Decluttering can be such a buzz kill especially when you feel like you haven’t made any progress. It’s a proven fact that clutter can be the source of all kinds of mental and emotional stress. If I’m honest with you, I’ve felt like that numerous times. I’ve been on a decluttering mission for a while now but I’m just getting around to implementing my plans.
Yes, it’s been hard to start, and even follow through, but I want to be a diligent and efficient keeper of my home as Titus 2:5 says. I’ve decided that I am going to declutter every nook and cranny in my home and sift through every single room with a fine-tooth comb. I’m going to get things out of my house that has just been sitting around collecting dust and caused me major overwhelm just by looking at them.
I’m challenging myself to realize that I need to see decluttering your home and homeschool plus being organized as an ongoing task, not just something that gets done once, and then I never need to think about it again. It needs to be part of my lifestyle.
Where To Start
Simple, start small. Take it one room at a time, one section at a time, one box at a time. I’m finding that getting rid of clutter is a complex process because you don’t realize how much useless stuff you’ve accumulated over time until you start. So, beginning small and working towards the larger project is a good approach.
Ready to say goodbye to your cluttered house? Me too!
To help you with your (and my) decluttering mission, here are 11 things you can declutter today!
Homeschool Curriculum/Supplies
- Use caddies: We keep our crayons, markers, coloring pencils, scissors, glue sticks, etc organized in a caddy.
- Use a shelf cubby with storage boxes: Our kids have their own boxes to keep their schoolwork in. This keeps their stuff from getting mixed up.
- Group like items together: this makes items easier to find.
- Use a rolling caddy: I have not done this yet, but this is something I’m considering using and having one for each child
Books
Crafts
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Cell Phone
Have you ever decluttered your phone before? Your phone is most likely full of things you don’t use or need anymore. Here are a few easy things you can declutter on your phone:
If you’re like me, you have pictures and screenshots of things from years ago still in your photo gallery. What about the 100+ pictures that your kids have taken of random blurry things?
Do you see that up there? That’s my son’s feet. He decided to go on a picture rampage and take 120 photos in minutes. Yeah…all of that has been deleted!
I like to use the Amazon Photos app on my phone so that every picture that I take is automatically uploaded to the Amazon cloud which allows me to delete them on my phone to free up space.
When was the last time that you went through your email inbox and deleted emails after reading them? If you’re like me, you most likely have 500+ emails in your inbox with at least 1/3 of them unread. Go through your emails and delete the ones that you do not need.
I’m working hard on this one y’all. Steven is so good at this, his email inbox is so tidy. I’m always so impressed! I should take notes from him.
Social Media
Social media can be so overwhelming and is often not the healthiest way to spend your time. Cut back on the amount of social media apps on your phone. If you spend too much time on social media, start limiting the amount of time you spend there on a daily basis.
I spend a lot of time on Facebook, not necessarily to be social but to network and promote business. I am, however, in a lot of groups so I took some time over about a week and left a ton of groups that didn’t fit my needs anymore.
Toys
Ahh…toys, toys, toys. They are often the bain of my existence. We try to keep them organized and we teach the children how to clean them up and put them where they belong. But none of that ever lasts. Ever! So, that tells me we have too much and it’s time to burn them…I mean donate or sell them!
Getting the kids involved in the decluttering spree teaches them a great life skill!
Bills, Coupons, and Papers
It’s natural to keep bills, receipts, and other papers around. But, do you need to keep all those from years ago? Try going through your most important papers and shred them.
What about coupons? I used to have a coupon box and eventually got rid of it because we hardly ever used them so it was pointless to keep it around. If you’re not going to use them right away, toss them.
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Sheets and Towels
How often do you go through your sheets and towels? Usually, when I buy new ones, I don’t trash or donate the old ones right away. But you know what happens? They just start piling up until everything is messy. If you have a huge stack of towels, consider getting rid of a majority of them and keep a few ones with holes or a lot of wear and tear as rags.
Electronics
Chances are you have probably held on to old cameras, old phones, iPads, chargers, HDMI cords, etc thinking you’d keep them because you might use them again. If you haven’t used them in over a year, it’s time to toss it.
Other Items
Of course, there are things like clothing, shoes, kitchenware, etc. Take a day on each of those items and sort through what you’re going to keep or donate.
I’ve Decluttered. Now What?
Decluttering your house is an opportunity to help others. I like to donate to my church, Goodwill, or Salvation Army. On big-ticket items in mint condition, I will either consign them or sell them at a cheap price on Facebook Marketplace.
Overwhelmed about decluttering your home and homeschool space? Here’s a freebie to help! Download my free Spring Cleaning Checklist and Schedule! Even if it’s not Spring, you can declutter any time of the year! Remember what I said about making it a lifestyle habit?
Whew…that’s a lot to chew! Decluttering your home and homeschool feels like it can be a daunting task before you get started. But once you do, you’ll slowly start to see your hard work pay off. Decluttering not only keeps our house clean but often takes a big mental load off your shoulders. I know it has for me!
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I definitely have been decluttering the last couple of years. I still have a long way to go, but it feels goods.
I always feel mentally clear when things have homes and aren’t messy!
I got though one homeschool shelf last night- progress progress!
Loved this article! I carted off several van loads of stuff and have lots away this summer! I still have so much work to do but another thing that greatly helped me was not going to yard sales and thrift stores. 😊
A mom mentor taught me the “1/4 Rule” for toys or books: after purging all broken/incomplete toys/books, split the toy/book collection in 1/2. Keep one half and donate the other. Take the “keep” 1/2, split THAT into 1/2. Keep one portion (ie, a 1/4 of the original post-purge amount) out and put the other portion into a “library” for rotation to help alleviate boredom (and overwhelm – which kids can experience, too, from overabundance of stimuli).
Laura, this is absolutely a brilliant idea! Kudos to your mom mentor!
Dawn, I can relate to steering clear of thrift stores and yard sales! I’m starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel!
Chelsea, YES! Progress!
Same here, Charlotte!