Has the clutter in your home reached annoying levels? Is it time for a thorough cleaning that gives you a great excuse to remove messes and toss the things you don’t need? That’s a big project, and it’s not always easy to pick what to throw away and what to keep. Here are several key steps that we’ve found to be a huge help when getting started!
1. Start with a Goal
One of the problems with starting a big decluttering project is that you’re unsure sure where to start! That’s okay. Start with a basic goal: What do you want to accomplish by decluttering your home? Do you want to prepare for important guests and make sure they have enough room? Are you starting a family? Are you getting stressed out by the mess around you? Maybe you need to prepare for a move or major renovation. Whatever the reason, think about your goal and consider what projects will meet that goal.
2. Identify the Areas with the Worst Mess
Defining a goal should help you identify the kind of clutter you most need to remove. Now, find where the clutter is located! Sometimes you may have a pretty good idea, and other times you may need to take a survey throughout your house and write down all the locations that need to be cleaned. This will give you a plan to follow. You don’t need to start with the messiest area first, but it’s important to pick at least one location in which to begin.
3. Divide Your Work into Four Bins
As you begin the decluttering process, it’s incredibly useful to keep four different bins for different activities, based on the items you find:
- Storage: These are items you want to keep, although not necessarily in the same spot.
- Recycle: These are items you can safely recycle.
- Trash: These items go straight to the landfill.
- Donate: These items are suitable for a donation or a garage sale but should be ultimately thrown away if that doesn’t work out.
4. Understand What You Really Need to Keep
You are likely to come across items that are tough to make decisions about. You may wonder if other friends or family could use them in the future – that’s very normal. If you have a long-cherished keepsake that from a previous generation, it’s alright to put it in the storage bin, at least for now (or perhaps create another bin for undecided items that family might want). Otherwise, we suggest throwing things away even if you’re not sure: This frees up space and helps protect your home from mold and pest problems, too.
5. After Each Space is Clean, Process the Bins and Move On
With that location clean, process the things in your bins (as necessary), take a little break, and move on to the next location! Before you know it, you’ll be finished.
If your clean-up job is getting bigger by the minute and you’re having trouble storing everything you want to throw away, we can help! Rent a bin from Debris Box and keep decluttering!
Leave a Reply