Tips for Decluttering

I have been on a decluttering mission for years and I think I cracked the code for an easy way to declutter and reorganize. If you have been in the same boat about trying to organize but it seems like a never ending cycle I’m going to share my super easy tip for decluttering.

Start Small

If decluttering an entire room, break it down in sections. Let’s focus on the kitchen, each drawer and cupboard will be an individual project. Have a box on the counter and anything that you don’t need put in the box, don’t spend time wondering what to do with those items just yet. When you have completely reorganized your drawer you will feel so good and want to keep going. After I finish a drawer or cupboard, I put the box of unwanted items in my garage and when all done with the kitchen I go through that and decide if the items are worthy to donate or just trash them. It’s also a good idea to take a short break between sections for a small snack. I usually have trail mix or protein bars on hand since they’re quick and easy plus I don’t want to get too settled in for very long and lose my train of decluttering thought.

The other day I posted about my kitchen reorganizing again and now I’m loving my new arrangement. We have always had a “junk” drawer in the kitchen used for small tools that might come in handy for a project. Well the small tools became larger tools and before long it was filled with so much junk I didn’t even know what was in the drawer. I decided to tackle this drawer by taking everything out and put things in a plastic storage bin just to get the drawer empty. I had an old spare pistol case in the garage so I put the tools in there and tossed some things that weren’t even needed. See, I made use of something instead of having to buy new.

I put the pistol case turned tool box in the garage right next to the back door so I didn’t have far to go if I needed something. This gave me an extra kitchen drawer! See how easy and less stressful by just working on a small area at a time? FYI, my next major decluttering project will be this unit in the garage. It will be like opening Pandora’s box since the drawers are so disorganized. LOL But can’t go there now, need to stay on track.

Laundry Area

I am usually too embarrassed to show my before shots but I figured I’d bite the bullet and let you see what I’m up against. It was a bit more a challenge here because the two shelves had to be done together. But I went box by box until I removed the things that didn’t belong on the shelves. Don’t ask me how the pile on the dryer all fit in a blue bucket! As I sorted through everything, a lot went right in the trash. We had bottles of Lia’s paint, paint brushes and detergent caps for her little bouquet projects that ended up in the bucket instead of opening the garage door right next to the washer and putting them on her craft supply shelf.

This may be over whelming for some starting a declutter project but just take your time working one section at a time. I usually have three sections: NEED, SAVE, DISPOSE. The NEED gets put in the proper place immediately, the SAVE goes in the garage if it’s something I think I can repurpose and the DISPOSE is either donated or taken to the recycling center.

After all sorted and the junk tossed it’s looking so much better being clutter free. But I also feel better just having everything organized, knowing I will keep it this way. Notice the tool box on the bottom shelf. After storing it there, I realized it’s not the easiest place to get to so that’s why I moved it to the garage.

When I moved the tool box I had room for something else. I buy my kitchen trash bags in bulk and one roll fits neatly in a strawberry picking bucket! Again I’m trying to organize the everyday items used in areas that are easy to reach so I moved the laundry detergent over and put the bucket of bags on the shelf. Where the tool box was I store the mop pads. Everything is easy to reach except the things on the top shelf but those are things that aren’t used often. Also while I was decluttering these shelves, I found a box full of brand new dish towels. LOL

The laundry area declutter project took me about two hours which sounds long for just two small shelves but with so much sorting it took some time. I think it was well worth it to be organized. I was ready to take a break for a cup of hot chai tea!

As usual when I finish a project I step back and check it out, both the kitchen and laundry area reorganizing projects made me very happy to finally reduce so much unneeded clutter. But there always seems to be something I find that needs changing. This time it was the knobs on the doors to the washer and dryer. We originally painted them red when I had so much red in the kitchen but now they seemed to jump out at me.

When my daughter and son-in-law were down for Christmas, Bryon replaced some light fixtures. Two in the front hall and one in the laundry room were changed from 25 year old gold tone ones to sleek brushed nickel. Now it’s good to save some things for “just in case” and I happened to have four brushed nickel with white pearl knobs from a few years ago when we changed the closet ones. I like them much better. I still have two left and I’m sure I’ll find somewhere for those in due time.

See how easy and stress free it is by focusing on a small area instead of an entire room? Do you have a room or area you are trying to declutter but you keep hitting a road block? If you need a cheering squad when decluttering, I’ll be on your team!

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Martha DeMeo

I started my blog on Christmas Day 2014 mainly to review products I received. Since then it has evolved into many other categories of lifestyles, family, money saving ideas, low cost, delicious and healthy meals plus other surprise posts. My granddaughter has her own category, Alex's Articles and the latest addition to my blog is my great granddaughter now has her category, Lia's Likings The Baby Blogger! Lia started blogger at 8 months old and she now has a Friday Story Time blog you won't want to miss! I welcome you to join the conversation, ask a question, give a suggestion or leave a comment on any blog post. I hope you enjoy Lia's Likings, she has some great posts that will make you smile!

12 Discussion to this post

  1. Tamara says:

    I wish I had your determination and enthusiasm for decluttering! Even though I made a huge effort a few months ago, there is still a long way to go. If I put boxes in the garage “to sort out later” I’d happily let them rot there for a long time ;-)))

    Great job organizing your drawers and laundry area!

  2. Your before and after pics are like magic!! I’m glad you shared the before because now we can see the transformation. And I love your tip about taking everything out and putting things in a box. That way once the space has everything it needs, the rest of it has already been taken care of and isn’t still waiting for your attention on the counter or bed or floor.

    • Martha says:

      I figured by showing the before, my readers could actually see what I was up against Jeanine, LOL But taking a small area and staying focused works great. I love my new arrangement now.

  3. Diana Walker says:

    Hi Martha! What wonderful suggestions on decluttering. I have worked on downsizing and decluttering for about the past 10 years… I did really well for a while (and even hired someone to help me!)…. but I do need this blog post right now, and hope it will help me get motivated to declutter again! I like your idea of NEED, SAVE, DISPOSE containers.

    • Martha says:

      I’m so happy my blog gave you some inspirations Diana. When you start a project, give me a shoutout and I can help with suggestions or just cheer you on!

  4. Martha, oh my! We are on the same wavelength again, as so often! I am still clearing everything from after my husband passed. His business had a lot of paperwork and tools, and I’m going through his and mine piece by piece. I don’t want the younger relatives to have to do it when I pass! So today I was moved to do a post on just closet clutter clearing. Good stuff! I am loving reading your post on the laundry closet. Such similar challenges to mine, like the small-tool drawer that became a large-tool whatever drawer. You’ve given me great ideas! Thank you so much! You are a power-declutterer!

    • Martha says:

      It seems quite often we are on the same wavelength Kebba! I too am decluttering so my daughter and granddaughter aren’t left to do it when my time comes to pass. Let me know how your projects are going and I’m here to cheer you on!

  5. Your tips for decluttering are so practical and thoughtful! I especially loved the focus on handling sentimental items—something I often face with my yarn stash from past crochet projects.

  6. Great tips. I’m gonna use those tips soon.

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