It’s easy to accumulate items in your home as the years go by. Many of us only bring stuff in without removing or giving away other items. When clutter builds up, the challenge of organizing and removing may feel overwhelming. Whether you need to clear things out quickly for a family move or just want more space to enjoy, here’s how to declutter your home fast.
How to Declutter Your Home Fast
When first learning how to declutter your home, the best thing is to walk away from it. No, you don’t get to ignore the problem! Lifehacker recommends taking a pen and paper to another neutral space, like the park or a local coffee shop. While there, ask yourself what you would replace in your home if you lost everything?
This may seem extreme, but it helps you focus on what really matters to you and what serves a function in your life. Deciding which things you want to keep is a great tool for understanding how much you can let go of, especially when preparing for a move!
Start With One Room
Armed with your list of items to keep, return home and start clearing it one room at a time. Don’t expect to get everything accomplished at once. You might want to work in a short burst of an hour and let yourself take breaks in between rooms.
Use a Simple Method
It’s easier to proceed if you also use a very simple organizational method for how to declutter your home. The keep/donate/toss technique is practical. All you need are three boxes:
- Items you plan on keeping in the home.
- Items you want to donate to others.
- Items you want to throw away.
The toss pile should include all flyers, garbage, old containers, and broken or damaged items. Remember, you don’t have time to fix things. If it is damaged, it’s best to donate or trash.
Create an ‘Outbox’
You will find it hard to let go of some things when learning how to declutter your home. Some items may be sentimental, pretty, or you think you might need them again. Consider putting these things in temporary storage in the garage, a spare room, or even a storage unit offsite. This ‘Outbox’ as Apartment Therapy calls it, allows you to detach from these items for a week or longer.
After some time has passed, take a second look at each item in the box and decide whether you needed it over the past week or two. Chances are you didn’t even think about it, which means you don’t need it.
As you move through the steps for how to declutter your home fast, you’ll see a lot of items going out the door. It may feel a little scary, but remember, the process will result in a home that’s easier to clean and better organized.
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