Decluttering Your Home- Guest Post by Hodge Podge Moments

Pam is an elementary school teacher turned work from home mom. She has two little boys that call her mama and a devoted husband that supports her dreams. Two shelter dogs have also found their forever home with her. She is the blogger behind Hodge Podge Moments and the founder of Little Learning Moments. In addition to her blogs, she also offers VA services and coaching to bloggers and mompreneurs.

Declutter. Purge. Minimize. Donate. Clean out. Free up space.

These are all words you hear when someone is getting rid of things for one reason or another. There are probably more terms but these are some of the big ones I’ve seen floating around. 

After moving 3 times in 5 years, I would like to think that I’m a bit of a pro at this whole decluttering thing. It’s something I do yearly on a smaller scale, but I always do it on a big scale before we make a big move. As a result, I’ve developed a simple system that helps me stay on track while making big progress. Today, I’m stopping by Cate’s blog to share that system with you.

Divide Your Clutter

The first thing I do is make a plan for the items I’ll be getting rid of. I typically set up three piles – trash, donate, and sell. Trash goes straight into a trash bag so that it can immediately leave the house. Donate is typically put into a cardboard box for easy carrying. Sell stuff is set aside in a designated area until I can take pictures and list it on the local selling page. 

Start with One Space

I find it really tempting to go through the whole house and get distracted by every room. So, I make mini goals of select spots to work on. Today, I might work on just the master closet while tomorrow might be devoted to the dresser drawers. This helps me stay on track and keeps the tasks manageable and less overwhelming. 

Stay on Task

I already mentioned setting smaller goals along the way. Don’t try to accomplish the whole house in one day. Instead, break it down and do one space or room at a time. When I find something that is out of place and goes to another room, I make a pile and move it to the other room(s) at the end of my decluttering session. This helps me stay on task.

Organize After You Declutter

I like to make the space look better when I finish my decluttering session. This means I pull everything out and put it back into the space in a neat and orderly fashion. By pulling everything out, I’m also able to see if I missed anything during my initial purge.

Keep a Decluttering Box

If you’re working on things in small increments, it can be helpful to designate a space or box as a catch all for any items you want to get rid of. I like to do this year round because there are always little things that make me go “why do I own this?” When these items show up, I send them to the decluttering box and when it’s full, I take it out of the house to donate.

Make It Work for You 

This is the system that works for me but it may not work perfectly for you. Don’t be afraid to make changes as you go along. If you find something that works, stick with it and repeat it the next time. I do recommend doing a decluttering session one or two times a year. This helps you stay on top of the clutter and allows you to get rid of things that you’ve outgrown. 

Best of luck and happy decluttering!