Decluttering Step #2: Choose your space

27 January 2014

This is the second in a series of blog posts I’m writing on Mondays that will take you step by step through the decluttering process. Each Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll offer a new step. If you missed Step #1, Create your vision, be sure and check it out.

Once you’ve created your vision for your decluttered space, the next step is to decide what space to declutter first.

If you’re dealing with a lot of clutter, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed. People often tell me they just don’t know where to start.

So here are a few guidelines that should make it easier.

Choose a storage space. You might be tempted to start with clutter that’s out in the open. But that stuff is typically the stuff you’re actually using. Instead, start with the storage areas, like cupboards and drawers. They’re frequently full of stuff you haven’t used in awhile, which makes it easier to let stuff go. And by doing so, you’ll be making room to store the stuff you actually use.
Start small. Set yourself up for success by choosing a single drawer or a single shelf. Keep this first project tiny.
Make it a high-impact area. Start with a drawer you use every day that’s hard to open because it’s too full, if you can. Or a shelf in a cupboard you open daily. It will feel so much better when you use it and that will spur you on for more projects.

Large projects feel much less overwhelming when you break them down into small pieces. If you view your decluttering projects in terms of small individual tasks, you take away their power to overwhelm you. Use the three criteria described above and you’ll be ready to get started when we’ve completed this little series.

Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, declutter your home series