How to Clean up Clutter in Your Home: a Start to End Guide
It’s hard to argue with the fact that most of us have too many things lying around, but getting rid of them can be difficult. Perhaps you have developed a personal attachment to certain items, or you really believe that someday they will come in handy. However, in most cases, “personal value” means “guilt” and “someday” will never come.
We are not talking about an ultra-minimalist approach here, but rather trying to keep in our life only those things that you use and that are really important to you. To do this, you need to know how to identify the trash in your home, how to get rid of it (so you don’t just send it to the landfill) and, most importantly, how to keep unwanted trash from coming back.
Step 1. Find your shopping cart
Some nonsense is actually just junk, like a corporate T-shirt from work five years ago or a 1994 birthday card that you’re afraid your grandma will ask about on your next visit. If you still have these things, stop reading this post and get rid of them immediately: recycle your cards (or put them in safe storage), rip your shirts into rags, and generally do whatever you need to do to get your trash taken care of at first of all.
Now that you’ve gotten rid of your recognizable crap, we can start working on the rest – deciding what to keep and what to leave.
Step 2. Get rid of excess
First, narrow down the focus by sorting the clutter into categories. These categories should include things like books, clothes, cables, and gadgets, as well as any hobby-related clutter you may have a lot. Within each category, sort each item into one of three piles: things to keep, things to throw away, and unresolved. Be Ruthless: When was the last time you used this bulky electric juicer? Will you really start using it in the future? If the answer is “probably not,” you should probably get rid of it.
When you’re done sorting, go through a bunch of items you’re not sure about and get rid of as many of them as possible. If you have duplicates (or three copies), pick whichever you like best and get rid of the rest.
Step 3. Put everything back in place
Now that you’ve made a mess of your house by throwing your belongings in a pile on the floor, it’s time to clean it all up. Start by putting what you are disposing of in a cardboard box, trash bag, or whatever else you like best – provided it is clearly on its way to its next life. Then, put all the things you store in place (and admire all the storage space you’ve created). Finally, take items you are not sure about and put them somewhere separately, such as on one side of a closet or in a separate drawer. Over the next month, watch how often you use “indecisive” things: if you barely touch them, it’s time to let go.
Step 4. Repeat steps 1-3.
No, not right away – you just had to part with a bunch of things that you care about, so you may not be emotionally ready for a new break with your property. Wait 30 days, then repeat the process. After a month, when things have settled down, it will be much easier for you to let go of even more things you don’t need. You might even like it.
Step 5: solve one-time problems
By now, you’ve probably gotten rid of most of the unnecessary crap, leaving things that you don’t have much that still take up unnecessary space in your home. Do you have an electric guitar that you never play or an elliptical trainer that you mainly use as a clothes hanger? They have to leave.
Step 6. Remove unnecessary things from the house
When it comes time to really get rid of all this crap, you have three main options: donate, sell, or trade. (Technically, dump is the fourth option, but hopefully you’ve gotten rid of your literal garbage by now.)
Before trying to get rid of them, make sure all potential donations are clean and in good working order. Goodwill and The Salvation Army are fine, but your old items are more likely to be used up if you keep them in place. Many homeless shelters and other community organizations list their most needed donations on their websites; check if any of your materials are suitable, then bring it. Your local Buy Nothing Facebook group and free Craigslist will take care of the rest.
Selling or exchanging higher-value items through Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or and / or eBay can help you get some money back, but it does take some work, so save it for things that are worth the effort. If you have obsolete electronics that are not for sale, check to see if the manufacturer or retailer has an exchange or recycling program. Amazon , Samsung and Apple , just to name a few.
Step 7. Digitize if possible
You can also free up space by simplifying your physical records. Paper files, photos, bills, bank statements and other documents can take up a lot of space; digitize whatever you can , back up and throw away any physical copies that aren’t special or valuable to you. Avoiding paperwork is a bit of a tricky process , but worth it.
Step 8: keep up the good work
It is a huge effort to clear your entire house of trash, but all that effort will be wasted if you cannot contain it. To do this, you will need some rules, policies and tricks to reflect the unnecessary things that once haunted your life.
You may have heard that you should throw it away if you haven’t used it in the past year. This works great – for people who don’t tend to cling to unnecessary things. If you have this inclination, your recommendations should be a little stricter:
- Develop a personalized policy: if you want something new, you have to get rid of something old. It doesn’t have to be the same type of item, but it should take up about the same amount of space (or more).
- Set an expiration date for things you rarely use: give yourself a certain amount of time to use the item, and then set a calendar reminder. If a date comes and goes and you haven’t touched it yet, say goodbye.
- Sleep Twice: Don’t buy new items until you ‘ve thought about them for 48 hours (or more). If you still think this is a good buy, go for it.
- Put your belongings in a visible place: The FIFO principle applies not only to kitchens . Organizing your belongings so you can see what you have will help you actually use them.
The debris cleaning process isn’t exactly fun, but chances are you will love the extra space more than what came before. Hopefully this guide will help you take control and get out of the house.
This article was originally published in May 2011 and was updated on May 18, 2021 with new information and adherence to the Lifehacker style guidelines.