should pull out, making it easier to grab what you need in the morning to get ready, and put it back out of sight.
The best bathroom organizers will also have hooks built in to secure a hairdryer cord, and adjustable legs to get the height just right.
Ready, set, start your 30-day declutter challenge
You have the knowledge and the tools now to challenge yourself to a month of decluttering. Go through your whole home and get rid of the mess, the piles and all the items you no longer need. You’ll end up with an organized home where nothing can hide from you.
