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Blog > 5 Tips To Help You Declutter Your Home During Summer
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As summer is winding down and fall is just around the corner, the kids will be returning to school and a new year’s schedule will begin. Holidays are over and the last few weeks of summer could be spent decluttering your home, organizing multiple junk drawers, and putting everything in its proper place so the household will be in tiptop shape and ready to face the challenges a new school year will bring. Get out your summer decluttering checklist, read these five great decluttering tips, and let's finally get ready to tackle the monumental challenge of how to declutter your home.
Once you have decided where to start the first thing you will need is five clearly marked containers labeled; Put Away, this is for things that have migrated from other parts of the house and need to go back to their rightful place. Fix/Mend, is for items that need to be repaired before they are returned to their place. Donate is for items that are still usable and could be donated to a charitable organization or passed on to someone who needs it. Recycle, cardboard and metal can all be diverted from the landfill. We can dispose trash of in the usual way. Whether you are starting with a closet or the entire basement and wondering how to declutter your home, this is where you begin.
Here is a fun challenge that can begin your journey to declutter your home. Sometimes it all feels so overwhelming and one can be left wondering where and how to begin, a small success can be all it takes to get the party started. Try this 30-day challenge. Give something away every day for 30 days. Your sister loves that dusty old vase you rarely use: give it to her. Your neighbour doesn't have a hose and you have six: give him one. These small interactions will bring joy to those around you and you may just realize how little joy most of your possessions bring you. 30 days later you will be 30 things lighter and have 30 better relationships.
As you look around your home with your three-page summer decluttering checklist clenched tightly in your fist, stop and take a breath, smooth out your list and put it away. Grab one big trash bag and wander around the house targeting things that are obviously long past their best days. That demolished dog toy under the coffee table can go. Those chocolate wrappers that have been stuffed under the cushions since last Halloween can definitely go. This decluttering tip can be the easiest to start with as there is no emotion connected to disposing of things that are clearly trash. That broken cup that old Aunt Margaret used to drink from might be a hard place to start, but that broken appliance could disappear into the bag without a care.
Overwhelmed with the thought of tackling the whole apartment? Why not arrange a small. bedroom? Step into the cluttered room and you’ll find in no time you’ll have 5 boxes full of things that don’t belong. You haven't exactly decluttered your home, but you feel pride rising up inside you. You took the time to arrange a small bedroom perfectly, and now you know you can do it. What room are you starting with next?
The best way to combat clutter is to have a one-in and one-out policy. Every time you want to bring something new into the home, something else has to go. Buying a new pair of shoes is no problem, but an older, less worn pair must go to a friend, a charity, or the dump. Keeping this one rule will see your home find an equilibrium between some spartan aesthetic and being profiled on the next episode of Hoarders.
Remember what you gain by letting go. Decluttering your home will provide more time, energy, and space for the activities and possessions that enhance your life. The temporary thrill of a purchase is long forgotten when said item now sits at the bottom of a junk drawer. We pay to buy, store, and eventually dispose of every item we purchase. Transforming your purchasing habits is the key. Surround yourself with beautiful useful items and let the clutter go.
