3 Ways To Declutter And Organize Your Home

Declutter and Organize Your Home

Got a goal to get rid of clutter and organize your home?

Here are three smart strategies for home organization.

1. Scrap The Storage

If you’ve got stuff squirreled away in storage, the attic, or the garage, then this is the time to get rid of it.

You probably don’t even know what’s there, do you? Ha ha – gotcha!

Schedule a day to clear out your storage unit, attic or garage and take everything to the charity store or tip.

This is a motivating and satisfying way to kickstart your goal to be better organized. And you can get it done in a day.

Power Tip

If you’d rather chew off your own arm than sort through everything, then hire a professional organizer for a few hours.

They’ll keep you focused and provide the momentum for you.

The money you’ll save on storage will probably pay for the service, too.

2. Have Less Stuff

The less stuff you have, the easier it is to get organized and stay organized.

In case you zoned out during that last sentence, here it is again.

The less stuff you have, the easier it is to get organized and stay organized.

There are two prongs to having less stuff:

  1. Buying less
  2. Getting rid of more.

The first is achieved by a shift of mindset – you give up the idea of shopping as a way to pass time.

Shop when you have things you need to buy. Otherwise, avoid the mall.*

Instead of shopping, use the time for another goal – like health and fitness, personal development, or time with family.

The second prong is achieved by getting rid of things you don’t love or don’t use.

Do 30-minute purges and power decluttering until you’ve got most of the excess out of the house.

Then use clutter-management strategies like a ready-for-donation basket and tidy-as-you-go habits to maintain order.

*Excludes shoe shopping

Power Tip

Can’t bring yourself to get rid of excess stuff?

Try this. Put it all in a ‘probation’ box and give it to a nice friend. Ask them to keep it for six months, then quietly take it to the charity store or tip.

The six months will give you an emotional safety net in case you discover that life is in fact meaningless without your lecture notes from 1989.

But chances are, you’ll forget all about the box of stuff.

3. Get Help

Having someone else provide structure for your decluttering and organizing efforts can make it easier to get started and stay motivated.

The less thinking and analyzing you have to do, the less opportunity to procrastinate. You can simply focus on doing it.

Look for a book at the store or library that offers a structured approach to personal, home or family organization.

Or get a coach to help you set organizing objectives and stay accountable.

Or try one of my organizing programs:

Power Tip

If you’re going to work through a book or program, it helps to have an organizing buddy.

You can encourage and motivate each other, share successes, and brainstorm problems.

Summary

If you want to turn your goal to be more organized into a way of life, then these three strategies will set you up well:

  1. Attack your long-term storage
  2. Choose to have less stuff in your life
  3. Use a program to break your home organization goal into achievable chunks.

Clutter and disorganization rob you of peace. So why not start today and take a step toward your home organization goal.

Which strategy will you begin with?

Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the Get Organized Wizard newsletter.

Michele | Get Organized Gal

Michele is into writing, books, simplicity, love, TV, productivity, and staying thin in a world of chocolate.

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