Peace of Mind Organizing

Where to start decluttering

17 June 2013

Clutter overwhelms many people. Probably the most frequent thing I hear from clients who seek help decluttering is that they don’t know where to begin.

There are three things to look out for when figuring out where to start decluttering:

• Start with storage areas. You probably have stuff out on the surfaces of your living space and, naturally, you’re inclined to start there. But really, you’re better off starting with the storage areas. Here’s why: (1) The stuff moldering in the storage areas is probably less current than the stuff on the surfaces, and therefore easier to part with. (2) If you clear the storage areas first, you’ll have a place to store the stuff you keep that’s currently on the surfaces.

• Start small. Set yourself up for success and pick a small area that you can declutter in one short session. A single drawer, a cupboard, a shelf in a cupboard, a bin on a shelf. You get the idea.

• Make it high impact. If you have a space that you use daily but it’s so full it becomes annoying, that’s a great place to start. Once it’s decluttered, every day you’ll reap the benefit of your efforts. Maybe we’re talking about a crowded kitchen gadget drawer, or the basket where you drop your keys every day.

Remember that there’s no perfect place to start and really the important thing is to just get started. Once you get that momentum going, it’ll be easier to move on to the next thing. So pick a small defined space within a storage area that you use frequently and let the decluttering begin!

Tagged with: clutter, declutter, decluttering

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