Once your home starts to feel messy and cramped, it can be hard to know where to start decluttering. These tips will help you put together a cleaning plan.
Where to Start Decluttering
- Start room-by-room. Decluttering can easily become overwhelming, especially if you’re in a condo with multiple rooms in need of organization. Before feeling stressed by the task ahead, focus on single space at a time. Determine which areas need immediate attention and which areas are low priority. Think about which rooms you spend the most time in or which areas your guests frequent often.
- Create a calendar. We all understand life can be busy and sporadic, but having a timeline to execute your decluttering and set time frames for each room will help you stay organized and hold yourself accountable. For extra motivation, consider a reward after each room you complete, like a sweet treat or your favorite bottle of wine.
- Set up bins. These bins will help you sort through your items and evaluate the end result of those items. For example, you may have a “trash,” “give away,” “recycle,” “storage”, and “keep” bin. It may be tempting to skip the bins and create informal piles, but as these piles grow, they may spark a greater sense of chaos.
- Begin sorting. Once the bins are set up and labeled, you can start going through all the items in the specific room you are tackling. Turn on some tunes or pour a cup of coffee for some focus. As soon as a bin is full, you are forced to take the items within wherever they belong.
- Stay focused. Despite our best intentions, there are always plenty of distractions that can easily steal our attention. If you want to be efficient with your decluttering, eliminate all of those potential diversions. This may mean putting your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb mode, taking the kids to a friend’s house, or keeping the television off.
- Celebrate. Decluttering your home is no easy feat. Once you complete this project, commemorate the fruits of your labor. Consider hosting a get-together to show off your clean and refreshed digs!
- Maintain Good Habits. Even after all the effort involved in decluttering, somehow messes always pile up quicker than most of us like to admit. If you can pick up AND keep habits that minimize clutter, the fewer major clean-ups you’ll have to worry about. Get used to regularly donating items when you no longer use them or designate spots for your stuff.
We hope you have a better understanding and more confidence to know where to start decluttering with these tips. Just need more living space? Contact a Luxury Living Chicago broker to discuss your options today!
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