How to Declutter a Room in 4 Easy Steps

As each day goes on, mail, paperwork, dishes, boxes, toys, clothes, you name it is bound to pile up! No matter how organized you are, clutter is more than likely to creep at least one room in your home eventually, there’s no preventing it. Sometimes, life gets so busy, that we don’t actually realize we have clutter building up in the next room. We’ve all been there. 

  Clutter is one of my least favorite things ever. I can even remember as a child, I would take apart my room and declutter my toys and books at least once a year! It’s just always bugged me. As an adult, I’m realizing that yes, it gets harder to not build up clutter, but it doesn’t have to be hard to sort through it. I’m also finding ways to limit clutter each and every day. Here are my 4 tips when you have a clutter filled room: 

1. Spread things out and sort through them. It’s so much easier when things are displayed right in front of you. If you can’t get to everything at once, work in sections. When you’re sorting, have 3 bins available: 1 for trash or donations, 1 to keep, and 1 to come back later. This way, at least you’ll get rid of all the trash first, leaving it easier to sort through the next round. My favorite affordable organizing bins are linked here – you can use them for practically anything
2. When I’m deciding if I want to keep something, I like to use a little trick that I heard from a friend, “If it doesn’t bring you joy, toss it”. Say you have a sweater that you never wear because it doesn’t fit you exactly the way you’d like, but you keep it anyway because it’s your absolute favorite color. I would consider this a “toss” or “donate” item. When you wear that sweater, you won’t feel joy wearing it because you don’t exactly like the way it fits. This can go for non-clothes items also like statues, pictures, toys, books. If you’re keeping something that you’ll probably never use, display, or enjoy looking at then it’s simply taking up space!

3. Round 2 Sorting – First, start with your “keep” bin. If there’s too many items in there, go through them a second time and ask your self “When will I use this next?” If it isn’t in the next 6-12 months, I’d toss it!  Do the same with the “come back later” bin. 

4. Now that you have chosen the items that mean the most to you, it’s time to organize! Think about how the clutter got there in the first place. Was it mail piling up on the kitchen counter, or just toys and clothes piling up from the past year? Whatever it is, designate it to a new destination! For the mail, put a small basket on the side table near the front door, or hang a tiny shelf on the wall by the coat rack. Cubby or Drawer organizers work great for toys and clothes. Find what works best for your family and make it a habit to put things where they go.

One simple step each day can lead to a simpler (and not so cluttered) life, which leads to more family time and less stress for you!

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