Decluttering isn’t exactly the kind of task you’d look forward to doing especially when you can barely keep up with your own daily schedule because of the amount of regular work and house chores that need to be done. When you have meetings, deadlines, and an egg in the frying pan you’re seriously trying not to burn just so you can finally have that overdue breakfast at 12 in the afternoon, tidying up the house is obviously going to be the last thing you’d consider doing—it can wait.
But while you’re thinking that, the jumble of things that will eventually need to be decluttered are merrily piling up as well.
It may sound exhausting to try to keep your place from turning into a cave of mess while you carry out your daily duties, but it can actually be quite an easy task to do if you decide to properly take on the challenge.
Whether you’re an extremely busy person or someone who’s simply not the organized type (hey, we don’t judge—to each his own, after all), you might want to try these simple hacks in order to effectively start your decluttering process:
1. Determine what time of the day you’re most effective for the task.
The reason for this is you want to make sure that your engines are warmed up for the cleaning. It doesn’t matter if you do it at day, at noon, or at night. What’s important is you’re up for the task and you know that you will achieve significant progress at the time that works best for you.
2. Determine which part of your place is the easiest to declutter first.
Whether you’re trying to declutter a big house, a condominium unit, or a small apartment room, you’d want to identify which part of it is the easiest to organize first. That way, it will be effortless for you to create a list of which part or room you’re going to declutter on what day—because we all know it’s impossible to finish everything in one go.
3. Set realistic goals for the day.
Even if you’re decluttering a small part of your place, you can still narrow down your to-declutter list by dividing the tasks into smaller portions. Then, work on what you think you’ll be able to finish within the day. Slowly seeing those clutters turn into organized boxes might just exactly be the motivation you will need for the next round.
4. Keep away every thing that can distract you from doing the task.
This is probably the hardest thing to do because we all know that the greatest distraction comes in the form of our smartphones and other personal devices—it’s almost instinctive for us to reach out for them when we see them. So to make sure they don’t get in the way, these precious little buggers must be tucked away for a while. If there are other things that can become some sort of distraction for you, it’d probably be best if you hide them for the meantime as well so you can actually get started.
5. Play some music.
If you’re the type that easily gets bored, putting on your favorite playlist might help you enjoy doing the task at hand. Play your favorite songs, sing along to the background music, groove to the music while cleaning if you feel like it, and before you know it, you’re done with your share of decluttering for the day.
6. Reward yourself.
Whatever your guilty pleasures are, use them to reward yourself whenever you’re able to check something off your to-declutter list. If you normally watch 1 or 2 episodes of the drama you’re currently into before you go to bed, reward yourself with a 3rd episode for the new boxes you’ve managed to organize that day.
Or, if you’re not getting any decluttering done at all, hold off on watching even your usual dose of 2 episodes a day until you actually manage to finish a task.
Slowly but surely
Your decluttering process doesn’t need to start in a grand way. In fact it needs to be as simple and as doable as possible, especially when you’re just trying to squeeze it into your already-hectic schedule. Don’t try to organize everything in one go, remember to take slow but sure steps.
Good luck!