Ask me to deep clean my bedroom and I promise I’ll do it – only after procrastinating for at least half a day. And if you’re anything like me, I’m pretty sure you’d rather prefer taking an hour long nap or binge watch a season of GoT than trying to get rid of the never ending mess piling up in your home.
Decluttering always seems like too much of hard work, and lazing around sounds as a better option when you know that you won’t get to rest for the next four hours or so if you start cleaning your house now. You just keep looking at the stuff lying around thinking where to begin, and having a quick escape always seems easier.
Fortunately, there are some very real ways to declutter your home without letting it eat away your entire weekend. This Lazy girl’s guide to decluttering will help you get your space back from the mess in no time:
1. Mark The Pain Points
You can’t just randomly wake up one day and go about decluttering your house. It needs to be done in a systematic manner if you wish for it to be effective in the long run. So if you are firm in your decision to declutter your home, take a small tour of your house and note down all the pain points on a piece of paper. Every cluttered corner of the house that makes you cringe should be noted down in a way that nothing gets left out.
2. Mark The Date On A Calendar
In order to beat procrastination that comes with the thought of decluttering, you need to equip your mind that it is something you have to do. What I usually do to prepare my mind for decluttering is that I pick out a date in advance to carry out the decluttering tasks so I don’t feel overwhelmed with all the clutter. When I know in advance that the next Sunday has to be reserved for cleaning the home, the rest of my schedule adjusts itself accordingly.
3. Start Small
If you are lazy, you need to declutter in a manner that doesn’t make you feel overwhelmed about it. Don’t expect yourself to declutter every corner of the house within a day. Choose one corner and start from there. You can start with the counter-tops – coffee table, dining table, study, kitchen counter and bathroom counter or the closet – but don’t try to do it all in a day. Take small breaks in between and put the tasks off for later if you feel tired.
4. Sort The Stuff Out Into Categories
While decluttering your space, pick three baskets to sort the stuff out into three categories – Throw, Keep and Sell/Donate. Keep these baskets alongside yourself and think hard about where to keep your stuff. Don’t give in to the temptation of keeping those old books, clothes and accessories that you no longer need. Also, make sure that everything that can be sold or donated gets done away with at the soonest.
5. Get Rid Of The Duplicates
If you haven’t already realized it, duplicates like kitchen utensils, footwear and accessories might have been taking a lot of space in your house. If your house is big enough to hold on to these doubles, you can choose not to get rid of them. But if space happens to be an issue in your home, getting rid of the duplicates can help you clear off unnecessary clutter besides making space for other important things.
6. Purge Like Crazy
I have this crazy habit of piling up a lot of unnecessary stuff in my house – empty bottles, broken electronics, lidless jars and boxes, etc. and it takes a lot of convincing for me to get rid of this stuff. When I buy a new pair of shoes or clothes, it takes me a lot to get rid of the old and tattered ones. I hate parting with my stuff as I like to believe that I might need them later. It’s only when I run out of space in the house that I actually go on to purge the unnecessary stuff. Downsizing the extra stuff sitting in your house can actually prove useful in the sense that it makes space for things that are truly important.
7. Take Down Any Unnecessary Decor
I had never been the one who would take down the holiday decor for days or even weeks after the festivities would be over. Being that holidays is my favorite time of the year, it was always hard for me to get rid of the decor. In 2017, while doing a major declutter for my home, I decided not to overthink about the stuff and decided to take down the entire decor a few days after the holidays. I also removed some wall paintings and art pieces that were making the house look more cluttered than it actually was. The habit has stuck on with me ever since and I love my house when it looks like a typical minimalistic space.
8. Arrange The Furniture
Decluttering won’t be of any use if it isn’t followed by organization. Sometimes, it’s how well the furniture is arranged that determines how clutter-free your space looks. In order to arrange the furniture optimally, look around and adjudge which particular arrangement will give you the maximum walking space besides making your house look beautiful. Be it the coffee table, living room sofa, beds or dining room, everything should be arranged in a way that complements your decluttering efforts.
So there it is. As a lazy girl myself, I shared the most useful tips and tricks that help me declutter the living space. I would also love to hear what your decluttering hacks are. You can drop a comment below or write me at hello@theaestheticabode.com. I love hearing from you.
Great tip and helps you to see where and what you need to do to declutter