It’s a new year, and like every year you’ve probably decided that it’s time for a new you. Perhaps you’ve decided to work out more or eat healthier; maybe you’ve resolved to start an emergency fund.
Resolutions for yourself are all well and good, but what about your home? Focusing your efforts on your home this spring season may be a great idea. We all have items we keep that we probably don’t need.
Having a clutter-free home can make you feel better. Decluttering your home can help your physical and mental health. It doesn’t take an enormous budget to declutter homes, either.
You’re probably wondering how to remove clutter from your place and how much your home decluttering budget should be? Read on if you’re curious about the various ways you can declutter your home.
How Much Does It Cost to Declutter Homes?
The average cost of organizing your home depends on the home decluttering strategy you choose. Typically, you can expect to pay around $35 to $80 per hour for a professional home organizer to help you declutter.
The famed KonMari program created by Marie Kondo costs $75 or more per hour. Prices fluctuate depending on where you live.
KonMari consultants may need anywhere from three months to a year to help you declutter your home. The amount of time the entire process takes depends on the size of your house.
Decluttering your home on your own will be significantly cheaper. Of course, the reduced cost comes at the expense of a helpful professional.
One thing you may need a good bit of is bins. You’re going to need somewhere to separate and place the items you want to keep or get rid of. A trip to the nearest dollar store can help you find bins to organize.
Raiding Dollarama or Dollar Tree will cost substantially less than hiring a home organizer to help declutter your home.
How Often Do You Need to Declutter?
It would help if you took the time to do one large purge throughout your home each year. Many people take the opportunity to declutter during the spring, hence the term “spring cleaning.”
Everyone doesn’t accumulate things at the same rate. The amount of stuff you can feasibly hold differs depending on house size. That said, you should take the time to go through your things at least once a week.
Smaller, weekly purges can help keep your home organized and make things easier for the big event during the spring. Picking through magazines and old mail can keep you in the habit of staying organized.
What to Know Before You Start Decluttering
The first thing you should know is that there is no home decluttering deadline. You don’t have to have your place cleaned and organized by a specific time. It’s very common for the task to take longer than a weekend.
Try to schedule a time during the week to organize and get rid of things you don’t want or need. Don’t push too hard; our lives are busy, and you should never forget to move at your own pace.
Something else to keep in mind is that you should declutter room by room. First, declutter your bedroom, then your kitchen, next you can move on to your living room or whatever other area you’d like to tackle next.
You don’t have to work in the specific order we listed, but where ever you start, make sure to finish there first.
Some rooms may require specific tasks like kitchens and bathrooms. You can do those area-specific tasks after doing your decluttering checklist throughout the house.
We also talked about bins earlier, but you might be a little lost on what they’re for. There are five categories of items you’ll need the containers for to keep organized while you declutter:
- Keep bin – for items you wish to hold on to
- Recycle bin – for recyclables
- Misplaced bin – for stuff that’s been moved from its proper spot
- Trash bin – for things you want to throw away
- Donation bin – for items that charitable organizations or others may use
You may not need a set of bins for each room, considering you’re doing one spot at a time. By the time you’re done organizing one room, the containers should be ready for use in another location in your home.
Checklist for Decluttering Homes
Alright, you have a general idea of what to do to begin decluttering your home. Now it’s time to dive into the steps you need to take throughout your residence to rid it of clutter. Below is what to do to organize your house.
1. Clear the Floors
It’s incredible the amount of junk and clutter our floors can accumulate. Perhaps the quickest way to clear space is to remove what’s on the floor. Take a look at what’s on all your room’s floors and consider this:
- Is the floor covered in dirty clothing and other linens?
- Did your pet leave their toys scattered across the ground?
- Did your kids toss their things all over the floor?
Pick up all the items on the floor and put them where they belong. Dirty clothes should be in the clothes hamper, and shoes should be in a shoe rack or closet. The floors should be clear of items by the time you’re done.
2. Clear Surfaces
When we say “surfaces,” we mean countertops, tables, dressers, and vanities – places you’d dump your mail or keys. One way to clear a surface would be removing mail from the table and placing it in an organizer.
Shredding old papers is also an effective way to declutter your home surfaces. Your coffee table should only have decorative items on top.
When you declutter your bathroom, remove beauty and skincare items from around the sink. Try to keep only soap toothbrushes and toothpaste on the countertop.
3. Bust Out the Bins
After you’ve decluttered the floors and surfaces, you can get to the deeper purge and reorganization. Take inventory in each room and place items in one of the previously designated containers.
If there’s anything that doesn’t belong in a particular room, place it where it belongs. Make sure that what you’re donating is in good condition. If it’s broken, stained, or in poor condition, throw it away or recycle it.
4. Organize Cabinetry and Drawers
There are three places in your home where organizing cabinetry and drawers really matters: the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. When you declutter your bathroom, removing any expired items is essential.
You should take all your skincare, beauty products, and (especially) medications from each drawer, cabinet, cubby. Everything that’s expired or you don’t want needs to go into either the trash bin or the other four bins.
When you declutter your bedroom and kitchen, the process will be much the same. In your bedroom, take everything out of the drawers, cabinets, and cubbies and organize them according to the bins.
If you want to keep it, place it in the keep bin. Think about how much you wear a particular piece of clothing or—as Marie Kondo would say—it makes you happy. If you want to keep it (and it still fits), put it in the keep bin.
You can organize everything else as you see fit when you declutter your bedroom. As for the kitchen, think about what you want, remove expired foods, and arrange the rest according to the other containers.
5. Sort Your Containers
The final step involves going through all the containers in a “final organization” spree. You technically handled everything you’ve decided to keep during the last phase.
You’ve decided to retain these items in the “keep bin”; all you need to do is put them away. Now you need to go through the other containers to ensure what you’re donating, throwing away, etc.
First, start with the trash and recycle bins and either throw away or recycle what’s in them. All the things in your misplaced container should be put back where they belong.
The donation container may take the longest to handle. Finding somewhere to donate your old clothing, books, and kitchenware may take some time. Try to make room in your schedule during the week to donate items.
How to Stay Organized
Alright, you know how to declutter your home for the Great Spring Purge, but how do you stay organized? As someone trying to live their daily lives, you’ll regularly have things like groceries and mail coming into your home.
Well, we’ve got a few simple tips for you to keep your place clutter-free. Your immediate step should be surveying the area. Once you’ve scoped out the room, you can better figure out what you need to keep it organized.
- Baskets – helpful for decluttering bathrooms and bedrooms
- Shoe racks or bins – for shoes in your bedroom or by the front door
- Mail holders – keeps mail from cluttering tables and cabinet tops
- Drawer dividers – help keep your drawers neat
If you purchase these items and get into the habit of using them, you can keep your home free of clutter. It may take plenty of time and patience to get used to staying organized, but you’ll be glad you made an effort.
Adopting a Home Decluttering Strategy
Trying to declutter homes can take a lot of work, but it’s worth it in the end. Before you get into the significant organization efforts, you’ll need to clear the floor and surfaces.
The containers help get a handle on what you want to keep or get rid of. It’s also crucial to stay in the habit of decluttering after your spring cleaning.
As long as you remember this home decluttering checklist, you shouldn’t have too many issues organizing. We’ve got plenty more low-cost living tips for you at 24 Cash. Contact us here for more advice.