Well, the New Year is here! I’m always a little sad when the Christmas celebrations are behind us, but I just love the fresh-start feeling of January — it’s the perfect opportunity to reassess your space! How can you make it more cheerful all year ‘round?
One of my favorite answers to this question is decluttering. If you’ve never done it, you’ll be shocked by how eliminating items in a space can make it look entirely different — and make you feel entirely different in it!
So first, I want to share WHY you should declutter in the New Year (spoiler alert: you’ll feel amazing) and then I’m sharing my Easy 10-Day Decluttering Challenge. Let’s go!
7 Surprising Reasons to Declutter Your Home in 2019…
1. Health Benefits
Did you know that an uncluttered space comes with several health benefits? It’s true! When your space isn’t overflowing with things, you feel less stress and anxiety. You can think more clearly, breathe more easily, and live more effortlessly.
2. New Aesthetic
If you’re ever decluttered a space before, you’re familiar with the “treasure-like” feeling you get when you discover something you forgot you had.
The truth is, you just never know what you might find while decluttering — or how it can contribute to the look of a fresh, new space!
3. Good Karma
When you decide to part with objects in your home, you have the opportunity to donate them and give them a second life. Plus, you get the warm-fuzzies of knowing you helped someone.
Some of my go-tos for donations:
Habitat for Humanity Restore - Wayne, NJ
Deserving Decor
4. Create More Space
Most people think that decluttering means “getting rid of stuff,” but that’s only the first half of it. The second half is looking at your (now less crowded) room with a new set of eyes and asking, “Is there anything I can rearrange to create more space?”
If you’ve been staring at your space for too many years and are completely out of ideas, ask a friend (or call us in!) for an objective set of eyes.
5. Easier to Clean
I don’t know how people tend to forget this one when talking about decluttering benefits, but it is a BIG one for me! (If you’ve ever had to dust several shelves’ worth of tiny figurines, you know that “the more the merrier” does NOT apply here.)
Decluttering your space extends to the upkeep of that space, and less is truly more. After all, who wants to spend the entirety of their hard-earned Saturday knee-deep in chores? Not me!
6. Saves Your Time
Here’s another one that tends to get left off the list...
SAVING TIME.
You don’t have to dig through drawers to find things every day. You don’t have to navigate sharp furniture to get to the front door. You don’t have to exert brainpower trying to remember where you last saw your keys… You just flow through your day.
That’s the time-saving benefit of an uncluttered space. And it is bliss, my friends!
7. More Energy & Motivation
Add all of the above benefits together and what do you get? More energy and motivation in your day. Less stress. More joy.
Ready to get all of these positive benefits for yourself? Then step up to the challenge!
Your Easy & Effective 10-Day Decluttering Challenge
Day 1: Pick ONE Room
Pick a room in your home that you use often, but that you WON’T feel overwhelmed trying to declutter (i.e. set yourself up to succeed). Better yet, invite a friend to complete the challenge in tandem with you!
Take a Before photo! Then, make a to-do list of what you need to do to declutter this room — but don’t start yet.
Here’s an example you might write for a family room:
Get storage boxes
Remove at least 50% of objects from shelves (make “donate” and “storage” piles)
Clean out drawers (donate/trash/storage)
Clear off mantel (donate/store)
Decide if window treatments take up too much space
Decide which furniture we don’t need anymore (and get help carrying them out)
Anything to be removed from walls? (Fill nail holes in walls if necessary)
Etc… it depends on your space!
Days 2 - 6: Declutter the Room
Break your to-do list into 5 days of actionable tasks. Pencil them into your calendar, recruit help if you need it, and complete them!
When deciding which items to keep, ask yourself if you need them and if you LIKE them. We don’t want things in our homes that make us frown.
Day 7: Rearrange Furniture
Take a look at your space and brainstorm some different furniture configurations that might create more space for moving around. If chairs, coffee tables, or sofas are too close to each other for comfortable leg room, consider spreading them out.
If you don’t have the space to do that, you might benefit from smaller furniture. All things to think about on Day 7.
Day 8: Clean the Space
Now that the space has less clutter, today is cleaning day. A little shine and sparkle will help it feel even more new and improved.
Day 9: Phone a friend.
Yep, I was serious when I suggested this above! Call someone you trust to be honest with you and ask them to swing by. A set of impartial eyes on your space could give you some new ideas you’ll love.
Ask them if they can think of any ways to create more space, make the room feel more airy and open, or declutter even further.
Day 10: Reflect
Just because you’re done decluttering doesn’t mean you should skip this step! Take your After photo and reflect on the space now.
How does the Before photo make you feel now?
How does that feeling differ from the way you see the space now?
Have you already started to use the room differently than before?
Has your family begun to interact differently with the space?
Do you think decluttering this room has been beneficial?
If you have some positive answers on your hands, give yourself a little time to celebrate and then challenge yourself with another room!
If you need a little professional help to coordinate your revived space, reach out to us for a space planning and room layout consultation. Yes, we do virtual appointments!
To your happiness and health this year,
Tammy