Learn How to Declutter Your Home and Live Simpler

6 Steps to Take to help Declutter Your Home and Live Simpler

Are you wanting to declutter your home and live a simpler life?

Having a home and family you tend to end up with a lot of things. If you’re anything like I used to be I would collect and save everything. I’d find myself going shopping all the time and buying so many unnecessary things. Things that would just take up space in my home, items that would collect dust creating more for me to clean.

I’d end up having knick knacks, signs, baskets, vases, random things all over that didn’t really have a place, they were just kind of there.

I would never get rid of clothes, shoes or bags. I’d have hair products, lotions, perfumes, old hairbrushes collecting in the bathroom shelves. Things that I had from high school still claiming it’s spot in my closet.

I had endless Tupperware containers, some with lids, some without. Old pots and pans because I liked cooking with them even though I’d get new. Spices and boxed food hidden in the back of the cupboard.

I used to have totes and totes of kid’s clothes that I wouldn’t donate. Piles of kid’s shoes, hats, gloves. Old toys that didn’t have all the pieces to, but I still kept them because they were a birthday or Christmas present from a family member.

Within the past year I have decided it was time to declutter and live a simpler life.

I hit a point in my life where all the things that were just laying around, collecting dust and really served no purpose had to go. I wanted more in my life by having less.

I slowly made my way through each room and what I really didn’t see the purpose of keeping anymore, it went out the door. Unless it had real sentimental value to me or my family it didn’t belong.

Let’s just say we had a lot for the garbage man and a lot went to the dump.

While I still feel like we have a lot of stuff in our home, I have decluttered a lot and it’s helped me live a simpler life.

Save

Take these steps I slowly used to declutter our home and learn to live a simpler life.

1. Start Small

If you’re having a hard time figuring out how to start. Just pick a room and start somewhere. I started in my closet. All of the clothes that I kept telling myself I would wear again, but I still haven’t either got sold or donated. I still have a lot of clothes but it’s a work in progress.

2. Do You Use It?

Ask yourself if you use it. An old hair straightener, a slushie maker your kids used one time, the random perfume from your high school days. If you haven’t used it within the past year, toss it. If it’s a stand that has been sitting in your room or hallway that is empty, donate it or sell it. You really don’t need 4 sets of bedsheets and comforters, take them to a homeless shelter.

3. Does It Serve A Purpose?

Do you really need 20 different Tupperware containers? Half of which don’t have lids. How many signs do you need that all say “Life Laugh Love” or “Family”? Pick one or two that you really like and toss the rest. Little things that have broken or are missing pieces. I know I have put broken things in places and years later I find them, still broken. Let them go!

4. Organize

If there’s piles of things that you just can’t bring yourself to get rid of, find a box or get a tote and fill it. Hide it in the basement, shed or attic. Your kid’s schoolwork, their hospital items, clothes for different seasons, craft items. Organize them in labeled totes so it’s easy to find when you need them. Get some organizers for certain things, that way everything is together and not spread out all over.

Save

5. Do A Little at a Time

Don’t try to declutter your whole house in a weekend. Start with one closet, one room or one area at a time. If you try to do it all at once, you’ll get overwhelmed and quit. Go through your closet, the piles of shoes in each room, your kitchen cabinets. Take an hour or two a day here and there and accomplish one area at a time.

6. Have A Reason Why You Want to Declutter Your Home

If you’re trying to declutter just for something to do, you’ll probably end up hiding in the closet with a bottle of wine wondering what you’re doing. Why do you want to declutter? Is it to live simpler? Do you want more room in your home and less stuff? Do you want to make cleaning easier? Does your home look clustered and you want it to look cleaner? Figuring out why will help you make your way through each area of your home.

Try these 6 steps to declutter your home easily. Remember it’s not a race. Set some goals, get started and enjoy the process towards living a simpler life.