“If your stuff isn’t serving you, it won’t be serving you any better packed away in a box somewhere” ~Melissa Camara Wilkins
Hey! How are you? With the current shift or phase you are currently passing through, I have been pushed to write more on how you can become a better person while at home. You know, we tend to get carried away with the busyness of our lives sometimes that we barely even have enough time for ourselves.
Well, on my blog, I’ll do well to always give you great tips and hacks on how you can be a better version of yourself so, stay glued! Also, do not forget that The AfamUche Self-development Journal (The Life Compass) and Planner (Goal Chaser) are finally out! Yes, you can now get a copy of your journal or planner on the blog.
We have carefully created these books to help our beautiful readers on the journey to achieving their goals of being a better person. Feel free to ask questions about them in the comment section, I will be reading and ready to reply.
Today, we’ll be looking into something many writers do not really look into: how to declutter your home.
One question that I get when I talk about decluttering is “where do I start?” Many people want to declutter but they don’t even know where to start decluttering from. Should they start from a decluttering list? I don’t think anyone likes a disorganized place.
Personally, one of the biggest turn-offs for me is living a disorganized life. I have a thing for people who know how to get their stuff together and not make their environments look clogged. If you are an avid reader of my blog, you would know that this is not my first post on decluttering. Why do I keep writing about it?
The world today is filled with many ineffective people because they lack the ability to maintain a proper organizational culture. To clutter something means to fill or cover it with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness.
Living a cluttered life can be overwhelming. I mean, do you know how terrible it to have way too many projects staring at you in the face daily and you cannot get any done because you lack the organizational skills needed? The worst part of clutter is that it is contagious. It is capable of messing with a lot of things.
If you are cluttered in the area of keeping your environment clean, it’s only a matter of time before the clutter culture spills into your financial, social, and career life. It can even mess with your head! When you are fond of being cluttered, you will not be able to think straight. You start to live with too many to-do lists in your head and it hampers your thought process.
I get a lot of questions as to the “how” of decluttering. Well, one thing that many persons do not know is that decluttering is not as hard as many persons think it is. There are hacks you can employ to hasten your decluttering process. In the next few paragraphs, I will be taking you through 10 brilliant home decluttering hacks that I think would help you a lot.
So, are you tired of living a life of clutter? Are you tired of coming home to meet the room messed up? Do you want to know how to declutter your home and life? Would you like to organize your home in 7 days? Grab a seat, and a cup of tea and join me on a ride through the next few paragraphs…
1. Take Out The Trash
Easy right? But the truth is that one too many times, we often ignore the easiest things to do and end up building up mountains of complications for ourselves.
As easy as “take out the trash” reads, many people do not know how to do this simple thing. I used to be guilty of this too; instead of taking out the trash, I was addicted to storing them up in one corner of my room and usually forgot them there until I made out time for a general clean up time.
Things would have still been the same if one of my friends had not corrected me. I remember his correction coming off as embarrassing but maybe that was the slap I actually needed. His words pierced me so much I had to sit down and think about why he actually said all he did. And when I did, I figured that he had a point.
I really should not have a reason for stocking up dirty things in unsolicited areas of the room when I could go out and put them in the trash. So, if you really want to know how to declutter your home, you must master the simple act of taking out the trash!
2. Set Up A Cleaning Command Center (C.C.C.)
This is another important hack in knowing how to declutter your home. As a matter of fact, I used to battle with decluttering until I read somewhere online about the “cleaning command center”. Now, what is the cleaning command center? It is the small area of the room dedicated to keeping all the equipment needs for cleaning up.
The reason for this is to make access to the cleaning equipment easier. I have noticed that many cluttered people are so because they do not even know how simple it is to become decluttered. When you have an area of the room where you can always easily reach out to and get your cleaning equipment, you would know the easiness of decluttering.
The idea of a cleaning command center is to have everything together in one place for ease of reach. I used to have problems with decluttering back in the day. I would leave my room messed up and all but the day I discovered this hack, a whole lot changed. So, if you are battling with decluttering right now, I would suggest that you actually look into the C.C.C. method.
3. Employ The “One-In, One-Out” Philosophy
This is one philosophy I love so much. You should adopt this if you are serious about knowing how to declutter your home. I love it because it unconsciously makes me imbibe the culture of decluttering. I used the word “unconsciously” because the moment you start to do use this philosophy, it tends to get stuck with you and spills to other areas of your life.
