Simple Foundations: Decluttering Tools!
Have these ready to go for any decluttering sessions, and change the game from struggle to success
Ok, this post should’ve been one of the first I dropped here on this Substack, The Simplified Year.
I posted it and pinned it way back when this was starting out as a yearly challenge on Facebook in a private group, and referred to it often. But I only realized I had never dropped it here when I was revamping the ‘last week of June’ rhythm post which was all about getting back to basics.
So, since there’s no time like now to get the thing done (one of the key principles for simplifying your life!), this will be the free post this month for anyone who has a desire to simplify, declutter, and find a new, less stressful, rhythm in their life.
PLEASE NOTE: All instructions are given with NO judgment as to levels of mess, filth, disaster, or lack thereof! We are all at different points in our journey, with natural strengths and weaknesses.
One person may be in maintenance mode, and still here, using this space to stay accountable to their habits and practices.
Another may be trying to break free from generations of hoarding and so buried they don’t know where to start (hint, if that’s you: start with what you can see, not the insides of the closets and drawers. Garbage first, always. Just do one thing, and then the next if you have the capacity. Don’t judge your capacity, just work with it.)
Someone else may be feeling shame that they slid backwards lately, but you won’t find any shaming or blaming talk here. Only inspiration, motivation, and instructions so that you don’t have to make a single decision if you don’t want to, other than to act on what you read.
The instructions may sound simple to read, but the actions associated may require a herculean effort for you some days, and that’s okay. If you follow this order, and these steps, you will always improve your space when you do a decluttering session, instead of making it look like a bomb went off.
That said, here is your most important, actual set of instructions:
Go gather your tools:
A black (or any non-transparent colour) garbage bag (so family can’t see the junk you discard that they suddenly have a massive need for that they haven’t looked at in a decade),
A box or bin that you are willing to get rid of. Calling this your ‘donate-able donate bin’, as in, once something goes into it, it never comes out again in your home!
If you are a recycler (which I hope you are, but I don’t judge if it’s not available or within your capacity at this time), have separate bags/bins for that stuff.
One small container of some sort for little odds and ends that you know ‘go to something’.
A wet rag/dry rag and spray cleaner combo.
Decluttering RULES (Take what serves, leave what doesn’t… but this order works best, I promise!)
There is an order in which decluttering is most effective. I suggest you follow it for any area you’re working in, if you want to make the most impact, in the least amount of time, with very little mess left behind - if any.
Wherever you stop, try to do step eight and/or nine before you walk away, just the tidying away of what you were working on.
GARBAGE.
Discard any scraps, broken things you tucked away to fix ‘someday’ (it’s obviously not happening, so let it go & make room for the new!), ripped (not deliberately; if it’s in style, even if you hate it, let your teen have it), stained, or otherwise destroyed items, as well as literal trash that somehow wormed its way in there (think candy wrappers, tissues, etc.).
This doesn’t have to be a deep dive yet where you dig in, under, and around to make sure you don’t miss anything. It’s grab and go, moving quickly. Top layer only unless the next layer is trash too. Don’t waste time deliberating, trust your instincts. Recycling happens here, too, when possible.
If this is all you get done, your house has less garbage lying around, and that’s a win. Next time you start, still do this step again, but it will take you less time.
LAUNDRY.
Anything dirty, crumpled at the bottom of the closet, full of dog/cat hair or dust… you name it, gather it into the dirty laundry hamper/laundry room/etc. Feel free to start a load if there’s enough & you have a machine. Laundry is one of the beautiful, automated things that allows us to actually multitask.
If this is all you get done, your house has less garbage lying around, and you’ve done some laundry, and that’s a win. Next time you start, still do the first two steps again, but it will take you less time.
DISHES.
Like I said, no judgment. Especially if you have teens. Or a man-child (no offense gents). Or bad habits. Just gather everything to the sink/dishwasher. Feel free to do a load if there’s enough. If you have a dishwasher, all the better for a second multitasking automation.
If this is all you get done, your house has less garbage lying around, you’ve done some laundry and some dishes, and that’s a win. Next time you start, still do the first three steps again, but it will take you less time. (Do you see the pattern?)
NO ‘Put away later’ bags or boxes or piles (unless you have a medical reason why not). If there’s a lot of stuff that goes other places, grab an armful and go put them away now. Repeat as many times as necessary.
