Decluttering is quite overwhelming. And what’s funny is no matter how much you declutter, it always seems like you can do more. I know it’s not really funny, it’s a real pain. I am just trying to keep things light because decluttering your house and then keeping it clutter free is such a difficult task at times. And especially when you never seem to have enough time to do it.
In this post, I am sharing some easy tips on how you can find time to declutter your house. Because when you declutter regularly, it takes lesser time as compared to doing it once a year. And even though it might seem like you don’t have the time, you just have to MAKE time to declutter. Like most things in life. If having a clutter free home is a priority for you too, these simple tips will help you make time for it.
I hope you will find some of these tips helpful. Let’s get started? Keeping this post super short and sweet because I don’t want to be wasting your time that you could spend decluttering instead. *wink wink*
12 Practical ways to find time to Declutter your House:
1. Wake up 20 minutes early:
Waking up early in the mornings is my favourite tip whenever I am trying to incorporate or adopt a new habit. And I love the feeling of decluttering the house before getting started with other daily chores. Waking up 20 minutes earlier than you usually do will ensure that you have at least 20 minutes to declutter in the mornings. And when you have 20 minutes every day, 20 minutes are more than enough, believe me.
In fact I have a 15 minute speed declutter list that I do every single morning. It helps me keep the house in order and clutter free just by spending 15 minutes on it every single day. It includes things like decluttering my bed side table, the top of my dresser, our kitchen counters and wiping all the horizontal surfaces in the house.
When I am wiping down the surfaces, I will also see if something is out of place and place things back in their rightful place. You just have to be intentional about where you are putting things. It’s a habit that takes some time to develop, but when you are doing a declutter every morning, you will be able to adopt this habit very quickly.
2. Deep declutter on a weekend:
Set a weekend just for decluttering the house. It can be overwhelming, I know. But you do not have to declutter half your possessions in one weekend. Just take a scan over the weekend in all the rooms in the house and throw away things that serve no purpose. So get rid of things that are broken, or things you haven’t used in the last couple of years.
I’d also recommend getting rid of things that you have been meaning to get fixed for the last couple of months. You’ll probably never do it. Sorry to break it to you. But humans have a tendency of associating feelings with material things. And you’d be surprised to see how many excuses you can come up to not throw away something.
But, stop fooling yourself. Accept that you do not actually NEED those things. And get rid of clutter.
3. Set a time to declutter:
If you find it hard to wake up 20 minutes earlier than you usually do, that’s okay too. Set another time during the day to declutter. It could be right after you finish work. Or if you work from home, then it could be 15 minutes during your lunch break.
Set an alarm in your phone and when the alarm goes off, get decluttering. I swore by this rule for years and it’s easy to do as well. Just set aside a time whenever you feel like you’ll feel like decluttering.
It could very well be right after you put a load of laundry for washing. What a great idea to get your dirty laundry clean and your house decluttered at the same time, right?
4. Start with one room:
If decluttering the entire house feels overwhelming, start with one room at a time. You could start with your kitchen or your living room as those two are the areas that usually get cluttered really fast. I’d suggest start with kitchen counters and see what a difference having clutter free counters make. And perhaps you will be motivated to declutter the rest of your house too.
RELATED: Declutter your home : Step by step guide
And you know what the thing about motivation is, right? When you are motivated and inspired enough to do something, you will find the time to do it. You will stop using excuses to NOT declutter.
5. Decluttering as a family:
Have you ever thought about decluttering as a family? I think it’s an amazing habit to teach your kids right from when they are little. Take time over a weekend once a month, to declutter things as a family. And when you are done, you could go out together to donate the things that end up in your “donate pile”. You could even make a family outing out of it.
This way you don’t have to sacrifice your precious family time and decluttering won’t feel like a chore. I remember doing that on Sundays as a kid. We used to declutter our wardrobes and study tables every other Sunday and then would donate the things we no longer needed. It also familiarises the kids with the joy of giving, right from early stages of childhood.
I think when you teach this to the kids from an early stage, they are less likely to become hoarders later in their life. And It’s such a great habit to have, don’t you think?
