Reduce Your Clutter in 7 Days or Less
Posted: Tuesday, December 22, 2009
by Michael Jenkins
http://www.precipioltd.com
So, you've decided you want to reduce clutter in your home. You can no longer live with tripping over unused items, with cupboards and shelves bursting and bulging under the weight of years of accumulated stuff'.
Clearing your clutter need not be the arduous task you might think. In fact, you can have a clutter-free home in around 7 days or less if you know what to do. In this article, I am going to share a few pointers with you to get you on the road to a clutter-free life. We'll take it a day at a time. Ready ?
Assess and mobilize
On day one, you're going to want to assess the scale of the task that faces you and plan accordingly. How many rooms do you have to tackle? Divide the number by 7 and that's the number of rooms you need to work on each day. I have 6 rooms in my home (wash closet, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, living room, home-office) so I can do one room per day with the seventh day free for overlap. Detail which room you will work on each day with the first one being day one. Yes, you'll assess and begin all in day one. This is decluttering the ninja' way!
In your assessment and planning, decide if you need any special equipment such as extra shelving, storage boxes or if you need to make any arrangements for disposing of clutter you're throwing out. Then, choose your first room and make a start. It's important to dive in once you've spent some time planning. Procrastination will meet you at every turn during this time, so don't let it get a foothold. Action is the key.
Day 2
You're on to the second room you selected today. The type of room will determine how you approach the task of decluttering. But a good rule of thumb is to work clockwise round the room and ask yourself some key questions about the items that you're not sure whether to keep or ditch. Ask yourself: when was the last time I used this item? Was it over a year ago?' If the answer is yes, the item either needs a new life with someone else or it's time has come. You can also ask: Do I actually like this thing?' You may find you're holding onto items out of guilt (because someone you love gave it to you and you don't want to upset them by chucking it) or you may just feel bad about throwing away a perfectly good item that you don't like. If the latter is the case, sell it on eBay, Craigslist or donate it to charity.
Day 3
You're now onto your third room (or third and fourth if you have more than 6 or 7 rooms in total) so get to work in those rooms. You'll likely come across clothes at some point, so bear in mind that many of us hold onto clothes for emotional reasons and be prepared to face some demons. You may not fit into your favourite old jeans anymore, so do what you can to accept this and move on. Many people hold onto unwanted weight when they hang on to clutter so think of your decluttering as a good opportunity to address any goals you might have for your ideal weight. Donate clothes that are in good condition.
Day 4
Move on now to your next room or set of rooms. If you find you're faced with piles of paperwork, bills and mail then consider creating a filing system to keep it all organised. A shortcut in this 7 day plan is to create neat piles and place them into trays or folders until you're ready to file them away in hanging files or a file box. You can have this job done in a few hours if you avoid procrastination.
Day 5
You're more than half way through! At some point, you're going to come across the kitchen. Clutter central for many people. Be ruthless here with anything you have double of (you really don't need 2 garlic presses) and ditch anything you're not using on a regular basis. Kitchens are havens for used electrical gadgets and appliances, so if you have a sandwich toaster that's not been used since the early 80's, then ditch or donate.
Day 6
Only one more day to go. You can do it. The bathroom is one place that also attracts clutter on a similar scale to the kitchen. So, be bold here. Throw out any expired medication and creams, shampoo, ointments and so on that are more than 3-4 months old. If you've not used them in that time, they need to go. You might need some compact storage for towels and hooks on doors are great for bathrobes. Make sure you have a waste basket in the bathroom but be sure to empty it often.
Day 7
So, here we are! The end is in sight. You may have already finished , if so you can take a well earned rest in your renewed, clutter-free home. For those of you still going, get to work on the remaining room or rooms. It will help to remind yourself at this stage of the reasons why you want to declutter. Restate your intention for the final push. And it might help you to know that organization experts frequently report that their clients experience increased financial success, weight loss, better productivity at work, happier, balanced and more fulfilling relationships and less stress as a result of reducing clutter.
So, you've done it. Clutter-free in 7 days. Congratulations!
Connor Adams is a coach and trainer with a passion for helping others reduce clutter in their homes.
You can read more of Connor's articles at his website, http://www.reducecluttersecrets.com where you'll also find other helpful resources to help reduce your clutter.
This Article has been viewed 169 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Good tips, Michael. I just reduced the clutter in our home and it was a tedious project. As of today, my car is filled with things for Goodwill. Now, if I just get around to removing the clutter from my car! Welcome to SearchWarp.
Good article. I am a firm believer in no clutter. We managed to empty our loft space this year and it is like having a weight lifted off yoru shoulders. Made a fortune on ebay too!
Welcome to searchwarp Micheal. I'm a pack rat so perhaps I can use some of your suggestions.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.