If this is how far you get, you’ve done a lot. Next time you start, still do the first four steps again, but it will take you less time.
Repeat previous steps if needed until all that remains is what actually belongs there.
DECLUTTER (in my world, that means get rid of stuff, not just organize it!).
Donate, trash, recycle, repurpose, sell… whatever this means to you, but if at all possible these things should leave your life, never to be dealt with again.
If this is how far you get, you’ve done what you set out to do! Next time you start, still do the first six steps again, but it will take you less time.
CLEAN.
I don’t recommend you combining full cleaning sessions with full decluttering sessions, but a quick wipe down before organizing what’s left takes an extra minute, tops, and makes a huge impact after all the dust that gets stirred up in the decluttering process. A sweep of the floor if needed/possible is great as well.
If this is how far you get, you’ve gone above and beyond. Next time you start, still do the first six steps again, but it will take you less time.
Take all ‘to-donate’ items and put them in your vehicle or other designated spot where they won’t be re-claimed by your family (or yourself later in a moment of weakness).
Out of sight, but not in a place that is ‘out of mind’, or you’ll forget to deal with it.
Toss the trash and recycling.
Take them all the way out to the bins. If you want to fill the bag first, empty bins around the house or declutter another area right away, but don’t keep the bags in the house. You want to be able to walk away at the end of a decluttering session and be done.
If this is how far you get, you’re done! Every time you do this list, it leaves you less for next time.
Following these guidelines means that you can stop at ANY point, without leaving a mess behind.
Your kid throws up all over the carpet? Three days later you won’t find yourself wondering what happened to that pile of stuff you set aside to deal with later and forgot about (which you now have to gather again because everyone else has moved things around).
Only have 5 minutes? Great, you got rid of some garbage (what’s the point in decluttering actual stuff if there’s garbage still lying around?).
Have 3 hours? Amazing, you will be BLOWN away at the difference, and there will be no clean up to do at the end!
If there are multiples of a 'type' of area (i.e. bedrooms), you can either do all of one, then move to the next, or do each step for each room and then start back at the beginning (i.e. collect garbage from all, then laundry from all, and so on).
You can do this. Tell us where you’re at if you want, we love to connect!
In the decade or so of time I’ve spent on decluttering, minimalism, and simplifying my life, I have explored and followed so many experts. I’ve learned something from them all, and as I mentioned above, I took what served me, and left the rest behind.
Most, I couldn’t tell you where I discovered it originally, and often, I have seen it in more than one place.
But this list of tools and order of decluttering, I learned from Dana K. White of ‘A Slob Comes Clean’.
I have put it in my own words, added the cleaning step, used it with clients for years, and follow it religiously for myself.
Why?
Because I have ADHD, and I get ideas.
Ideas about the ‘projects’ that need to get done that are living somewhere around the bottom of the ‘unimportant to-do’s’ list, and how they must be done now.
Ideas which, in the past, would have me emptying out a space into a giant pile before starting to declutter, and then being too overwhelmed by the sight of it all in one place to even start, let alone finish the project.
Her method was created for brains like mine, hers, and likely yours too if you resonate with my content. When I follow it, no matter whether I have 5 minutes or 5 days, my space has been improved in the end.
I’m never left with a bunch of stuff to be dealt with beyond the energetic capacity I have in that moment, and I’m never left with a mess my kids can and will make worse before I get back to it.
It works. After a while, I got myself a caddy and kept/carried my decluttering tools in it. A stockpile of garbage, recycling, and donate-able donate bags, a couple of rags and an all-purpose spray for wiping spots down before putting things back. This is great for when you have a sudden five minute window.
That’s it.
It’s so simple…
Intimidating as hell when you’re first starting out, but easy and manageable when you build the habit and get farther along in your journey. One of those straightforward things that will change your life with its simplicity and therefore repeatability.
“May the [decluttering] odds be evaaa in your fayva.” (IYKYK)
Go do a decluttering session while the ideas are fresh in your mind! Save this post to come back to at any time, and it will always be free so you’re welcome to share it too!
If you’re new here, and you’re ready to simplify your life and find a new rhythm to thrive inside of, check out The Simplified Year Rhythm, a 12-Month archive of posts to align you with the yearly rhythm and practice of decluttering & simplifying your life. Search based on the month of the year, or by the topic/area of your life you want to declutter - you don't have to follow the monthly timeline!
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