Spring is a very busy time in our household. Usually overtime is picking up for my husband at work and of course, for me, report card season is looming and school activities begin to take off again. Between all that, we need to get the outdoor chores taken care of. So I am forced to save my major in-house spring cleaning/decluttering for the summer. I spend the first few days relaxing and preparing for our annual fishing/camping trip, THEN, I get right to it! The purge is on! This year, I will also be travelling to my childhood home to help my mom declutter her house and prepare for a future move to Alberta.
Sometimes getting started is the toughest part. The sheer amount of items or rooms to go through is overwhelming. Sometimes we resist parting with items because we may need it later or it is something we think we are more attached to than we should be.
Although decluttering is a lot of work; that feeling of a truly clean, sorted and streamlined house feels fantastic. Once I declutter a space I give it a deep and thorough cleaning down to the baseboards.
This is what I have found works for me…
1. Schedule
I firmly schedule my declutter days; usually 1 large room per day or 2 smaller rooms per day.
M: Front entryway (closets, bench & laundry room)
T: Kitchen
W: Living Room, main bathroom & linen closet
R: Upstairs guest rooms
F: Downstairs guest rooms
S: Downstairs living room & bathroom
S: Storage room, larder & freezers
2. Removal
Check the hours of the organization that you will be taking your gently used items to. Check the hours of your ‘eco-center’ and make several trips throughout the declutter process so you don’t get overwhelmed by the pile and aren’t tempted to retrieve previously tossed items. I also find it nice to have bins/tubs set up so it is all contained and can be moved out of the house and straight to the car right away.
3. System for Discarding
Decide how you want to determine items to be kept or discarded. You may find that the KonMari approach suits you best; this is where you pick up an item and ask yourself, “Does this item give me joy?” If yes, it is kept and if not it is discarded.
I however ask myself: “Have I used this in the last year?” If I haven’t then it has to go. There are items though that aren’t used in the last 12 months that just don’t factor in to my declutter spree; we all know what those are… the staples in our lives; mine being ornaments in my curio cabinet, books, wedding dress, items tied to childhood memories of my dad that I chose specifically to bring with me from BC to Alberta.
Even if I have used an item in the last year I still ask myself about how often I use the item, how long it has been since I used it last, will I use it again and ultimately, is this worth keeping? This works with everything from clothing to kitchenware to tools.
I have avoided doing a KEEP, MAYBE, TOSS pile in each room because I found that more often than not I ended up keeping the “maybe” items and was reluctant to actually put anything in the “toss” pile. This sort of approach can work well though for those who want to blitz through rooms and take only seconds to make a judgement call. You would then repeat the process of split second decision making of the “maybe” pile; KEEP or TOSS?
If the item belongs to my husband I ask him whether he wants the item or not; I NEVER throw out anything that is not mine. (So, don’t get too carried away; after all you may not get joy from the item or you may not have used it but someone else in your household may have).
4. Evaluate Your Organization Scheme
While you declutter and clean, put things back where they actually belong and if you can’t find a good spot for them it may be time to re-classify the item as clutter. This and the decluttering process allows you to take stock of what you have so you have a better idea of what you are running low on and what you don’t need to buy more of.
Good luck! If you have any decluttering tips; please share them with us below in the COMMENTS section.