With millions of Americans being asked to stay home and shelter in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus, it’s a great opportunity to tackle those home projects you’ve been putting off, especially spring cleaning. With so much time spent indoors, we’re noticing how much stuff we have and that freeing up as much space as possible would be welcome. The only problem is where to begin. As you walk through each room, it can become overwhelming and even make us give up before we begin. With that in mind, we’ve created a guide and printable checklist to help you declutter your home efficiently.
1. How to Start
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, right? The most important step in getting started with decluttering your home is to just dive in. Pick one room to start with. This may be a busy room that seems to always be messy, like a bathroom, living room or kitchen. If you need to break it down into smaller bite-sized chunks, then start with a hallway or bathroom closet, a junk drawer, or a pantry. You’ll find that completing one area, no matter how small, will make you feel better and motivate you to keep going.
2. Creating a Routine
You’re not going to declutter your entire home in one day, and you should not attempt to. You’ll get discouraged. Instead, build it into your routine for the next few days or weeks. If you tackle one room a day, you’ll have the entire house looking great in a week or two. Creating this routine will give you a nice break from work during the day and help to create good long-term habits that will help you keep it clean going forward.
3. Sort Everything into Four Buckets
Everything should have a place. If it doesn’t, then it may be time to go. Take everything and sort it into four “buckets”:
– Keep
– Throw away
– Donate
– Give to friends or familyPut everything you plan to throw away into trash bags. Extra-large contractor bags are great for this. Put items you plan to donate or give to friends and family into boxes or totes, and then place everything you plan to keep in its specific place.
4. Get Rid of These 50 Items Immediately
Use this home decluttering checklist to get a head start on items that you can quickly get rid of and reclaim a lot of space, courtesy of KatiesCottage.com. The list covers everything from old nail polish to old magazines and candles. How many of these items do you have laying around?
Using this down time to tackle other areas of life is a great way to feel happy, healthy, and in control. Stay safe and happy cleaning!
