10 Things To Declutter Right Now! - watch the video

1. Kitchen Cupboards & Drawers – Go through every drawer and cupboard taking out anything you have not used in the last 3 months. When it comes to plates, bowls, cups & cutlery reduce them to only enough for the people that are living in the house and store the rest away so there is no needless using. People will soon start to be more conscience of whether or not they need to get a new cup or they can simply just wash the one they have been using! This is a super thing to do as it has reduced my dishes immensely! When it comes to appliances do you really need them all? Donate or sell anything you have not used in the last 2 months …. Yes I mean the cupcake maker hiding at the back of shelf lol.

2. Wardrobes & Clothing Drawers – My new motto is if a seasons worth of clothing does not fit in my suitcase for a holiday then I need to cull it. Every time we go away I come back thinking about how I just lived out of a suitcase fine, I didn’t need all the extra clothing! So go through your & the kids wardrobes and get rid of anything that is too big or small. Get rid of anything that you have not worn in the last 6 months. Keep only the clothes that will work with other pieces of clothing to maximize your items that you do keep.

3. Laundry – Do all of your laundry and get it out of the way, and then make sure you go through it all as part of your Wardrobes & Clothing Drawers decluttering. With less clothing in the house there is less laundry to do as people are a lot more conscience of what they are wearing and can re wear before throwing it into the wash. If you can fit an appropriate hamper in each bedroom or in a selected space for all and have everyone put their clothes in there rather than a massive pile up in your bathroom or laundry. This will help avoid mess. It will also help with being more functional with your laundry process, as you can do washing by basket and save time sorting after dried.

4. Pantry, Fridge & Freezer – Go through and throw out any expired food, and empty packages. Donate anything you think you will not use before it does expire or if you just simply think you will not use. Arrange foods into sections e.g. snacks, meals, condiments etc. Make a note of what you should use over the next week for meals and make sure you do. Add anything you notice you are out of to your grocery list/grocery calculator. 

See my Pantry Organization That Works

5. DVD’s & CD’s – When was the last time you watched or listened to these? If you haven’t because your using the internet now to do so then be ruthless and take them to the donation bin! You could try and sell but they will still be sitting around cluttering up space because honestly they are too hard to sell these days. If you do watch and listen still pop all the discs into CD folders and pack the covers away. Reducing down to only a couple of folders will save so much space.

 

Image I Heart Organizing

6. Dining Table – Quick, look at your dining table. What is on there that doesn’t belong? If you have a family I’m guessing a whole lot! Pack everything away to where it goes (do not just put it off to the side where it doesn’t go) Don’t forget the bags and clothes hanging off the chairs, they need to go too! In future looking at this area mid morning and early evening will help avoid this happening again.

7. Toys – Implementing a rotation system will help keep things neater and less cluttered. The first to do is clean up the toys around the house; I’m talking in any room other than the bedroom/playroom they belong. Get an empty laundry basket and start filling it with the toys that need putting away. If you have more than one child have different baskets for each and when you have picked up the toys, either put the basket at their doors for them to put away themselves or if they are too little it will give you a start when you get to their rooms. Once cleaned up then go through all the toys. Anything that hasn’t been played with recently put into a sell/donate pile. Be ruthless and honest with yourself on what toys are actually being played with. If you still have an abundance of toys pack half into storage containers and rotate them every couple of weeks with the toys you have out. This way when you bring toys out, your children will feel like they have something new to play with. Toys will get the use they deserve and you will be able to control mess a lot better.

8. Linen Cupboard – Clean out old ratty towels & bedding. Anything that’s tattered faded or has that musty smell because it hasn’t been used in the last year! When you think about it you only really needed 2 sets of bedding for each bed. One to be on the bed when the other is in the wash. Towels, how many do you really need? Perhaps just enough for 2 per person per week and some spares for guests that may pop by. Donate the rest to someone that needs them e.g. young people that have just left home. Organize your cupboard shelves using the roll up method for towels and pillowcase packaging for bedding. Both done this way will not only neaten the cupboard but make it so much easier to find and take things out when needed.

  

9. Bathroom Vanity – This can end up a real mess, regardless if you have one bathroom in the home or an en suite as well. If you only have one bathroom then you’re sharing with kids and things are everywhere. There’s also not a lot of space for a family in one bathroom. Then again if you have an en suite then you can start to forget about it as it’s hidden from visitors in most cases. First thing to look at is what’s on top. I recommend only having your hand soap and if needed your tooth brushes if in a holder. The less things on top of your sink the easier it is to give it a wipe down more often. Then comes the drawers/cupboards. Go through and discard all empty bottles, old items you won’t use & unnecessary kids toys stored. Next comes the makeup & beauty section. Do you really need it all? If there are things you must keep then keep the things you do not use daily separate in another space. The things you use daily keep in a toiletry bag so you can quickly use and easily put away hidden afterwards.

10. Paperwork, Bills & Kids Artwork – The fridge is usually a big place for these items. If the outside of your fridge is looking more like pin board, then do a complete clean off. Bills, letters and other notices go through and throw out anything no longer relevant. Your kid’s artwork is hard to part with, but remember there will always be more coming home! So go through and keep the 3 most recent and find somewhere to hang them. The rest store away in scrap books for each school year or take photos and discard. If you must have them on the fridge try and move them around to a side that will be seen not on the front if possible. Keep the front of your fridge completely clean where possible to help keep that decluttered feeling. If you keep your paperwork & bills on a desk, side table etc go through and create a filing system. Good places to do that are within an easy accessible folder to hide everything or stick pockets on the inside of a cupboard door that you will see often when opening and file your notices within there.