Spring cleaning season is underway, but before you can clean you must first declutter! If your cleaners will be arriving in the next few days then now is the time to get your home ready for their visit with our guide on how to declutter your house.
How To Declutter Your House In One Day
Time is not on your side right now!
That’s why we’re going to be breaking down how to declutter your house in just one day. It might sound impossible, but it absolutely can be done, provided that you have the right system in place (and a couple of eager hands to help!).
In 24 hours, you’ll have everything tidy, organised, and in its rightful place. After all, decluttering a house is not just about binning items that are no longer useful – it is also about rediscovering forgotten treasures and kickstarting good habits.
Follow these top tips for decluttering your house in time for your cleaners’ next visit.
1. Pick The Right Day
The last thing that you want to hear whilst in the middle of a full house declutter is ‘didn’t we need to pick up the laundry today?’.
Your declutter day should be completely free of any distractions, so wait until you have a full day off work and block it off in your calendar so that you don’t accidentally schedule any family commitments.
Weekends are best, and this way the entire family can get involved, but if you really don’t have a full day to spare between now and the end of the month then this 24 hour decluttering session can be split between two full afternoons, or an afternoon into the next morning.
2. Gather Your Supplies
There is no point blocking off an entire day to declutter your home if you are going to be stopping every 2 minutes to put something away or fetch a new bin bag.
That’s why you should make sure you have everything you need before you begin decluttering your home, including:
- Bin bags
- Donation boxes
- Storage boxes
- Antibacterial spray
- And a microfibre cloth to clean as you go.
Now all that’s left to do is don some comfortable clothes, put on shoes (so that there’s no excuse to not take out the bins as you go), and press play on your favourite playlist!
3. Remove All Rubbish
Whenever you enter a room, start by removing all rubbish to give you a good base level of cleanliness to begin your decluttering. You will know something is rubbish if, when you pick it up, you realise that it has no designated place and serves no purpose.
Now is not the time to start assessing what is rubbish and what should be kept (this will come later), but rather the time to get rid of anything that should have been thrown away long ago. This means old papers you bought home from work, stray wrappers that no one has binned yet, and mail promotions that have piled up without anyone noticing.
You should also take this opportunity to empty bins, remove used cups or dishes, and put away any laundry that is still out.
4. Assess The Items
Now we come to the decluttering itself.
They say that one person’s trash is another’s treasure, and only you will know if something deserves to be kept or thrown away. However, there are a few functionality checks that every item should pass:
- Do I use this enough?
- Do I really need it? Or do I already have one of these in another room?
- Is it broken or damaged? If so, can it be repaired?
- Is it taking up space unnecessarily?
You’ll soon get into the swing of things, but it’s important to not be too brutal when assessing your items. There is nothing wrong with keeping things that matter to you, and nothing worse than realising that you have disposed of something precious, so ask yourself:
- Would I take this with me if I were to move house?
- If I saw this item for sale, would I buy it?
- Do I have lots of fond memories with this item?
And finally, ‘do I love it?’. If the answer to this final question is yes, then it doesn’t matter what the item is – it is one to keep.
5. Put Everything In Its Place
Your job isn’t finished just yet!
A big part of knowing how to declutter your house is knowing how to put things back in their rightful place once you are done. This is made easier by sorting things out as you go, so keep three boxes with you throughout the day for the following purposes:
- To Keep: These are items that can go right back in their original place (once the surface has been wiped down or dusted).
- To Organise: Items that don’t currently have a designated place but will need one.
- To Donate: Items that you no longer want or need, but are still in good condition and can either be sold or donated.
Don’t worry if there doesn’t seem to be room for everything when you first start. You’ll soon find that plenty of storage appears whilst you declutter, as you empty boxes, drawers, and even entire cupboards.
How To Declutter Your House In Future
This is a one-off type of declutter. The sort that is done after a big relocation or an exciting life event, and obviously not every weekend will involve completely reorganising your home.
However, it is important to stay on top of clutter moving forwards. Designate just a few hours each week to finding a place for new objects or donating old clothes, and don’t forget to book your spring cleaning service now that your house is ready!
Click here to arrange a full-house clean from Domestique for just £16.95 per hour.