Congratulations! You’re motivated to declutter and that’s half the battle! However, if you’re feeling a tad overwhelmed at the thought of tackling your WHOLE ENTIRE HOUSE, don’t despair! Like most things in life, the best way to start decluttering and organizing is one step at a time.
Here are 5 recommendations of where to start decluttering. These ideas should give you the jump start that you need, so choose one that speaks to you and get after it! You’ve got this!
1. Start With the Area That Causes the Most Stress.
In other words, the place that makes you cringe when you walk by or spend time there. Tackling this first will give you the biggest return on your investment and motivate you to keep going.
2. Begin With Something Easy
If you’re feeling really overwhelmed, or don’t have a lot of time to devote to this, commit to tackling just one drawer, or a corner of a room. Set a timer for 15 min., stay focused on the task, then be amazed by how much you accomplish!
3. Tackle a Visible Area
You’ll experience the benefit of seeing the fruits of your labor, which will likely lead you to tackle another space.
4. Get Rid of the “DUDs”
DUDs refers to Damaged, Unused or Duplicates. We tend to hang on to broken items thinking that we’ll fix them “someday”. Either commit to fixing them now or move ‘em along.
5. When in Doubt, Start With the Bathroom
This room is typically small and not likely to contain many sentimental items that can be emotionally taxing to declutter.
Now, you are well on your way! Also, don’t forget the power of POSITIVITY. I call this “No Limits and No Labels”. There are no limits to what you can accomplish. Also, be careful not to label yourself as “not the organized type”. This is about progress, not perfection. Anyone can do it, including you!
See this post for a step by step guide on HOW to declutter.