ALL THINGS DIVINE

I don’t know about you, but the holidays are always so busy.  Every.  Single. Year.  It doesn’t matter how much I plan and organize, there’s always this mad rush at the end to get it all done.

The aftermath can be even worse and if you’re anything like me, then your house needs to be put back together from all of the chaos.  The holiday décor, presents, and extra toys.  We have stuff everywhere.

But this year, I decided a home refresh in January would be perfect! 

I actually started sharing this journey on Instagram last November and was very intentional about what should be decluttered.

I know most are skeptical when I say 10 minutes can really make a difference, which is why I purposely chose super small items that are in spaces we interact with daily.

But before I get to the list, I want to share some easy steps that make decluttering go by fast and prevent that overwhelming feeling we get when we start purging.

Set a timer

Whether it’s your phone, Alexa, or an actual clock, set it to 10 or 15 minutes and stop when it goes off.  The awesome thing about the items I decluttered in January is that it shouldn’t take longer than this time frame.

Having said that, we all have different homes and different levels of clutter, so please stick to the timeframe to avoid burnout.  It may take a few sessions to get it all done, but that’s ok!  The point is to get a rhythm going.

You can take a break and revisit later that day or save the next declutter session for the following day.

Get a Trash bag

Pretty self explanatory.  When you commit to decluttering, you need to be prepared.  Grab a trash bag and box for donations.  For this checklist, I don’t think you need much more than that. 

Take everything out

It’s so much easier to take everything out.  You will need a little bit of space to work so it’s easier to sort what you’re working on.  You need to be able to see how much space you have.  It can only hold but so much.

As you declutter, think about things that you want to keep, but should be relocated to another area of your home

Don’t just throw everything back into this space if it doesn’t fit.  It should look neat….and no duplicates!  You should have a max of 2 per item type.  So for example, my junk drawer used to have 5 scotch tape dispensers.  I pared it down to 2 and relocated the rest to my gift wrapping organizer.

Donate as soon as possible

You are more likely to second guess your decisions if you let them hang around your house.  As soon as you’re done decluttering, take the trash and donations out of your home.

Ok those are some quick tips to get you started.  Here’s is the declutter list!

Sharing additional steps below

1. Mail - grab all the mail and put it in a box or one pile. Then sort your mail and put each piece into one of these categories:

• Keep - paperwork, bills

• Recycle/Trash - newsletters, catalogs, supermarket flyers

• Shred - important documents with personal information

  
  

  
  

2. Junk drawer - take everything out and always go for trash first. Makes life easier to remove the noise. Then, remove the stuff that doesn't belong (I found a toothbrush, swiffer duster, insurance card, sink faucet parts). Arrange items into categories and look for duplicates

This shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. If it does, pause and resume the next day!

3. Books and magazines - get rid of old magazines or books that are old. You should only keep books that bring joy. Short and sweet.

4. Kitchen drawer - take everything out and get rid of any trash. This could be old utensils that are worn down.  Then group similar items together. You want to look for duplicates or any items that you no longer use

5. Visual clutter on the fridge - ok. For those with kids, this is going to hurt. Take the art work down. There are so many other ways to store the beautiful drawings. Our brains can only handle but so much visual stimulation and this is unnecessary clutter.

6. Sock drawer - remove socks with holes. Put the singles in a pile. If they can’t find their soulmate, time to toss. Get rid of really old pairs or the ones you never wear. Get a drawer organizer that has a slot for each pair (shared some options in my stories)

7. Toys - My biggest pain point. They take up so much space and end up everywhere. Get rid of broken toys. No if’s, ands, or buts.

8. Expired medication - very little decision making involved. You can hold on to pill form medication a little past the expiration date, but liquid form must be thrown out immediately.

9. Coat closet - look for wear and tear items. Donate outdated styles. Now is the perfect time as there are so many in need.

10. Water bottles and coffee mugs - look for any freebies from events (charity events, carnivals, fairs). Get rid of any water bottles missing lids as well. It happens over time and I guarantee you'll find a few.

That's it! If you want the list click here. It doesn't have the extra steps, but it's in a printable format in case you want to post it somewhere. But when you're done, make sure you toss!

Hope this was helpful :)