Fall into a Decluttered Home

 

    

    With the kids heading back to school and out of the house, now is the best time to get the ball rolling on cleaning it out and getting rid of the summer mess! It's tough to get organized and stay clutter free when there are so many obstacles and bodies in one household. Coming up with a simple game plan and stress free process is the best way to declutter a home. 

    Taking some tips from other articles online, we have combined the best hacks for simple one room at a time decluttering with little stress or thought. 

1. Pick one room and spend five minutes picking up trash in the room. Spend another five minutes just picking up items that do not belong in that room. Use five more minutes filling a box or bag with items to donate that are in good condition but do not get used anymore. That's a total of 15 minutes for one room. Move to the next room.
2. Give yourself a deadline to finish decluttering your home. A realistic deadline. If you're a busy person with little time to spend at home, take a month or two or six but give yourself a deadline goal to finish your declutter project.
3. There's something called the 12-12-12 Challenge. This seems to be the most popular declutter hack and works as follows: find 12 items to donate, 12 items to trash and 12 items to keep. Do this in each room two to three different times.
4. Consider three basic principles when decluttering the house. Has an item been used within a year? Is the item something that is enjoyed or sparks joy? Can the item be replaced under $5?
5. Use drawer, cabinet and closet organizers. If items can't fit within the range of the organizer or overflows, figure out if it's worth keeping and toss it or donate it.

    Five basic steps to follow for a stress free and less work road to decluttering! If you do try it, let us know how it benefited you or if it didn't!

Declutter, Destress

    Not so fun fact, being surrounded by clutter is proven to cause anxiety and stress. Having doubts? Google 'stress of clutter' and find numerous studies surrounding the effects it has on our mental health.  Even the thought of getting the cleaning started can cause anxiety, stress and depression. Where do we go from here? We learn where to start and how to cope.

    It is proven that the stress hormone, cortisol, is triggered and released when one is surrounded by disorganization. The human brain works in a very organized manner to keep all parts of the human body functioning. When we surround ourselves with constant disorganization, our brain goes into overload trying to process our surroundings which reduces our ability to focus making it difficult to relax both physically and mentally.

   It sounds pretty simple. Get organized, stay organized and we won't have to worry about stress. Ideally, very simple, realistically it can be a little more complicated than we realize to even attempt to think about getting the organization started. Here are some small but helpful tips to get anyone started:

• Pick a room and try not to bounce from one room to another. If there is more than one person working on the declutter, assign each a room.
• Make piles of items to keep, recycle, donate, sell or trash. Be mindful and realistic of these items. Do you need the shirt that you may wear but haven't worn in so many years? Is the shirt in good condition to sell or could it be donated? Would the shirt make a better dust cloth? Take your time, think about it.
• Don't stress about finishing the room chosen in a limited amount of time. Take breaks. Work 15-20 minutes, take a 30-40 minute break. 
• Acknowledge the newly cleaned space and take credit for the job well done. Appreciate and breath.

    Taking the time to recognize a cluttered home and knowing that your day to day stress are related is one of the first steps to freedom and relaxation. Once you start, you won't want to stop. So feel good again and help make your own difference!