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6. Practice a 5 Minute sweep every morning:
It doesn’t take more than 5 minutes to do it. Take a quick scan around the house and see things that you can possibly declutter. And I am not asking you to get rid of things right away. but as you are more mindful of the things in your house, you start getting a clearer picture of what you can declutter. And when it’s time to declutter you can simply do away with those things.
I had this photo frame on top of our dresser in our bedroom for the longest time. I used to hate it. Yes, hate it. It was a wedding gift so we had kept it. But as I looked at my dresser every day, it reminded me daily of how much I hate that frame. So I decided to donate it, that weekend.
It might seem silly, but sometimes it takes you a while to truly understand that you don’t like something. And that’s okay. I wouldn’t ask you to throw away things and regret it after a few days. I only ever declutter things when I am totally sure. And a daily 5 minute sweep every morning helps me build strong opinions about things over time. It makes it easy to part with things too.
7. Declutter with friends at wine’o clock:
Similar to decluttering with family, you can declutter with friends too. You could either take turns decluttering each other’s stuff over weekends, all while sipping wine. Wine (if you have had enough LOL) definitely makes it more fun and easier to part ways with things. Maybe your friends can take some of the things you no longer need and vice versa. Or you could all declutter at your own places and keep up on social media, that’s quite on trend too these days.
And the best thing about decluttering with your friends is that now you have to MAKE time for it. It’s almost like a girl’s night out, but for the decluttering nerds. No shame.
8. Declutter while watching TV:
If you keep complaining that you do not have the time to declutter, maybe it’s time for you to multi-task. Put on your favourite show on Netflix and start decluttering. It’s easiest to declutter the living room, kitchen and bedroom(if you have a tv in your bedroom) that way. You’d be surprised to see how much you can get done by the time you finish one episode of FRIENDS.
In fact, why don’t you make a routine out of it. We all know you watch Netflix anyway. So try decluttering an area of your house while catching up on your favourite show.
9. Ask for help/Hire a Professional:
If you are really struggling with the whole decluttering process, it’s okay to ask for help and seek other resources. There are professionals who can help you declutter without feeling overwhelmed. And you could even hire someone to do it all for you while you get other stuff done. So you could declutter without having to spend hours on the process. Now you’re left with no excuses, are you?
10. Order in Food:
On one of the week nights, instead of cooking, why don’t you order in dinner. And instead use the time to do a declutter. It’d give you an additional hour to declutter and also a much needed break from cooking and you could even turn this into an at home date night during the week. What a huge plus, right?
11. Get a Nanny/Baby sitter:
If you have kids and looking after them already feels like a full time job and you can’t seem to find time to declutter, consider getting a nanny or a baby sitter. Or if you are lucky enough to have your family to support you through this, take the help.
There is absolutely no shame in taking help when you need. You don’t have to do everything on your own. And even if it’s just for a few hours a week. You could use those hours to declutter and to look after yourself.
12. Make it a part of your routine:
Last but not the least, make decluttering a part of your routine. Because when you put things away every single day, you won’t have to set aside time to declutter. Maintaining a clutter free home becomes quite easy when you are in the habit of putting things in their designated space every time after you use something.
Make it a habit to never leave your room empty handed. There is always something that can be put away. We always have coffee mugs that can be taken to the kitchen, or perhaps your laptop can be put away at your desk. And the thing is, when you make it a part of your routine, it doesn’t take that long. it doesn’t even take a conscious effort because after a while it starts coming to you naturally and you will find yourself decluttering on Auto-pilot.
There you have it. 12 Practical tips to find time to declutter. I hope you found some of these tips helpful and that these will help you in maintaining a stress and clutter free home. Because I truly believe you deserve it. See you later! 🙂
Meanwhile, If you liked this post, make sure to pin it to support this blog. And if you’d like to read more posts related to decluttering, perhaps you’d find these posts helpful:
12 ways to declutter your life for 2021
45 Small ways to be Organised
Step by Step guide to Decluttering your home
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