7 Easy Steps for Doing a Total Home Declutter

7 Easy Steps for Doing a Total Home Declutter

Has it been years since you decluttered your home? Household clutter might seem harmless at first, until things start piling up and you feel like there is no more space in your home to move around.

However, decluttering your house isn’t the same thing as tidying up from time to time. Decluttering takes a lot more time than cleaning up. Also, even though you say you’re going to do it, when it comes down to decluttering your whole house, it becomes an overwhelming task. By following these 7 easy steps, though, you can achieve doing a total home declutter in a reasonable amount of time.

1. Evaluate Each Room

Don’t know where to begin your home decluttering project? First, go to the room that bothers you most and write it down at the top of your list. Then, move to the second room and work your way to every room where you evaluate which area needs the most and the least amount of time to work on. By prioritizing the primary room that needs the most decluttering, this will make the overall job more manageable.

2. Give an Estimate for Each Room

Once you have a list of every room that needs to be decluttered, estimate how much time you’ll need to go through each one. For instance, for family rooms and garages, give yourself at least two days. You need to be realistic, especially if there are piles of stuff to go through.

So, if you don’t get through everything in two days, give yourself a break, and work on it for another day. By dividing large rooms into a few days or more, you don’t feel compelled to get through everything in a hurry. For smaller rooms such as bathrooms, estimate at least one day to declutter them.

3. Gather Storage Containers

Before you start decluttering, you need some storage materials to get rid of stuff. To keep things organized, gather the following materials for each room:

• One container for things you’re keeping
• One container for things you’re throwing away
• One container for things you can donate
• One container for items you want to put in storage
• One container for items you’re unsure of
• Garbage bags for small items you want to throw away

4. Create a Sorting System

If you want to be super-organized, place sticker labels on each container and label them with “keep,” “storage,” “donate,” “throw away,” and “unsure.” By labelling each container, it’ll be easy to sort things out as you go through each item.

5. When in Doubt, Just Toss It

As you start decluttering each room, you’re going to come across items that have sentimental value. Whether it is an old book collection you loved reading as a teenager or a stuffed animal you won at an amusement park, it’s a normal feeling to have a strong emotional attachment to these things and you might have doubts about getting rid of them.

Expert organizers suggest that you shouldn’t spend too much time deliberating whether or not you should keep something. You need to go with your gut feeling, and if you haven’t used it in years, then you just need to toss it. If you simply can’t let it go and it can fit in storage, though, then place it in the storage container and evaluate it later. The goal is to get rid of unwanted things that are taking up space, so you need to keep moving from item to item.

When sorting through your personal items, furniture, and other trinkets, consider the following:

• Can I live without these items?
• Will the memory live on, even without these items?
• Can this item be useful for someone else?
• If I let this go, can my life go on?

By answering these questions as you work away at decluttering your home, you’ll be able to make reasonable decisions when you come across an item that you’re not sure about tossing out.

6. Donate Items and Discard Others With Junk Removal Bins

Once you have completed decluttering your home, go through your containers labelled “donate” and sort through everything to select items that you can donate to second-hand stores like Goodwill or a registered charity in Canada.

The advantage of donating a large portion of your items to charity is that it’s tax deductible. Just request for a donation receipt from the charity of your choice and file it at the following tax season. To locate charities in your area, check out this list of Canada’s top 100 charities in 2020 by clicking here.

Items in your containers labelled “throw away” can be easily disposed of in junk removal bins. Junk removal bins are convenient for large items such as furniture, electronics, and things that are made with hazardous materials. Be sure to check with your city’s garbage collection regulations to see if they accept large items, as you might not be able to dispose of them at your curbside.

7. Reorganize Your Space

Once you have open space in your home, it’s time to redecorate. This is the fun part, as you can now sort through the items in your containers labelled “keep”, and place them in new places or in their original spot.

Moving along to the containers labelled “storage” is where you’ll have to reorganize the space you have designated for storage. This might be drawers, closets, sheds, the basement, or attic. Be strategic about where you store them. If you foresee in the future that you might need to use some of these items, then place them in a space that is convenient for you to access. It’ll save you the hassle of having to dig through piles of storage containers in the basement or garage.

Contact Us Today!

If you would like more information on our junk removal bins, one of our representatives at Gorilla Bins is here to answer any questions you have. If you agree to rent our junk removal bins, our representative will give you a consultation and review all the fees when you receive your estimate. To start your home decluttering project, call our office today at 905-230-1300 or contact us here.