Here’s how to declutter your home

There is no better feeling than giving your home a really good clean out. Decluttering with a really good clean out of the home. Think of it as a spring clean, just a few months later. Here's why you should declutter for the year ahead.

Here’s my 3 step process to decluttering your home

Your home is a reflection of you and as such it’s constantly evolving at the same pace you are. This is an important point to understand at the beginning of your decluttering process because decluttering isn’t a once in a lifetime thing. It’s an ongoing process because it’s a reflection of you. As you evolve, so too do the needs of your home and it’s contents.

It’s a weird concept to wrap your head around at first, but if you can, it’ll make the decluttering process a little more simple and a lot less stressful.

my 3 step culling process

I'm going to start with the easiest room in the home 'cause if it feels like it's all too much then there's the potential that I'll give up before I even get started. So, I'm starting in the bathroom. In my mind, it's going to be a regular clean but with a few extras thrown in. And the biggest reason I’m starting in the bathroom is because the items in that room are less likely to have any emotional impact on me. And that’s a big win when you’re starting out.

Step one

My process starts with adding items into three simple piles: Keep, Trash and Donate/Sell.

The Keep pile are those items that are necessary to you - think toothbrush, hairdryer, dinner plates, coffee mugs those sorts of things. These necessary items will be different to you but you’ll know what they are because you use them all the time, they’re required for you to live your life, and they contribute to your health and well-being.

The Trash pile are those items that are expired, broken, or in poor condition. This is fairly self-explanatory.

The Donate/Sell pile are those items that are surplus, or duplicates, those that you haven’t used in the last 12 months or they’re not necessary to your lifestyle anymore.

step two

Now that you’ve got your 3 piles I want you to concentrate on the first pile - the Keep pile because we’ve got one last step that will help you decide whether or not it really is necessary to keep.

Once I've got the items I'm keeping then I'll group them into categories. At this point I'm going to do another sweep as to whether I need everything that's made the cut. I’m going to use the Emily Ley decluttering mantraand adapt it to suit my own circumstances. If I’ve got lots of the one item and I really only need the one, I’ll keep the BEST; if it’s good for my lifestyle to have a few of these items I’ll pick my FAVOURITES.

step three

I’m now going to borrow from Marie Kondo and find the right storage containers for groups of items. I feel as though this is the final step in the culling process. As you’re adding all these items into your containers, you’re running your eye over them in a different way - it’s with this new critical eye that further culling will take place.

Don't get fatigued

I'll use this exact strategy in every room. I think when you're decluttering, it's important to take your time otherwise fatigue can set in. Also, I'll do the hardest room in the home, the kitchen, at the midway point 'cause I'll have some 'experience', my eye will be in and I'll have the energy to get through it. Plus, I'll be doing a deep clean of the room at the same time so it's going to be a win-win with an amazing sense of accomplishment.

My 3 step process is a combination of experience and adaptation from the decluttering experts. I’ve included some of these to help you in your decluttering process.

is it the best, the favourite or necessary

Emily Ley coined her decluttering mantra during her Ruthless Declutter Challenge and helps you narrow down your possessions to the cream of the crop. If you’re looking at an overly large collection of serving platters, for instance, narrow it down to the best ones. A kitchen towel collection can similarly be whittled down by choosing to keep only the favourites.

use the 90/90 rule

I love rules and processes, and this one I had to include. The Minimalists’ 90/90 rule has you ask yourself if you’ve used the item in the last 90 days and if you will use it in the 90 days to come. If the answer is NO to both, out it goes. They stress the point that the actual timeframe of 90 days is flexible; yours might be 120 days or 60 days, whichever feels right to you.

practice one-in-one out

This is a fabulous practice, particularly if you’ve completed your entire decluttering process. Promise yourself that with each new thing you bring into your home, you’ll get rid of another. Having an ‘outbox’ for those items that you’re donating or selling helps you keep this promise to yourself and builds a habit in a healthy way.

keep a box in the closet

This is probably one of the most powerful decluttering tips I’ve ever heard. The idea is that every time you put something on and don’t feel good in it, you toss it in the box. It’s an in-the-moment, painless way to declutter your wardrobe. I personally Marie Kondo’d my wardrobe at the beginning of 2022 and this step has kept me on tracks.

is it beautiful or useful

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” Adhering to William Morris’ famous saying is a fabulous way to avoid accumulating excess in your home. I’m definitely guilty of ignoring this advice from time-to-time so don’t be that hard on yourself 🙅🏻‍♀️

use washi tape to declutter the kitchen

Although this has never been an issue for me, a lot of homeowners I work with struggle to declutter their kitchen and they worry that when we redesign the space, they won’t have enough storage. So, to decide what’s worth keeping in the kitchen, set a designated length of time, such as six months or a year, to give you a chance to see what tools and appliances you actually use. Add a piece of washi tape to every item and when you use it, remove the tape. By the end of your timeframe, anything that still has tape on it, you can get rid of it. A simple, effective and stress-free way to decluttering the kitchen.