When and How to Declutter Fast

The most effective way to declutter, is to declutter fast!  The quicker you can get that stuff out of there, the more accomplished you will feel and the less stress you will endure.

I find that the best time for me to start clearing clutter out is right away in the morning.  I am the most motivated and have the most energy when I first get up.  I tend to work on this on Saturday and Sunday mornings because I don’t tend to wake up early enough during the week to accomplish anything meaningful prior to going to work.

Here are my declutter fast tips:

• Make quick decisions on what to do with the item you are holding.  Don’t toil around wondering what you should do with it.  Let it go.
• Pick an area to declutter first and move from there.  Start small, and work small.  Even if it’s a large room, pick a corner, a closet, or a bookshelf and get to work.
• Once the first area is cleared, move on to the next.  Don’t waste any time.
• Use a timer.  Depending on the size of the area, shoot for no more than 30 minutes to get everything cleared out of it.  Starting small like that (and continuing to work small) will keep you seeing those small victories that you need to keep you motivated.  This also will help force you to make those quick decisions.
• Sort the items as you remove them.  Start four separate piles (or boxes):  Trash, Recycle, Re-sell, Donate.
• Maintain the organization you have achieved. Once you have the area cleared of all debris, make sure you develop a daily maintenance plan to ensure that it doesn’t fill back up.

Note: For another proven system on how to declutter fast, check this out.

My experience has proven that if I spend about 30 minutes clearing a small area, I can spend less than 10 more minutes removing the items from the room completely – assuming they were sorted as they were cleared from the area.  For me, it is especially beneficial if I declutter and organize a few small areas in a row.  This way, I can keep my ‘to go’ piles going until I am finished for the time being.

In just a few short hours you will have cleared a bigger area than you think!  When you get right down to it, it’s quite amazing how much you can get taken care of.  Broken down into three or four half-hour time periods, it doesn’t seem so daunting a task.

While you learn how to declutter your home fast, make sure to place your focus on getting rid of the stuff and not on where you got it, who gave it to you, the events in your life at that time, etc.  When it comes down to it, realize that you probably aren’t going to need these things….ever.  Obviously, if there are things that you use regularly, don’t get rid of them.  You have to be stern with yourself though – trust me, it’s easy to convince yourself to not get rid of something because you don’t think it’s truly clutter.  Most likely it is and that’s why making quick decisions is so important.

Attack the areas with the right mindset – that you want to get the area clean and organized.  With intense focus on your goal, you can easily trust your gut to get rid of the right items while you declutter your home fast.

Try it…I think you will find that if you conduct your own “declutter fast home experiment” you will be pleased by the results.

I hope I have been able to help you learn how to declutter fast!

– J

Related posts:

1. Declutter with the Pomodoro Technique
2. Decluttering – 5 Steps on Where to Begin
3. How to Declutter Your Shopping List – Alice.com Review