How to Declutter Your Home: Simple Tips for Every Room
by RJ Living |
November 17, 2021
For many of us, the idea of decluttering can be daunting. With a messy home, it can be difficult to know where to begin in your cleanup efforts. Each room presents its own unique challenge, from untidy medicine cabinets in the bathroom to overflowing closets in the bedroom.
Whether you’re preparing for a showing, downsizing, or simply reorganizing, we’re here to help. Here, we’re going to give you some tips on how to declutter your home fast for a cleaner, brighter space.
Getting Started on Decluttering
Before you start decluttering, it’s important to have a plan. It can make things go faster and help to build your confidence if you only focus on one room at a time. You may even want to divide rooms up into spaces or stages to tackle.
As you move through each room, you’ll need to have boxes, bins, or even bags by your side to help you stay organized. When sorting through items, you should throw things you want to keep into one appropriately labeled bin. Things you don’t want can go into a donation bin to take down to the local charity shop.
You may want an additional bin for any items that need mending. Instead of putting broken things back on the shelf, fix them as you clean to save yourself trouble down the road. Anything that’s too damaged to fix or donate can go in a specially marked trash or recycling bin.
Don’t forget to stay safe as you clean by protecting your face and airways. Doing so is especially important if you’re dealing with areas that contain dust, mold, or other irritants. It’s a good idea to have a dust mask or respirator as well as eye and hand protection available.
The Bathroom
The bathroom is often one of the smallest rooms in the house, so it can be a good place to start if you’re now sure how to declutter your home fast. You can declutter your bathroom in just a few simple steps:
- Put dirty clothes, towels, and other linens in the hamper
- Throw out expired or empty makeup, care products, toiletries, and medicine
- Move unused items out of the bath or shower area
- Give all surfaces a quick wipedown
The Bedroom
If you’re not sure how to declutter your bedroom, the best place to start can be around your bed. Making your bed is quick, easy, and can help to give you the motivation you need to move on to other tasks:
- Pick clothing and other mess up off the floor
- Move loose items off the bed stand or dresser
- Throw away any garbage loose garbage
- Go through desks and vanities for unwanted or unused items
Your wardrobe or closet may pose a special challenge when it comes to decluttering. Even the largest walk-in can easily become overstuffed and disorganized.
You should set aside some time to carefully go through the contents of your closet or chest of drawers and sort out what you want to keep, what you want to donate, and what should get tossed. You may even want to treat your closet as its own separate room. Learn more about how to organise your closet.
The Kitchen
Keeping your kitchen free of clutter can be a challenge, but it’s an important part of knowing how to declutter your house. No matter how much you clean, there’s always bound to be a mess after your next meal. Cleaning the kitchen is an ongoing task, but you can make it easier by keeping the area free of clutter:
- Go through the pantry and throw out expired food
- Get rid of broken, stained, or unwanted kitchenware
- Go through cabinets and stack or nest contents
- Throw out old chemicals under the kitchen sink
- Clear countertop spaces
The Home Office
Studies have shown that a clean workspace can help to improve performance on the job. You should know how to declutter your room to keep your headspace clear and your mind on the job. You can declutter your home office in a couple of steps:
- Go through desk drawers and clear out anything broken or unnecessary
- Throw away or recycle trash such as old papers, shredded documents, tissues, and more
- Go through filing cabinets or binders and shred obsolete papers
- Clear your desk of everything but the essentials
- Organize wires to the side or behind your desk
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The Living Room
As one of the most high-traffic areas of the home, the living room can accumulate clutter quickly. You may have to clean this room more frequently than the rest of the house, especially if you have kids or pets trekking through. Decluttering your living room should include:
- Going through bookcases, wall shelves, and entertainment units to remove books or media to go in the closet
- Fold blankets and linens, then place in a designated spot such as a basket
- Store loose gadgets such as game consoles and chargers out of the way
- Place all rogue toys in a special bin
Hallways and Entryways
If you have a mudroom or foyer, it’s often the first thing that you or your guests see when stepping into the house. It’s easy for your entryway to fill with dirty shoes, coats, hats, and more to block the flow of traffic around your house. Fortunately, there are a couple of good ways to keep hallways, foyers, and more clear:
- Go through any sideboards or console tables and remove everything but the essentials
- Clear unwanted clothing from your hatrack or hall tree
- Place shoes in a basket or shoe rack
- Put out a shelf designated for keys, wallets, and more
- Sweep the area clear of dirt and debris
In Conclusion
If you want to know how to declutter your home fast, follow our tips above to see results in just a few hours. By focusing on one room at a time, you can make things more manageable. With our guide to quick decluttering, you’ll be able to keep yourself up and motivated until your entire house is sparkling.
