4 Easy Tips on How to Declutter Your Home Quickly

1. Clearing and sorting

The initial sorting stage is the stage where most people get stuck and want to give up. The reason this stage is so important is because this is where you are getting rid of most of the clutter which is taking up all of your space.

Remember, to declutter quickly, you need to focus on the initial stage of sorting because this is the stage in which you are purging most of your excess stuff. Do not worry about creating a perfectly organized system yet.

The goal here is to get through this very important sorting stage where most of the decluttering happens. This way you can get rid of the clutter as quickly as possible.

It can help tremendously to sort your items into additional categories. Sorting by category provides a clearer picture of what you have.

In certain areas of your home, the initial sorting stage can be more easily accomplished with just a little more categorizing. This helps to break down decluttering larger spaces into more manageable chunks.

Let's use the pantry as an example. The first step is to choose a large area where you can place everything you’ve cleared from the pantry.

2. Create categories

After clearing out the pantry you are going to sort your items by packaging type and group those items together. You will group boxed goods with boxed goods, canned goods with canned goods, jars with jars, bags with bags, etc.

Then you are quickly going to sort each package category into what you want to keep, what belongs elsewhere in your house, what you can toss, and what items you can donate.

Finally, you are going to put everything back by their category of packaging. You're not going to worry about micro-organizing at this point. We're just focusing on decluttering quickly. We don't want to get caught up trying to make things perfect.

Quickly doing that extra step of sorting by packaging type helps to break things down into more manageable chunks so you can clear things out a little more quickly. You never want to go straight to organizing stuff that you don't need.

There's no reason to waste time and money on organizing products to store things that you're not even going to use.

Just like the pantry, it also helps to declutter your freezer to sort by packaging type. You can also sort by prepared meals, fruit, veggies, poultry, and meat.

Discard any expired items. Then put everything back in the same categories of packaging type. For now, we won’t be worrying about adding containers or micro-organizing.

For your refrigerator, you can sort your items into categories like dairy, fruit, veggies, drinks, and condiments. Again, discard the expired items and put everything back in these same categories.

Remember, all those expired items are money in the trash. Keep this in mind when stocking your refrigerator in the future.

3. The dust test

Another way to quickly declutter is to check if your items are dusty. You can use the dust method for things like CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes. If they’re dusty, you’re not using them.

You may hesitate to get rid of things when you think about the price you paid for these items. By now the price is paid in real estate as these items are taking up valuable space in your home and collecting dust.

You can use the dust test on the rest of your entertainment-type items too. It works for toys, board games, sports equipment, and video games.

Purge the dusty items. I know it can be so sad to get rid of the toys that your kids have outgrown. Just remember, there are others out there who can still make use of these things.

4. Be ruthless

Another way to declutter quickly is to be ruthless with your linens. For example, you really only need two towels per person. You only need one towel at a time. With two towels you’ll always have one to use while the other is being washed.

You can use this same concept for your bedding. You only need one or two sets per bed. You can either wash and replace the same day, or you have a spare available to switch out while you get to washing and drying the other set.

Get rid of the ones you know you aren't using. Check with your local homeless and animal shelters. This can be a good place to donate towels and linens. They will likely welcome your donations.

How to declutter home quickly

This declutter challenge is getting rid of the excess clutter so you can make space for what you are keeping. After decluttering you can set up organized systems that work for you and your household.

With the right system in place, you can finally stop accumulating clutter and start keeping your spaces organized.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you’re struggling with decluttering or organizing.