If you’ve lived in your home for a while, chances are that clutter has built up. You are probably living with more items than you actually need. Whether you want to create a more minimalist home or just want to be greener with the items you use, here’s a quick guide to declutter your home.
How To Declutter Your Home Easily
Target broken, old, and outdated items.
This might seem challenging if you have multiple rooms to go through. But you can start small by purging your fridge and pantry of expired food items, going through bedside table drawers and removing any junk receipts, and finding items that you have duplicates of.
Once you’ve finished sorting through the small things, consider going room by room to get rid of other items that can be thrown away. Donate old toys and craft supplies. Get rid of electronics that don’t work anymore. Consider giving away items that don’t serve a purpose.
And remember, try to make your home a zero-waste household by eliminating disposables and repurposing other items. Calling companies like dr-junk.com to get rid of your junk for you.
Here are some specific areas to consider when learning how to declutter your home:
In the bathroom
Toss any old makeup, broken jewelry, and expired lotions, and shampoos. Be sure to assess any towels and linens. Replace them if they’re worn down.
In the kitchen
Do you have two coffee makers or multiple sets of silverware? You can minimize waste by paring down to items that you use the most and things that bring you joy. If you find yourself using your Keurig more than your traditional coffee maker, give the latter away.
In the living room
The living room might be a bit trickier than the rest of the house. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t items to give away or recycle. Consider sorting through your throw blankets and keeping only a couple that provides optimal warmth and comfort. Go through your DVD collection and electronics If you realize that you never watch DVDs anymore, consider donating your DVD or Blu-Ray player (in addition to your DVDs) to a local shelter.
In the bedroom
Perhaps the most important item you can get rid of in your bedroom is your clothing. According to House Method, you should separate your clothes into three piles: one for keeping, one for donating, and one for throwing away. Any item that has tears or holes should be thrown away. Clothes that haven’t been touched in over a year should be donated or given to a friend. Pieces that you love and wear daily should be kept.
Focus on paper clutter.
According to HGTV, paper clutter can be quite difficult to control. Imagine all of the old magazines, newspapers, receipts, and documents you have lying around your house. While most of these items can be recycled, some just need to find a proper storage space. Here are a few tips to help you manage paper clutter:
- If you have tons of business cards, enter the information on them into a digital spreadsheet.
- Switch to paperless billing and recycle all of your old bills.
- Recycle old newspapers and magazines. If you find yourself not reading the subscriptions as much, switch to an online subscription or cancel the subscription altogether.
Question what you could live without.
Hypothetically, if you lost your house in the event of a natural disaster, what would you replace as soon as possible? Make a list of items you would go out and spend money on a second time. You may realize that there’s a lot more you could actually live without (like that second TV or garage refrigerator that you barely use).
Knowing what items are important and which are not helps when you are trying to figure out how to declutter your home. It shows you what are priorities and which are not.
Safely dispose of items.
If you’re getting rid of bigger items, like a mattress or an old washing machine, be sure to check your local ordinances to determine how to properly get rid of these items. You can donate a mattress to a charity, return it back to the manufacturer, or request a specific junk removal service that specializes in recycling mattresses to pick it up. Appliances can give off chemicals that leach into the soil and harm the environment, so don’t just throw them in the dump. Instead, have an appliance removal service come and recycle them for you. Or better yet, give them away to a family member or friend.
When you learn how to declutter your home you are well on your way to starting a greener life, and /or a life of minimalism. Follow the tips above to get started on your home today!
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