Clutter can be a pain. So much stuff can be overwhelming and just the idea of decluttering can be daunting.
Where do you start?
How should you tackle it?
If you are struggling with a hoard, here are some tips you can try to help with decluttering.
Make sure you try and do these things.
Create an action plan
Come up with an action plan.
Maybe you are doing one room first, then another.
Write down how you will tackle the job and then it will become easier to complete.
Get help
It can be extremely difficult for some people to ask for help.
Some people see asking for help as a sign of weakness.
Try and ask someone you trust for help, you will be surprised.
People will and want to help if you ask.
A friend or relative or a neighbor. Many hands make light work.
Remember a problem shared is a problem halved.
Just start
Procrastination is a terrible thing.
Just by starting you are already making progress.
Even if you throw away 1 thing that’s still better than doing nothing at all.
Start small
It’s great that you have decided to start decluttering, but you don’t want to do too much as it can be overwhelming.
A great tip is to start small and then get a small victory then move on to another small area.
Over time if you have done many small areas that will get the ball rolling.
Throw away trash first
Grab a trash bag, and start putting things in it that are clearly just rubbish.
Things like empty food wrappers, empty cans, or drinks bottles.
Organize
A good idea is to get more boxes, but use those boxes to categorize the clutter.
This will make sorting it a lot easier.
At the very least you need 4 boxes.
- Keep Box
- Throw Away Box
- Recycle or Donate Box
- Store Box
The Keep box will be for items you need day to day and can’t live without.
The throw away box should be for things you don’t need, can’t be donated and are not worth storing.
The Recycle or Donate box should be for items that can be recycled or donated to a charity shop.
These things will generally have value and shouldn’t be just thrown away.
Then the last box is the store box.
This box is for items you want to keep but don’t want in the house or have no room in the house for.
Go paperless
Sort your papers out after you’ve got rid of your trash.
Bills, Bank Statements, Take Away Menus.
A lot of hoards are paper.
Not only is this a fire risk, but it can get overwhelming.
Be proactive and environmentally friendly and ask to get paperless bills or “electronic bills.”
Not only is this helping declutter and reduce the hoarding, but it makes them much more convenient to organize.
Be ruthless
Have you used this item in the last 6 months?
If not, get rid of it.
Have you got more than 1 of something?
Do you need 6 wooden spoons?
If you have duplicates of things, then letting go of the duplicates could free up some much-needed space and if you sold the duplicates, could bring in some extra cash.
House flow
For everything you bring into the house, get rid of at least 1 thing.
If you buy a new item of clothing, a shirt, for example, then try and get rid of an old shirt you haven’t worn in a long time.
Take it to the charity shop or sell it online.
The idea is that you want to try and have more things flowing out of the house than flowing into the house.
Remove items straight away
If you have a bag of items for the charity shop, take them to the charity shop straight away.
Don’t leave them to sit in the house as chances are, they won’t get taken to the charity shop and then just left in a bag to go moldy.
The same goes with trash, if you’ve done such a good job putting a load of trash in a bag, finish the job by taking it outside and disposing of it properly.
Think about safety in the house
Basic human rights are eating, sleeping and washing.
Everyone needs somewhere to cook and eat a meal, have a wash, and sleep.
If you focus on clearing the kitchen, then meals can be prepared and cooked.
If you clear the bathroom of clutter you can take a nice relaxing bath.
Clearing the bedroom means you can go to sleep in a bed and get a good night’s rest.
Make it fun
Decluttering doesn’t have to boring!
Play some music while you do it to make it less mundane.
Another idea would be to play a game like getting rid of items that start with A, things that are blue, or things that are soft.
If you can make a game out of the decluttering it makes the job fun and less like work.
Take breaks often
Now obviously don’t take breaks all the time, but taking frequent breaks does allow you to stop and look at what you’ve achieved and regroup and focus on what you’re doing next.
Give yourself time
The hoard didn’t accumulate overnight, so give yourself time to declutter.
Look at it like a marathon rather than a sprint.
You’ll get there eventually.
Every house is different, and every hoard is different.
If you have created an action plan, then you should have an idea of how long it will take.
Hire a professional
Sometimes there are instances where you need to declutter in a hurry.
Sometimes you don’t have lots of time to declutter.
Maybe you only rent the property and you have to move out by a certain date or maybe the house needs to be sold quickly.
Whatever the reason, sometimes it’s better to hire a professional.
There are professional declutterers and cleaners that will help with a hoard.
This does cost money but sometimes that extra bit of support is what you might just need to get the job completed.
Identify the root cause
Decluttering a house is great, but if you don’t identify the root cause of the problem, then most likely the house will become cluttered once more.
There are many treatment centers that specialize in helping with hoarding.
Don’t do these things
Don’t try and do everything yourself
Don’t try and do everything yourself.
It could be overwhelming and even dangerous.
Don’t do nothing
Don’t ignore the problem and hope it will go away, because it won’t.
It will still be there the next day when you wake up and probably a bit more clutter as well.
Don’t be worried
Don’t be worried about speaking to someone about your clutter.
People do want to help.
If you are worried or ashamed then you can always speak to a professional declutterer who will help or a therapy center.
What to expect when decluttering
You may feel a mixed bag of emotions when decluttering, these are all normal.
Try and have checkpoints throughout the day when you look at what you have achieved.
This should spur you on to continue decluttering.
Remember that safety should be your number 1 priority.
The less cluttered a house is, the safer it is.
So by decluttering, you’re actually making it a safer place to live.