Few things are as transformative as a deep decluttering marathon completed over the course of a week or two, but not everyone has the time or energy to achieve such quick results. If you’re one of those people, don’t fret! It is totally possible to declutter the entirety of your home using shorter bursts of energy over a longer period of time.
Just make sure to keep the following guidelines in mind, and that dramatic home transformation may very well be within your reach.
Have a strategy
If you don’t want “decluttering” on your to-do list for the rest of your life, make sure to plan exactly how you want to declutter. Having a clear plan of attack is key. Do you want to go room by room, one shelf at a time? Or do you want to tackle entire item categories KonMari-style?
Decluttering random areas of our homes may feel efficient, but doing so makes us more likely to lose track of what we’ve already decluttered in the past—causing us to create clutter in those exact areas. The result? Having to re-declutter the same areas of your space over and over (and over) again.
Pro-tip: It’s not just about decluttering; keep an eye on your shopping as well. Make sure you declutter faster than you consume! Filling up the drawer you just finished decluttering probably isn’t ideal.
Track your progress
Most of us resist the decluttering process because it feels like a repetitive chore. One way to combat that feeling is to create a sense of progress. Unlike cleaning, there is such a thing as being “done” with decluttering. Once you’ve evaluated everything you own, you can finally strike it off your to-do list. But there’s no need to wait until the end of your decluttering journey to feel a sense of accomplishment.
Depending on the strategy you’ve chosen, you can create a custom decluttering checklist to remind you how much work you’ve actually done over time. Breaking your decluttering project into smaller, more manageable tasks gives you a motivation boost with each minor accomplishment. Don’t underestimate the value of recognizing small wins.
Set a schedule (and a timer)
Another common hurdle for those who want to declutter is procrastination. We might tell ourselves that we don’t have the time to declutter, yet twenty minutes a day is plenty of time to get things done, especially when we set that time aside consistently. Practically, setting time aside means setting a schedule for decluttering, but a timer is equally useful for getting into the groove of decluttering.
Now, decluttering for even one hour a day can still seem boring or intimidating. But setting a shorter time frame of, say, fifteen minutes can make decluttering feel more doable and easier to fit into our busy schedules. If at the end of fifteen minutes you feel the need to move onto another activity, then by all means!
(Chances are, though, you’ll be deep enough in the thick of decluttering that you’ll want to do it longer than you originally planned. Either way, you’ll make good progress.)
Decluttering slowly and strategically is a great way to overcome clutter without the overwhelm. In some cases, decluttering slowly is even ideal. There’s no one best way to declutter your home, which is why it’s important to recognize what suits your life.
