Welcome to another installment of my blog series on what order you should declutter your home in. We've looked at why you should start in the kitchen, move to the bathroom next, declutter your closet third, declutter your bedroom after that, and #5 tackle your entryway. Now it's time for you to make your own personalized plan to tackle the rest of your home.
You've tackled the most vital areas of your home, now it's time for you to decide where to go from here.
As I've been saying in every installment of this series, the biggest hurtles of decluttering are (1) getting started and (2) making enough progress, fast enough that you can see some positive change and therefore, keep up the momentum.
I think with tackling your kitchen, bathrooms, closet, bedroom, and entryways you've gotten past starting and have made a ton of momentum. So now that you've got that, you are ready to make a plan of your own that fits your needs without getting bogged down, distracted, or overwhelmed.
However, if you get stuck or your progress significantly slows, you can follow, in order, the list below to tackle the rest of your home.
List of Places Still to Declutter
Car(s)
Hallways
Living Rm/Family Rm/Den/TV Rm(s)
Kids' Bedrooms and Closets
Playroom
Dining Room
Outdoor Clutter
Laundry Area/Room
Linen Closet(s)
Office/Paper Clutter
Guest Room
Gym/Workout Area or Room
Craft Room
Bonus Room/Trash room
Basement
Attic
Other Storage Spaces/Closets
Garage
Shed/Shop
Make Your Plan
Get out your journal, a scrap of paper, or your computer with a blank doc and follow the following steps:
Read through the list of spaces above and write down all that apply to you and any others it might be missing.
Decide which space would make the biggest difference in your energy, health, living situation, and relationships. Write that room down in a new list.
Decide which space would make the biggest difference after that one and write it down as #2.
Repeat until you have all your spaces in order from most important to declutter to the least important.
Now read through my "Tips for Putting Your Declutter List in the Best Order Possible" below and adjust your list accordingly. You may need to split up some rooms as well. For example, if your list is currently #1 dining room, #2 living room, and #3 laundry room, you may need to adjust so the entrance to your laundry room is #1, main hallway is #2, dining room #3, living room #4, and finishing your laundry room #5.
Add times to your calendar to work on these spaces throughout the upcoming year and deadlines for when you would like to finish each space. You can read my guide, "Step-by-Step, How to Make Your Custom Annual Decluttering Plan." For more tips on this point and additional ideas for how to make your decluttering plan.
Once you've got your list in order, make sure to get started on your next zone right away so you don't loose momentum!
Tips for Putting Your Declutter List in the Best Order Possible:
Safety and accessibility first: Any space that is completely unusable or inaccessible due to clutter should be #1 on your list. Clearing walkways and entrances to rooms you need to use should be completed first even if you don't finish that room. For example, if you can't get into your laundry room easily and safely to do laundry, clear the entrance to that room and the area around your washer and dryer so it is functional again. Even if you leave the rest of the room a disaster, at least you can get in and do what you need to do. Of course, I would hope you dealt with some or all of these inaccessible spaces working on steps 1-5 of this blog series plan, but if you didn't conquer one or two issues like this, NOW IS THE TIME! Put those zones at the top of your list.
Clear your car so you can get clutter out for good: If your car is packed full, declutter it ASAP (even if you just shove things into the living room or garage) so you can put donations in your car and dropped off where they belong so your house can get emptier and emptier each week.
Make a place to eat: If there is no where to sit down and eat in your kitchen, your dining room should be very high on your new list (if not #1).
Make a shared place to relax: If there is no couch or chairs free to sit and relax, put your living/family room high on your list.
Make movement easy: If you have a yoga mat, weights, treadmill, or other workout equipment that you want to be using but can't right now due to clutter, make that high on your list so you can give yourself that boost of endorphins you need to be your best self (and declutterer). You don't have to fully declutter and organize your whole workout space. If a corner of the living room will do, do that!
Did the clutter creep outside? Put this high on your list so things don't get ruined by the weather. Declutter and organize all small items and cover large items with tarps until you can get them moved inside. This may also mean decluttering your garage or shed needs to be higher on your list.
Lost an important document or check? Deal with your paper clutter sooner rather than later so you can remove that stress from your life. Check out this post for tips on quick paper decluttering so you can find your tax (or other) paperwork.
Hosting soon? Consider when your next guests are coming and schedule your main living spaces and guest room decluttering for before then. PRO TIP: To help yourself declutter faster, schedule with a friend or relative to come stay with you on the soonest date you think you could be ready by. And then declutter away!
Fix your parking situation: If you can't park in the garage and your parking situation is difficult, make garage as high on your list as you can without procrastinating vital spaces in your house.
Feel like you need to make all of your spaces #1?
Might be time to get some help.
Contact me today for one-on-one declutter coaching.
Read the whole series:
6. Where to Declutter Step #6: Make a Plan (this post!)
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