How to Declutter Your Home for a Cleaner and Clutter-Free Living Space

For sure, everyone has put off tidying up their space because their busy schedule makes the chore impossible. Cleaning takes a lot of time, so it always takes the backseat to other priorities. While that may be true, you will never have a clutter-free organized living space if you do not allot time for it. Tell yourself that cleaning doesn’t always have to be done in one go.

Find a time that works best for you, be it on a weekend or a few hours every night after work. Depending on how messy your things are, this might be a long process and not something you can rush, so do it bit by bit to make continuous progress. You’d be shocked by how cleaner your space is getting day after day!

To organize efficiently, be organized; come up with a cohesive game plan. Ideally, you should take it one room at a time. Not only will this help you oversee better the work that needs to be done, it will also prevent you from becoming overwhelmed. Also, note that different rooms require different organization strategies so make sure to take note of this in your plan.

For example, cleaning your bathroom will generally center on removing accumulated dirt and throwing away expired products, so be ready with your cleaning tools and garbage bags when you tackle this room. Meanwhile, here’s one tip in organizing the living room: simply leaving the coffee table empty will give the illusion that the room is less cluttered than it really is. Of course, you aren’t going for the illusion of cleanliness; you’d still have to tidy up.

Become a pro at categorizing your belongings by using sorting methods. One such method is the “four-box method” wherein each of your possessions will be sorted into four boxes labeled keep, toss, store, and donate. Another is the “80/20 rule” that states that a person only really utilizes 20% of all of his belongings. Find out what belongs in the 80% percent and start purging.

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Master tidier Marie Kondo herself depends on this golden question so much that she even came out with a book about it: “Does this spark joy?” Ask yourself this every time you hold up an item. Does it make you excited to use it in the future? Does it make you happy that you own it? Would keeping it until you’d need to use it be stress-free for you? If it does, it stays, but if it doesn’t, it’s time to let it go. The golden question is also applicable for purchases you will be making in the future. It will not only prevent you from having a mess of things you never really wanted, but you’ll also save a ton of money.

After the sorting storm comes the aftermath: figuring out what to do with the items you planned to throw away. But as they say, one man’s trash as another man’s treasure. Instead of throwing them out, perhaps the better alternative is to reach out to charities such as the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center and the Philippine Toy Library who can accept the items you want to donate. Just because you don’t have use for them anymore doesn’t mean somebody else won’t find them useful. For the things you can’t donate, like empty bottles and containers, opt to recycle.

While it may feel amazing after you’ve decluttered your space, the work doesn’t end there. In order to keep up the order you’ve established in your home, you would also have to make a habit out of maintaining your place. This is to prevent the buildup of new clutter and to maintain the magnificent state your place has achieved. The routine doesn’t have to be strict, but it should be consistent.

Organizing your home and getting rid of the unnecessary will be very beneficial for you and your loved ones. And thanks to the tips mentioned above, you are well on your way into becoming a Marie Kondo protégé.