things I’ve realized while decluttering and then living in a decluttered space…
- You will likely need to go back in 3 months to re-declutter and reorganize the space. It’s a process and if we’re being honest, you will likely be a bit too easy on yourself. That’s fine! Just know that you’ll need to do a smaller version of what we just did.
- You should go back to declutter as much as you frequent the space. If you go into the room 2x a day (ie bedroom or closet), you should declutter/organize once every month or two. If you frequent the space once a month (basement), you should declutter/organize once a quarter. A little bits equal big results. For areas like the garage, I think decluttering twice a year is sufficient enough. Spring and fall, typically work best (not too hot or cold).
- Re-organizing is going to take longer than you think. For my stuff, the goal of decluttering and organizing is to make sure that everything has a space. You may need to live in the decluttered area for a week or so to see what you’ll need before setting up a space “permanently” or buying organizational items.
- When it comes to holiday items, give yourself a number of bins per holiday/season. This can vary by holiday. This forces me to use everything I have, get creative, and remove (donate or resell) items before going out and buying more. For example, for Christmas we have 6 bins/boxes. 2 bins for ornaments/tree accessories, 2 bins for decor, and 1 medium bin for Christmas cards. We also have our tree.
