10 ways to declutter and take back your space for National Get Organized Month

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Do you ever find yourself spending too much time searching for things among all of the stuff inside your home? If the answer is yes, then here are some tips on cleaning up and taking back your home!

And what a more perfect time than National Get Organized Month.

Professional Organizer Katherine Lawrence of SpaceMatters has a list of 10 ways to get your life on track.

1. The saying “A place for everything and everything in its place” is the organized person’s mantra. When things do not have a place they pile up on surfaces and in corners and become clutter. You probably already have a designated place for forks & spoons, your car keys, or bath towels. Expand that logic to all items in your home, one category at a time.
2. Keep a basket, box, or bag near the exit of a cluttered room, to keep items that belong in other places. When you exit the room, grab items out of the basket and return them to their “home.”
3. When you buy new clothes, such as a pair of shoes or a winter coat, donate the old ones. This way you will never need more space than you have right now, and once your closet is organized, it will never burst at the seams again.
4. Adopt a charity and find out how to make contributions of furniture, clothes, toys, or household items. Always keep empty bags and boxes labeled “Donate” available. Make a weekly run to your charity’s drop-off center.
5. Research specific charities in your area. Some groups collect old eyeglasses for children in underdeveloped countries, or barely worn interview suits for women on public assistance.
6. Get use to letting go of stuff. One way is to think of how someone could use things you’ve stored in your closets, attic, or basement for years. Remember this: material items are valuable only when they are used.
7. Do you have stacks of books you may read or that you are keeping in case you want to read them again? Donate these books to your local library. When you have time to read them you can check them out from that same library. In the meantime, others can read them. Explore your libraries digital options for checking out books. This approach is a double win because it is free and e-books can’t clutter your house!
8. Keeping broken items around which you may fix (some day) only burdens you with other “to do” items. Make a pledge to fix items this month, recycle/give the item away, or pay to have it repaired.
9. Reduce your current collection and stop purchasing new CDs, DVDs, and other physical media. Most songs and movies are available on streaming services. They are not always free, but the space they save in your home is invaluable.
10. Free yourself from the guilt of keeping things you don’t like. You can start slow by donating a gift you don’t want and work up to family heirlooms that are just not your style. Can you even imagine a life free from “stuff-guilt” and a home filled with only things you love?

For more tips on organizing, check out Lawrence’s blog.

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