Top Decluttering Tips & Hacks

The absolute best advice I can give about decluttering is to make it a lifestyle and a habit.  It's something you'll have to do for the rest of your life to stay on top of things!  But how do you make it a habit?  Watch the video here or keep reading for my top decluttering tips!

Label Your Boxes

There are only four choices for items when decluttering.  To make it easy on yourself and remind yourself of what those choices are, label your boxes!  I always get four bins/boxes, and I take the time to label them.  I have these laminated signs that I re-use.  If you want some of your own, you can click the link here for the printables.  But don't overthink this!  You can also just take a marker and write on the boxes.  The key is just to identify which  box is which.

Some of you might be thinking, “I'm a special snowflake, and I don't need to label.  I'll just remember what my piles are.”  But here's what will happen– life will come along, and there's a dental emergency, or your kids need something, or your friend calls you.  You'll have to walk away for something, and then you might not get back to your decluttering for a few days.  And by then you've forgotten where you left off!  Or worse, your kids start playing in the boxes (ask me how I know!), and your items get mixed up.  Just make it easy on yourself and take the extra 30 seconds to label your boxes!

The Four Categories for Decluttering

There are only four options for items when you're decluttering:

• Return— These are items that you need to take back to a store.  It could also be something borrowed like a library book, or an item you borrowed from a friend.
• Keep— These are things you want to keep, but they need to be relocated.  If you're keeping them, and they're in the right spot already, just leave them there!
• Trash— This is literal trash.  You could use a trash bag for this bin.  It might be things like a wrapper or junk mail.  It might also be something broken or worn out so that it's not worth donating.
• Donate or Give Away— Things that can still be used by other people are great to take to Goodwill or pass on to a friend.  Be cautious when passing things on.  You want to be sure the person actually wants or needs it because you don't want to be adding clutter to someone else's home!  My daughter is just a little bigger than her cousin, so when she outgrows her clothes, we pass them on to her.  Most other things I just take to a donation center, though.

Declutter According to Your Personality

A lot of decluttering advice centers around doing a little at a time so you don't get overwhelmed.  This is great for some people, but you might be different!  I'm the type of person who wants to go “all in” on something.  I get excited about it, and it's all I can think about and focus on.  I can harness that obsession to give me extra motivation and make tons of fast progress!  That really makes me happy, but you might be the total opposite!

It's usually best to work with your personality type instead of against it.  It doesn't mean you can never declutter in a different way.  Sometimes circumstances require you to do it differently.  But if you have the choice, or you can't figure out why a certain method just isn't working for you, then try a different way!  If you can't figure out immediately which personality type you are, then take our quiz here.  It will tell you which type of decluttering method will best fit your personality!

Don't Put Things Away as You Go

I know this sounds like odd advice, but hear me out.  It's super tempting to just take things and go put them back in another room as you go.  But it's much more productive to stay focused and just put the items in the “keep” box and then go put them all away later.

Here's what always happens to me if I go put things away as I go:  I'll take the crafts supplies to the craft room.  I open the drawer where they go.  Then I realize it's a bit messy and needs some organization.  Organizing that drawer seems like a great idea.  Before I know it, an hour has gone by, and I've completely forgotten that I was decluttering the living room, LOL!

Keep focused.  The goal is fast decisions and speedy decluttering.  Once your “keep” box is full, then you can find a stopping point and go put all those items away so you can start fresh with an empty box.  Trust me– staying focused is much faster in the long run!

Don't Pull Out More Than You Can Put Away

This seems obvious, but it's an easy trap to fall into.  Sometimes we get so engrossed in decluttering that we forget to be realistic about the time we have.  If you're decluttering your closet, DO NOT pull out ALL of your clothes and pile them on the bed.  You will run out of time, and you will want to go to bed at the end of the day.  And you won't be able to!  Ask me how I know, LOL!

Instead, just pull out all your tops.  Once you've decluttered those, if you have more time, then you can move onto the pants or the dresses.  But your tired self will thank you at the end of the day when the bed is not covered in clothes, and you still have a place to sleep!

When in doubt, go smaller.  Pull out LESS than you think you can get through.  Declutter one kitchen drawer or one dresser drawer at a time.  It will still get done just as quickly, but if you have to stop for something partway through, your house won't be a disaster for a week until you can get back to it.

Regularly Drop Off Donations

I have one day a week where I run errands.  If I've just done a round of decluttering, I will literally schedule in the Goodwill dropoff when I take the donation boxes to the car.  This way I don't forget it, and I don't end up driving around for weeks with donations in the back of my car!

You don't want those boxes hanging around too long because it can be tempting to go back through them, or someone else might start pulling things out.  Once you've touched an item and made a decision, get it it out of the house once and for all!

Ask Yourself These Questions

Here's a link to a cheat sheet with questions to ask yourself as you declutter.  Probably the most helpful question for me is:  “Would I buy this item again if I didn't have it?”

Most of the time that answer is a big, NO.  Often we end up giving more value to the items we already own, even when we wouldn't go out and spend that money on the item again.  If you don't like it well enough or need it enough to buy it again, then it probably shouldn't be taking up space in your home.

Have an Inbox and an Outbox

One of the best things I ever did to keep my home decluttered is to put an “outbox” in each room.  It's a spot (a bin, a drawer, whatever works!) in each room where I put things to be donated as soon as I realize we don't need it.  It's especially important in bedrooms (clothes are big clutter culprits).

As soon as I realize I just don't like wearing something, or it's a little too small for my kids, it goes in that bin.  I don't want it getting mixed back up with the good clothes in the closet.  I also don't want to store things needlessly until the next declutter session.  If I know I don't need it, it needs to go NOW!

Decluttering is an Ongoing Process

It's never going to be “one and done.”  Sometimes I think we feel that if we have this one gigantic round of decluttering that we'll be automatically organized forever.  It just doesn't happen that way.  Stuff will continue to come into your home, so you have to have a plan for regularly taking stuff out of it, too.

I literally declutter for my job, and I still find it hard to keep on top of things!  Managing that expectation is key.  Know that even if you don't ever have to have an epic declutter again, you'll still have to do smaller decluttering sessions for, well, the rest of your life.

Make Decisions as Fast as You Can

Usually our gut instinct is the right answer.  If you pick something up, make a quick decision, and don't look back.  This keeps momentum going, and faster progress is motivating.  It can take forever if you ruminate over every decision and second guess yourself.  Just decide, and move on to the next thing!

Hopefully this helps you with your next declutter session!  If you need a little more motivation or help, be sure to check out my decluttering playlist on YouTube here.  Or better yet, watch/listen while you declutter!