Declutter Your Home: Once and For All

Yes, I’m still talking about decluttering! While it can certainly be an ongoing process, wouldn’t it be great to finally get it done and not have to worry about it again? 

Having positive mindset guidelines when starting the process is the most important step — and knowing how to achieve your goal will result in greater success. Real Simple’s March 27, 2024, article, “16 Steps to Finally Declutter your Home Once and for All,” was the inspiration for this blog post. I’ve condensed their steps into the five I feel are most important:

1. Have a Stated Goal—Identify why you’re clearing out space and set a deadline for getting finished.

2. Pick Five Things a Day—Move five items every day to your donate pile or the trash — or just one if you have less clutter.

3. Put a Number On It—Count how many you have — of earrings, purses, mugs, whatever — and realize it will likely be painless to donate 10% of them. (You likely wear/use the same ones over and over again!)

4. Keep Only Real Treasures—Let go of sentimental items that aren’t truly special — because “if everything’s a treasure, nothing’s a treasure.”

5. Hold On to Memories, Not Stuff—Keep moments alive without saving bulky mementos; retain the sentiment but not the item by taking a photo of it before donating it or trashing it.

Diane’s Take: When moving from San Diego to Scottsdale, which had been our second home, we had a daunting task of getting rid of duplicate household items, furnishings and accessories. We were decluttering 24 years of accumulation in San Diego and were only able to bring what was treasured, essential and of value. 

I worked with a team of professional organizers who guided me through the emotional process and helped me achieve success. Many steps were followed, and the result was a sense of freedom and an unobstructed path to our new primary residence. If you need support in your home decluttering process, please reach out to Bella Designs. And again, happy spring cleaning!

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