Daily Habits Are The Key To Decluttering -

And why it really works

You know that feeling when you come home to a house that was just cleaned and everything is in it's place? You can have this feeling everyday.

It's easier than you think and completely attainable. Creating daily habits of decluttering for only 10-15 minutes will (not to be dramatic) change your life-and your home. The reward is well worth the effort.

I've learned a few methods that work over the years and I'm happy to share them with you.

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1. Make A Plan

2. Why We Love This Habit

3. Why It Works

4. Keep Emotions Out Of It

5. Daily Decluttering List

6. Who Closed Last Night

Make A Plan

It always helps to have a strategy when starting a new challenge.

For some people, they know EXACTLY where their clutter accumulates. If you don't know where to start, I suggest taking photos of your home to identify areas of clutter. These are typically countertops, kitchen sink, and laundry that ends up everywhere. Have you ever questioned how so much of life ends up on the surfaces or floor of your home? Every item needs a designated home.

You have a few options on how you go about decluttering. Some people find decluttering by room easier. Such as decluttering the kitchen before moving onto the bathroom. Others swear by decluttering by category. Such as putting away all the shoes throughout the house, or toys, etc. Or you may need to use your 15 daily on a specific area and then after your clutter hotspots are in order, then transition to using that time to do the whole house to maintain your accomplishments. Decide which works best for you.

Always set a timer and what you don't finish this time, start there the next day.

The last bit of planning, is to designate areas for keep, relocate, and a box or bin for donations. I just keep a donate bin in my closet and put clothing in it as needed. When it's full, I take to drop off. Then, choose a place to keep mail and packages that requires attention. This can be as simple as a manila envelope in a drawer, a box, or file.

Daily Habits Are The Key To Decluttering

Why We Love This Habit

We love this 10-15 minute hack because consistency pays off.

Less to clean. With spending a few minutes a day, you have less cleaning needed on the weekend or before guests arrive.
Less to wash. You're no longer coming home to a sink full of dirty dishes. Or if you're popping one load of laundry in daily, there is less laundry to wash on the weekend to catch up.
Less stress. Having clean surfaces and no clutter is SUCH a good feeling. And reduces the stress of chores that are undone and gives you more free time on the weekend.

Why It Works

The concept of breaking decluttering up into manageable pieces works because:

it's no longer as overwhelming as tackling the whole house
it gives you immediate satisfaction of a job well done
it's motivating to be consistent daily because you see progress quickly

Keep Emotions Out Of It

Try to remain detached and unemotional when decluttering (excluding heirlooms etc. of course) or else you end up hoarding things that really serve no purpose.

We all have items that we keep for "what if's" in the future. Let 'em go.

One hack I personally do, is try to dispose/donate (at least) one item for any item I bring home, if possible. If you buy new pants, put a pair in the donate bin. It's a small trick but it really helps with long-term accumulation.

Daily Decluttering List

Once you've completed your clutter hotspots, you can transition to a daily whole house touch-up to stay on top of the clutter. These are suggestions for daily decluttering to get you started. This is what I typically do daily, so feel free to add or delete items to make it work for you and your home.

Make the bed every morning.
Clear bathroom countertop putting all cosmetics, and hair tools in their place.
Go through the mail discarding, saving important mail in bin, and sort packages. Place packages for returns in designated place.
Do the dishes after every meal.
Wipe countertops daily.
Pick up any laundry and wash a load daily.
Pick up clutter throughout your home, putting item in it's place, trash, into donation bin, or disposing of it.
Empty the trash daily.
Run a Swiffer or vacuum in main traffic areas every day or every other day.

Who Closed Last Night

This is my personal favorite. Have you ever gotten out of bed in the morning and as you walk to the kitchen you look around and ask yourself, who closed last night? Usually my husband.

But seriously, I find a 3 minute "closing" routine before bed makes ALL the difference! This is when I make sure the dishwasher is running, because nothing ruins your morning as quickly as when you can't make coffee because all the supplies are in a dirty dishwasher.

Next, I make sure the counters are clean, pick up doggie toys out of the floor, and lastly straighten the living room, folding throws, put up coasters and remotes, and arranging pillows.

The goal is to find what works for you and make it a daily habit. Whether it's 15 minutes at one time, or break it up through the day.

I'll also link my top organizing products below from this post I find helpful to get the job done.