Decluttering, or home editing, is the process of making decisions about what deserves to take up valuable space in your home (and your brain), and letting go, physically and mentally of anything that doesn’t need to be there. It’s about taking care of the environment you live in to take care of yourself.
However, decluttering can sometimes feel like an overwhelming, out-of-reach task you have no idea how to begin. Whether you are considering hiring professional organisers or are wanting to do it yourself, understanding the process will make it easier to begin.
In this blog, we’ll share 8 key steps
home organisers use when starting to declutter:
1.
Make a plan
Before decluttering, it’s always wise to have a plan. A professional home organiser would typically have an initial planning meeting with a client to discover what they wanted to achieve and which parts of the home are the biggest concerns/priorities. Make a list of all the problem areas in your home and which ones you want to tackle first. Breaking down all that needs to be done can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed and lost at the start of a project.
2.
Set goals in achievable timeframes.
In home organising, setting time-frames and goals is crucial for maintaining focus and helping the process run as smoothly as possible. It’s easy to get distracted by a childhood toy or family photo book, but keep reminding yourself of the task at hand. Be prepared that the process may take much longer than you originally thought it would. However much time you think you'll need, double it so you can be sure you'll finish the job.
3.
Set rules
It’s also helpful to set rules on how much space you want to create through decluttering. For example, if you don't have much space you may need to be pretty ruthless. The 80/20 rule is popular in the home organising community with 20% of available space being left free. If you only declutter the absolute minimum, you'll come unstuck when you buy something new.
4.
Prepare your home
Get bags or boxes ready for rubbish, recycling or donations, and have a plan about what you'll do with anything you're getting rid of. Ideally you want to get them out of your house immediately, so allow time for that. So many people have bags of donations stacked in the boot of the car or the spare room for months before getting around to dealing with them, so just do it now!
5.
Sort through everything
When you choose the area or task you want to tackle, take stock of every item in that space. You can only do half a job if you only reveal half the stuff. Make sure you unearth items hidden away in either old boxes or bags. If you’re hiring professional help, be really clear about which areas you want decluttered and reveal any secret storage places to avoid items being missed.
6.
Do an initial cut
With time ticking, home organisers will often encourage you to make an initial quick-fire cut of anything you can easily donate, recycle or throw away. For many of the items in your home, the decision to keep or not will be impulsive. Trust your gut and save thinking time for the more important and sentimental items.
7.
Ask questions
Alternatively, for each item ask yourself three questions: do you love it, do you use it, or do you need it. You might not love a tin opener, but you use it. You may not love your passport, but you need it. You may not need a jumper, but you love it. If you can't give a good solid yes to at least one of those questions, you can maybe let that thing go.
8.
Let go of any guilt
Lastly, something that often deters the decluttering process is the guilt of letting go of things because you spent a lot of money on them, or someone gave them to you. It’s far easier for a home organiser to remain objective over your things; personal feelings can often get in the way. However, holding on to those items because you feel you should is only cluttering your home and adding stress to your life in other ways. Allow yourself to let go of the guilt. Learn from any purchasing mistakes, and give yourself permission to say no to hand-me-downs if you don't want them.
