If your home is bursting at the seams or you have boxes that you’ve moved from one home to another without ever unpacking, the thought of starting to declutter your home might be overwhelming. It becomes one of those jobs that are put off until next month and never gets done. Meanwhile more clutter gathers, and the cycle continues. In this month’s newsletter, we talked about the benefits of decluttering. But how can you get started if you’re feeling overwhelmed?

1. Start With Your Central Area

Ask yourself where you spend most of your time. It might be in the kitchen, at the dining room table or in an office space. Focusing on just one area will make the task feel more manageable. Plus, you will feel immediate benefits from spending time in a clutter-free area which will motivate you to tackle other areas too.

2. Try The Kondo Approach

Unless you’ve been in hiding, you will probably have heard of decluttering queen, Marie Kondo. Not only does she have numerous books out on the topic, but she also has a popular TV series on Netflix.

Her methods involve gathering everything in a specific topic and working on that rather than moving from room to room. For example, you could choose to tackle coats and gather all of those from around the house. Or you might choose to focus on something like paperwork. You can then ensure you only keep what’s necessary rather than finding more as you move on to another room.

3. Decluttering Your Clothes

Sometimes, a little preparation beforehand can make life a lot easier. You want to focus on separating things into three piles – keep, donate and bin. Make sure you already know where and when you will be disposing of those that are for the bin and those that are for donating. This avoids you spending weeks surrounded by black bags full of the stuff you have decluttered!

If you’re unsure on any items of clothing, try them on and see how they make you feel. Get rid of anything that doesn’t fit, is worn out or feels uncomfortable. If you’ve not worn it for more than a year, it’s time to say goodbye!

4. Decluttering Your Kitchen

Come one, be honest, who has a cupboard full of gadgets that haven’t seen the light of day for over a year? They can be so tempting when they’re on sale and promising to make cooking easy. It’s a shame so many of them are such a faff that they lay buried at the back of a cupboard! Look through those gadgets and any that aren’t being used can be donated.

Another area of the kitchen that can quickly get out of control is the mugs. You’ve probably received quite a few as gifts, but eventually they start getting stacked on top of each other and many remain unused. Pick out your favourite mugs and donate the rest.

Finally, I’m going to mention the unmentionable – those plastic tubs. How many lids do you have waiting for their matching tub to magically appear? How many tubs do you have hanging around for the lid to show up? It’s time to take control and only keep those with a matching lid and tub!

5. Decluttering The Toys

I know, it’s every mum’s nightmare! Encourage your children to get involved. You can even explain to them that some children aren’t so lucky and don’t have toys – ask them which ones they would like to donate to them.

Again, you’re going to create three different piles – bin (broken or worn out toys), donate (those that are in good shape, but your child has outgrown or doesn’t play with) and keep. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming to try and tackle all the toys at once, especially if you have more than one child. If that’s the case, start with a particular category such as games, puzzle or vehicles.

Decluttering does take time and effort, but it is worth it. Once you’ve done the big clear out, it also becomes much easier to keep on top of it. If you give it a go this month, I’d love to hear how you get on!

Start your journey today – achieve confidence, balance and clarity for an easier, happier life!

Empowering Mums is on a mission to empower a million mums and mumpreneurs just like you with greater confidence, balance and clarity to activate your infinite capabilities within! Enabling you to enjoy an easier, happier life alongside running a highly successful business. Aligned with enjoying time out for an essential self-care routine that fulfils your own needs and delight in quality time spent with your children being the mum you really want to be!

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