Finding the Motivation to Declutter Regularly

Many people wind up contending with clutter in their home, especially when their schedule grows tight and they find little time to deal with basic tasks such as tidying up or putting things in their proper place.

However, if you are a mother who works from home to help support the family, you need to stay on top of clutter even more so because of the extra time you are spending in the abode. And if you happen to be home schooling your children as well, your house is getting even more of a workout than parents who send their children off to school each day. This means that you’ll typically need to expend a bit more effort to keep your residence in a clean and usable state.

But parents sometimes become stymied in their cleanup efforts because of a feeling of “I won’t declutter this because it’s get cluttered again anyway.” If this has been your situation lately, there’s no need to fret. You can find the motivation to declutter on a regular basis and bring some peace and calm back into your home before you know it!

1. Stop Putting Off Decluttering

If you’re like many individuals facing a cluttered home, the problem may simply have to do with you getting started. Inertia is an obstacle to get over by making some concrete plans.

That is, once you realize that you need to remove the clutter, it’s time to make a specific goal. Write down your goal along with the time frame in which to achieve it. Some sacrifices may be in order. Instead of going out to the movies on a Saturday, you set aside the day to finally go through your items and start removing clutter.

The reward is that when you come home from the movies the following weekend, your home will be free of junk and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your surroundings once more. For best results, you can break activities down into smaller, more manageable tasks.

2. Divide Tasks so the Work Doesn’t Seem Too Overwhelming

Often the root of the problem when it comes to messy houses is that the owner feels overwhelmed by everything that has to be done. Instead of being paralyzed by the daunting task ahead of you, make it easier on yourself.

Divide tasks so the work is more manageable. Sticking to one room until it is free of debris is a great way to start. Select the room that’s most concerning to you. Are there stacks of magazines or books in the living room, taking up valuable space on the couch or coffee table? Toss what you don’t need and find a shelf to store the material you plan to read soon.

Look for knick-knacks whose purpose now seems to be more about collecting dust than bringing you joy or comfort. Keeping just a few items to display in a thoughtful manner (such as in a nice display) will make your dwelling less cluttered, so dump the non-essentials today.

3. Really Focus on Finding a Motivation

There are a number of positive motivations you can use to help you get moving and start organizing your home in earnest. Saving time can be a major factor. A home that has everything properly organized will let you do things faster, from reducing the amount of time to find things before you go out to cleaning rooms.

You can also find motivation in the desire to become a better role model for your children. When you model the behavior to organize and keep clutter at bay, you will be training them to keep a neater and more organized environment when it comes time to move into their own homes.

Socializing is easier when your home lacks clutter. Your guests will feel at ease when the place is spick and span, with nothing out of place. A desire to host parties or casual get-togethers can motivate you to declutter your abode on a regular basis.

4. Keep Your Eyes on the Goal of a Clutter-Free Home

It can be difficult sometimes to find the motivation to improve your living conditions by eliminating clutter and figuring out a system to avoid letting clutter ever build up again.

But when you start adopting a mindset where you break down tasks into simpler, easily managed actions and you reject procrastination, you should start to see some positive results. And once you spend some time in a clutter-free home, it will help you to stay motivated to now keep it nice and clean and organized.

Making a schedule, such as a family chore chart hung in the kitchen will serve as a reminder for everyone to do their part each week in regular decluttering activity.