Declutter Your Living Space| Living On Purpose

My theme for this year is to live on purpose. Life is too short to allow time to slip by “accidentally”. One way I am going to use my time more wisely is to stop spending so much time cleaning. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? But with 3 kids, who are home ALL THE TIME, it seems impossible. However, if you have less stuff, you have less mess. Getting rid of the clutter in you life and organizing so that what you have has a space greatly reduces the amount of time needed to keep your home clean.

Let’s begin…

Knowing where to start when attacking clutter is the hardest part; often times it feels overwhelming. Here are some steps to help you get clutter under control without the stress.

1. Take out the trash! Grab a garbage bag and walk around your house throwing away any trash. It will feel good to make instant progress and help motivate you to keep moving forward.
2. Tackle the clutter one room at a time. Trying to get a whole house under control in a day is impractical. Try to take on one room a week. Make sure you have a garbage bag and a box for things you plan to donate. With everything in the room you need to decide if you will keep it, donate it or throw it away.
3. Give your stuff a home. For the things you plan on keeping you need to determine a “home” for them. Organize items so it makes sense. Things you use more often should be easily accessible. Other items that are used rarely can be stored away.
4. Set up the, now decluttered space, in a manner that is purposeful and brings you peace (makes you happy). After you have decluttered, you get to turn your space into whatever it was meant for. Make your family room feel welcoming with seating, blankets, board games, etc. Set up your office in a way that will make you the most productive. That could mean nothing on your desk but your laptop. Maybe it is putting a charging station in a draw so your phone can charge but be out of sight. Have your favorite candle handy to help ease anxiety. However you plan on using that room, set it up so that it is functional for that purpose.
5. DO NOT BUY MORE STUFF! After clearing away the clutter it is tempting to buy more things. I love to tell myself that I need to buy more storage items but the truth is that I probably already have something I could use. Take stock of what you have before you go out and buy more. Remember, the more you have the more you have to clean up. If you do decide that you absolutely need something, try to get rid of something you already own as a trade off. Maybe you really want matching storage bins, especially since they are visible. Collect the old storage bins and either repurpose them or see if a friend would like them. You can also have a yard sale and make a little money off of the things your no longer need.

The winter months are the perfect time to declutter your home. Make a plan and allow it to work with your schedule. If it takes a week or two weeks to declutter a room, that is fine. The point is to make your home more livable and less time to keep tidy. Once your home is decluttered and organized, it will be easier to put things away in their “home” and bring you a sense of peace.