Whether you are prepping to move into your new home in Florida and want to minimize what is being packed and moved, or you have lived in your home for a long time and it is starting to feel a bit cluttered, you might be thinking it is time to declutter and organize. But where to start?
Continue to read to find the top 10 oversimplified tips to declutter your home, then put on your favorite tunes or podcast and get started!
1. Take a Moment to Plan
Before you begin your physical work, we recommend starting with a little bit of planning first. Take a walk around your Florida home and take note of the areas that need the most work, whether it is an entire room or a specific space. Write down all of the things you want to tackle, then rank your list from highest priority to lowest priority. Once you have given every space a priority, set goals on when you will have it completed, being realistic about how long it will take and how much time you can devote to the task.
2. Create a Sorting System
A sorting system will help you make decisions, and we recommend sorting things into three groups—keep, toss, and store. Items you want to keep accessible will go into a keep box. Items in the toss box can either be donated, sold, or trashed and recycled. You can decide what to do with them after sorting. Items you decide to store go into the last stack, and can later be sorted, put into plastic bins, labeled, and put in an out-of-the-way space for safekeeping.
3. Be Realistic About What you Need to Keep
As you go through your items, you need to be realistic about what you need to keep and what you can reasonably get rid of. This might be the hardest aspect of decluttering, but once the task is complete, it will be well worth it! We recommend you ask yourself questions such as:
- When was the last time the item was used?
- Does it work?
- Is it irreplaceable, valuable, or sentimental?
If the answer is no to any of these questions, consider getting rid of it. Remember, getting rid of said item doesn't mean trashing it. You can also recycle, donate, or sell it! Consider your options as you are considering whether to keep an item.
4. Set Aside 10 Minutes Each Day
If you are uncertain about how to start or feel like you don't have enough time to devote to serious decluttering, just start by setting aside 10 minutes each day to do a simple decluttering task. This short daily clean-up will give you the psychological benefits of decluttering, and make it all the easier to do a serious decluttering when the time is available to you.
5. Closets
If a space you struggle with is a closet, you aren't alone! Everyone makes up excuses to keep clothes, shoes, and accessories that haven't been worn in forever. Use this simple trick to help be realistic about what you need, and what you don't. Begin by turning over all your hangers backward in the closet, and over the next 3 to 12 months, each time you wear an item and rehang it in your closet, turn the hangers the correct way. At the end of the season, take inventory of what you have worn, and what you haven't.
6. Enlist the Help of a Friend
Sometimes all the tips and tricks you can find aren't enough to help you make decisions on parting with your personal belongings. Consider enlisting the help of a friend! Ask someone who is emotionally unattached to the objects in your home to come and help. Make sure you ask someone you know will be honest with you and encourage you to be realistic about what you need, and what you don't.
7. Stay Organized
Don't forget to think about organizing as you begin the process of decluttering. Make a plan for the items you are planning on keeping and think through where each item should go. Part of ensuring that your clean-up doesn't become clutter again is giving everything a proper place so it is always there when you need it, and you always know where to put it when you are done with it. Some questions you can ask yourself include:
- Where will you use it the most?
- Where are similar items stored?
- Does it need to be accessible, or in storage like the attic or shed?
8. What Do You Need to Help Stay Organized?
While you are decluttering and deciding which item you will be keeping in your home, you might want to consider what you will need to help stay organized to prevent future clutter. Do you need baskets or dividers? Can you incorporate storage into existing furniture? Can you add furniture that doubles as storage space, like a bench, hatch, or bookshelf?
9. Look Beyond the Expected
When you are winding down with your decluttering project, look beyond the expected for ways you can make your home feel cleaner, more organized, and clutter-free. Find ways to hide cords from electronics and appliances. Create a space to drop and hide items on cluttered counters, whether it is a built-in drop zone by your entry door, or a simple basket to contain items like keys, sunglasses, and mail.
10. Don't Let your Toss Items Hang Around
Last but not least, don't let your decluttered home "toss" items hang around. If you haven't already separated which items you are planning on selling, donating, or trashing, plan a day when your errands or commute can take you to donation, garbage, and recycling locations. If you plan to sell any items, decide whether it will be through a yard sale, online, or at a store that purchases gently-used items.
Once you have decided what you will do, block time on your calendar to make it happen. Completing these final tasks will allow you to wipe your hands off the decluttering process and sit back and enjoy a job well done. Explore the best of the Forgotten Coast today.
