If you want to declutter your home but are feeling intimidated I have relieving news for you: it doesn’t have to be difficult. With the right approach and sense of purpose, your experience could even be… dare I say it?… enjoyable.

Decluttering can be filled with feelings of joy, freedom, rejuvenation, and inspiration to keep moving toward your forever home. 

Today I’m sharing my best strategies and tips for a purpose-fueled, fearless approach. If you’re following along with our Plan Your Design Year series, this is the item on our agenda for February. 

So keep reading, get inspired, and then go action these tips for yourself with our free download: Headspace Tips for Decluttering with Conviction.

5 Steps to Declutter Efficiently & Pain-Free

Step 1: Pick a room with daily impact

Start by choosing a room that will make the most difference to your peace of mind or improve your daily productivity. This helps you define your goal, which you can keep at the forefront of your mind when decluttering. 

Step 2: Define the purposes of the room

Before you start to declutter, define the purposes of this room. For empty nesters, this is your  opportunity to create rooms you’ve always wanted but never had the space for. Think yoga room, sewing room, writing office, library. 

What is your new dream?  Picture it in your mind and commit to it. This will very much help your conviction in deciding what stays, what moves to another room, and what exits the building. 

Step 3: Mentally prepare yourself for a touch of chaos

Yes, this is a step! Embrace the fact that the room is going to look messy before it becomes marvellous. Remember your goal for decluttering and how good you will feel when it is all organised. It’s also worth setting aside time to be free of any interruptions, so your confidence and clarity don’t waver. 

Extra tip: You will probably clean as you go, but if you are lucky to have a cleaner, cleaning day can be a good day to tackle this project.  

Step 4: Have boxes or dedicated spaces for decisions

When you declutter, you’ll usually find your items associated with 4-5 distinct categories: the keepers, the items to donate, the items to sell, the to-do pile (more on that in a moment), and potentially a “sentimental” box.

I suggest having boxes or bins on-hand (or dedicated corners of the room) for the latter four categories. This will allow you to introduce some order to the chaos and quickly divvy up your possessions accordingly.

Step 5: Declutter with conviction

This is the hard bit, but you can do it. Our download, Headspace Tips for Decluttering with Conviction will help!

Okay, you are equipped with all my best strategies and tips for decluttering fearlessly and effectively. Now it’s your turn.

In March, we’ll be moving on to the next stop in our Plan Your Design Year series: the scope and strategy of your project. So declutter now, and you’ll be ready to continue your journey to your forever home!

Until next week,
Nadine