Today’s post is written by contributor Chelsea Becker, a San Diego native, living and writing in San Francisco. Follow her on Instagram & Pinterest.
It’s high time for spring cleaning, and I have to say, it’s a time I look forward to every year. I wouldn’t say our house is typically a cluttered place, but it’s amazing the amount of stuff you can amass in a year, especially because I got married a few months ago. Out with the old and in with the new, right?
It can be a little overwhelming (I know I was intimidated to even start) to tackle your whole house, but as I’ve taken on each room one by one, I’ve kept track of a few tips I’d offer to make it all sound much more doable. Whether you’re looking to declutter or do a full spring clean, I hope they help!
7 Tips for Decluttering your Space
Let Minimalism Inspire You
The minimalism movement is taking over and it seems like everyone is reading books on it or watching documentaries. The idea of consuming less is one I’m very intrigued by, so I tried to keep all of this in mind while going through our house, specifically clothes and super materialistic items. I highly recommend checking out “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things” (find it on Netflix) before diving in to give you a little inspiration. It’s pretty cool!
Take Note of Why You Purchased the Items You’re Now Getting Rid Of
As I went through my closet, it was crazy the things I was learning about myself. For example, I’m obsessed with the idea of “basics.” It’s like every time I see a plain white or black shirt, I have to buy it because it’s a good “basic.” Well, basics are things you’re supposed to only have one of—one casual white tee, one pair of black booties, etc. I had multiples of so many things, and that worst part is, I didn’t even love any of them, which brings me to…
Only Keep Things you Absolutely Love
Although the example I just used was about clothes, it applies to everything in your home. Pick something up and ask yourself, “Do I love this item?” Think about whether or not you’d be proud to show it to someone or if you could imagine your life without it. I initially felt weird because I was getting rid of SO much, but that’s the point of decluttering, isn’t it? This also made me realize I need to be smarter about purchase in the future.
Do One Room at a Time
Like I mentioned above, starting this process can be very overwhelming. I went in without a plan, but I suggest a schedule. Map out which rooms you want to clean out and schedule execution days for each one. That way you don’t dive in head first on a Saturday morning thinking you have to get through your entire house.
Create a Sorting System and Get rid of your “Donate” or “Trash” Piles Ommediately
One of the most time consuming parts of decluttering your space isn’t going through your stuff, but dealing with the aftermath. It’s actually my least favorite part!
When I cleaned out my closet recently, I had bags sitting in my house for weeks. It seemed like so much effort to take some things to the consignment store and others to a donation center. So if you take one piece of advice from this, let it be this—sort your items and then make sure you leave enough time in your schedule to deal with them the same day. You don’t want to put in all the effort of sorting, just to have piles sitting around your house.
Don’t Keep Something Just Because of the Money You Spent on It
It was very painful to sift through all my belongings and look at things that still had tags on them. Some cost me $100 (or more) and then having to put it in the donation or consign pile was torture. I felt like I was literally throwing money away. Luckily I had a friend there for moral support and she forced me to remember that I was only keeping things I loved, not things I spent money on but never use or wear.
Clear Before you Style
When trying to declutter a certain space, I found it helpful to fully clear everything out. Take my office for example. It meant taking all books off the shelf, every pen out of the drawer, and even everything out of the closet! Yes, this definitely takes more time, but I noticed a huge difference in the areas I did this for.
I found that adding a few less books, a couple less pictures on the shelf, and just less stuff in general felt better. Now, my office feels clean and simple, and it’s very inspiring.
Is decluttering super stressful for you? Have you found any solutions on how to get it done?
BTW, 5 tips for making life easier with a baby, and how to create a dream-inducing bedroom.
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