How To Declutter Your Home And Get Organized

It is not easy at times to declutter your home.  I have always struggled to get organized.  But I have learned a valuable lesson as I have struggled with this.  I have learned first hand the cost of clutter.

Are you struggling to declutter your home

As I said before I have struggled to declutter at home, so I am no expert, but I have found what works for us.  We live in a tiny space and have for most of our marriage.  As we have had more kids, the stuff increased.

I have found that I have to be constantly decluttering, or I get overwhelmed by stuff taking over my house.  When you declutter your home, take it one day at a time and one spot at a time.

Lots of people like to set a timer for 15 minutes; others like to get organized while taking it a task at a time. If you are just starting to get organized, you may want to try both ways and find what works.

It also helps to have a couple of bags with you as you declutter.  One for giveaway items and one for trash.  Then you can make a choice of what works best for you and continue forth until you are clutter free!

How to remove the clutter

After you have finished the declutter your home, you need to get it out before you or anyone else starts to go through it.

I would recommend taking the clutter to a thrift store such as Goodwill or Salvation Army. The only exception is if you have a local church or charity that is in need of what you are getting rid of.

I don’t recommend having a garage sale unless you have it planned for the weekend after you finish the clean out.  This is because if you don’t get it out right away, you end up with lots of stuff getting in your way or lots of stuff back in your house.

I realize this goes against My usual frugal living “make as much money as you can with your stuff” theory.  But I have learned that sometimes it isn’t worth hanging onto the clutter.  It is better for your soul to declutter your home and get rid of.

How to organize your room

Once you have decluttered your home, It is SO much easier to get organized.  Just like decluttering, it takes time to get organized!  So give yourself some time to work on it and make it happen.

It is also an excellent idea to do small projects a little at time.  I like the 15 min missions that can be found on home storage solutions 101.  It gives you daily tasks to organize and get your house in order in a  year.  Some of the items take the full 15 mins, and some have been shorter for me.  But working at 1 task at a time brings great results if you continue to do them regularly!

My best tips I have learned are

• Organization is not a one time deal it is a continuous process
• Give yourself grace and know that you can’t accomplish everything.  It takes time, and things will get pushed back or rescheduled to different days
• Teach your kids to declutter your home and get organized with you.  This cuts the time you have to do things because they help you.
• Your memories don’t disappear with your stuff; in fact, they are enhanced because your stress is lower and your experiences are greater.
• if you have a small space, you need to organize daily!

Why and how to stay organized

I grew up in a home that was clean and taken care of, but my room, on the other hand, was not.  I always had a hard time getting rid of things because I am a saver by nature.  I always wondered what I could use that for in the future.  The 1/2 used spirals always got the used pages thrown away and the other pages saved.  I saved them because it was good paper and I would be wasting if I got rid of them.

This way of thinking flowed into my house after marriage.  I was always saving something for later.  My home wasn’t dirty, but I had a lot of stuff.  As I had kids, I kept EVERYTHING from baby 1 to baby 2 and then to baby 3.

My definition of need has changed a lot since that time.  I have discovered the effect was more than just stuff that took up space, it made our life harder to live.  It made cleaning harder, organizing harder and mostly living harder because I lived in a constant stress ball.

It took away much of my enjoyment over the years because I was always battling clutter and stress.  It kept me from inviting people over or having a house for our friends to enjoy because I didn’t want them to have to battle with all the stuff.

I now see how much less stress I would have had, how much more fun I could have been and how much I missed out.  I know now that there is more value life, family, and happiness than clutter.

What do you think is the best way to declutter and get organized?  Please leave a comment and tell me your thoughts!