Now, what is the philosophy about? It is a philosophy that says that for every new outfit or item that you buy, one item, usually equivalent, must be taken out of your house.
So, if you get a new shirt or dress, you must be willing to take out an older dress. By default, this philosophy helps to take out the clutter because instead of causing a pile-up, it reduces it.
This is one hack I think everyone should adopt especially if you want to imbibe a habit of decluttering. And let me add here, I strongly suggest that, in place of throwing away the outfit or item that’s not in use, you can donate to anyone who needs it around you. That way, you would not only be decluttering, you would also be putting smiles on the face of someone.
4. Enforce The One-Year Rule
The one-year rule is somewhat similar to the previous philosophy. The rule states that you should regularly do a check-in of your closet. Observe the things that you have not used in the last one year and ensure to do away with them. If there is an outfit in your house that you have not used in the last twelve months, then there is a huge likelihood that you are never going to use it anymore.
So, there is no point in having it around. When next you want to declutter your home, ensure that you enforce this rule, you would be amazed at the number of unnecessary items that you have in your house. Enforcing the one-year rule is important in knowing how to declutter your home.
5. Be More Deliberate About Your Purchases
I have a habit that I am currently working on and that is not being intentional about the things I buy. I usually just see things online and just go for them without having any tangible reason for doing so. This is a very bad habit that would not only harm my financial life but also my physical life.
Buying things without needing them would only lead to having way too many things in the home and that will always lead to clutter. If you are in the same situation as me, you have to ensure that you take deliberate steps at ensuring that you cut off every urge to buy unneeded things.
One of the steps you can take is writing out a list. When you write out a list, it helps you pay attention to things of priority. This is one way I have been battling this habit and it has proven to be effective.
So, when next you want to get something online or offline, be sure to have a list that would serve as a standard for you and ensure that you stick to it. Doing that would help you avoid being cluttered financially and physically.
6. Organize Your Finances
Knowing how to declutter your home, also includes mastering how to organize your finances. This is one of the most important things you should do if you intend to kill disorganization in your financial life. Taking charge of your financial life is a sure way to grow and never lack money.
When you have your financial life organized, you would have enough money to take care of your home and get the necessary things needed to aid the decluttering process.
7. View Your Home As A First-Time Visitor
This is a hack I always try whenever I step into my home. I look around and make notes and observations. Ensure that you look into your home carefully and notice things that should not be in place. And if you think that you cannot do that, feel free to invite a friend to help out.
In knowing how to declutter your home, honesty is very important, so, this point should not be toyed with.
8. Take The Before And After Photos Of Certain Areas
This might seem insignificant but it would actually help. Before decluttering, you should take a picture of what your home looks like and after the process, you should also take a picture of what your home looks like, and then you should compare.
Do you see any significant change? Is there even a difference? Comparing them would help you know if there is a change and you can take things up from there. If you cannot spot a change, you should consider decluttering further.
9. Take The 12-12-12 Challenge
The 12-12-12 challenge is quite similar to one of the challenges mentioned earlier. Basically, with the 12-12-12 challenge, you are to write out 12 things you do not need anymore and give them to 12 different people monthly. So, if you have things that you are not making use of anymore, feel free to take the 12-12-12 challenge.
10. Get Help From A Friend
You can also reach out to a friend if it gets overwhelming. Decluttering can be tiring and you literally could get tired easily. Feel free to call a friend if you get tired.
As a matter of fact, there are times when your eyes or sense of judgment would not be enough for decluttering, you can borrow the opinion of a friend. By doing this, you would be opening yourself to more creativity, also, you would be hastening the decluttering process.
So, there you have it! 10 things everyone interested in knowing how to declutter their homes should know. Your home is your safe space. It is the only place you can always retire to when things get too clumsy out there.
One thing I should add here is that all these hacks cannot be made into reality unless you discipline yourself. All these hacks go with discipline. With these hacks, I believe that you will be able to know how to declutter your house fast.
FOR YOU:
Hey there! Thank you for reading up to this point. I sincerely hope that with these hacks, you will be able to kick decluttering in the ass! You must utilize the time in your hands to work on yourself. As always, I would be willing to respond to your comments. Feel free to reach out to me and let’s talk. Stay safe and stay home. Love and miracle.
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