With Spring quickly approaching, “Spring cleaning” is in the air. It’s time to declutter and clear space to make room for the freshness of Spring-time! (SIGH…) But where do we start?!
Decluttering has always been a challenge for me because…well, I’ll be honest…I LIKE MY STUFF! I have even found myself on more than one occasion, having thrown away an item I no longer needed, RETREIVING it from my trash can the next day after a night of turmoil over how I would ever survive without that item! SOUND FAMILIAR?!
So, I decided to summarize the BEST AND EASIEST tips I found for decluttering from two articles on MindBodyGreen, by Emma Lowe and Allison Young, respectively.
Here are my “TOP TEN TAKEAWAY DECLUTTERING TIPS”:
#1. Begin by cutting yourself some slack…(but not TOO much, LOL!) We all have a habit of saving things we no longer need.
#2. Start small. Rather than attempt your entire house in one swoop, commit to a chest of drawers, donating everything you have not worn in the past year. You will gather momentum with each small accomplishment.
#3. Then, divide your home into sections and “bang out” the project one area and one room at a time.
#4. The ENTRYWAY: Don’t let your entryway become the “drop spot” for shoes, jackets, purses, eye-glasses, keys, or mail. Create a place for each so that you set a tone of “ease” when you enter your home.
#5. The KITCHEN: Dig deep into the “black hole” of gadgets and gizmos that you rarely use. Donate or toss storage containers without matching lids, dishes you no longer use and cookie cutters collecting dust.
#6. The BEDROOM: This should be your sanctuary, so tackle your nightstand first by offering already read books to friends, trashing any “mystery phone chargers”, and throwing away dried up pens. Glasses of water should be brought back to the kitchen and making the bed each morning is a MUST! It creates an invitingly, neat atmosphere to retire to each night.
#7. The BATHROOM: Go through your beauty cabinets and vanity drawers and keep only the make up, skin and hair care products that you use regularly. Eliminate expired medications and all toiletries you have taken from hotels. (Yes, we all do this!)
#8. Let go of anything that makes you feel guilty, (um…like the exercise bike that has become a universal clothes hanger!)
#9. For every item that you bring IN, throw something OUT.
#10. And my own personal advice: Throw your chosen items away the night before your scheduled trash pick up! Then, EXHALE when you awaken, knowing they have “gone to a better place”, and you are now lighter and FREE from those “chains that bind us to our stuff!”
HAPPY DECLUTTERING!