10 Easy Steps To De-cluttering Your House

Most clutter in homes is comprised of clothes, papers and miscellaneous household items. Efficient de-cluttering boils down to: gathering, sorting and finding a permanent spot for each item.

De-cluttering is also an emotional issue. Throwing away or giving away possessions can be stressful and even emotionally painful.

First, make whatever mental adjustments are needed to get rid of the “clutter” in your home -- once and for all. Get completely honest with yourself about it. And don’t begin until you’re sure you are emotionally ready

For each room you want to de-clutter, use these 10 Easy Steps:

1. For this step you will need several boxes and a table. Set up a staging area in another room or hallway, if the room you wish to de-clutter doesn’t have the space

2. Put everything except papers into boxes marked “Keep,” “Discard,” “Donate,” or “Not Sure.” Take no more than five seconds to decide which box each item goes into. Place all papers – which you will sort later -- on a table.

3. While sorting, make a mental note that everything in you put in the “Not Sure” box will have to go to its permanent home when you finish cleaning that room.

4. After you’ve finished sorting, it’s time to handle the “Not Sure” box. For each and every item, take no more than three seconds to decide whether you keep it, throw it away or donate it. Place all items in the appropriate box.

5. Then, deal with the Discard box(es). Take the boxes immediately to the garbage can, if possible.

6. “Donate” next. You can give these items as a gift to family members or friends, or find and call a nonprofit that will pick up the items, at a convenient time. Remember, when donating to a nonprofit, you can write off the value of these items as a tax deduction.

7. Finally – deal with the “Keep” box. Find a permanent place for each item -- in the original room or somewhere else.

8. Now, for the papers: Sort all papers into category piles, such as “bank statements,” “medical records,” “financial records ,” old letters,” “magazines,” etc.

9. After all the papers have been sorted into a category, decide what to keep, throw away or shred. You’ll shred anything with account numbers or personal information – any paper with data that could be used for identity theft.

10. Congratulations! You’re done with the first room. Repeat the same process for each room you need to de-clutter.

For more information on residential de-cluttering or to put Decently and In Order to work on your de-cluttering, downsizing or moving project, visit http://decentlyandinorder.us or call 513-259-0143.