5 Decluttering Tips for Pack Rats
Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 09:07 AM, by Monica Dufour, under
Holidays
It’s National Pack Rat Day! Being a pack rat means you’d rather keep items than throw them away. But being a pack rat is a moving nightmare--it creates a lot of extra work, time, and boxes. To help lessen your pack rat tendencies, we have five tips to help you declutter your home.
1. Do one room at a time
The task of cleaning a whole house is daunting. But if you do one room every few days, it won’t seem as scary. Breaking a large task into smaller tasks make it much more manageable. Make a plan on decide what room you’re going to tackle on what day. You’ll stay motivated longer and you’re more likely to complete the task.
2. Make piles
When you begin clean and organize your items, you should make four piles. Sorting your items in the four categories will you give a place for each item. It's much easier to organize if you know where your items are going. Your four categories should be as such:
- Give away. This pile will contain all the items you will donate. These items will be slightly worn but still good quality. You’ll also feel good about donating them.
- Sell. These are quality items that you no longer need. There’s no harm in trying to earn money back for the items. If you don’t sell them, you can donate them.
- Throw away. These items are stained or broken and no longer have any use. They are just taking up space in your house.
- Store. These items you want to keep but you don’t need them right away. For example, if it’s summer time, you should store all your winter clothes and vice versa.
3. Get rid of duplicates
Another way to cut down on clutter is to get rid of duplicates. You don’t really need six hair brushes or 10 pairs of the same flip flop. When you start to find the same type of item over and over again, put that in a pile. From there, begin to figure out how many duplicates of each item you really need. Think back about how many uses you got out of the duplicates. You probably barely used them, so it's time to get rid of them. You can either sell, donate, or throw away the items.
4. Six-month rule
The general rule of thumb is that you haven’t used it in six months, get rid of it. You’re probably not going to use it in the next six months and it’s just taking up space. If it’s a seasonal item, did you use it last year? If not, get rid of it. You’d be surprised at how many items you haven’t used in six months. When you start to get rid of those items, it'll feel like a breath of fresh air. You're going to have more storage and overall, a cleaner home.
5. Don’t do it in one day
Rome wasn’t built in a day and your home will not be decluttered in a day. Take it slow when you’re cleaning your house. One day, clean one room. The next day, bring the donations to a local Salvation Army. The following day, work on the kitchen appliances. You don’t want to get discouraged by being overwhelmed decluttering your whole home. Even if it takes you a few days to tackle one room, that’s fine. But it’s good to set a goal for yourself so you can stay motivated. Also, don’t forget to reward yourself! You’re doing a lot of hard work by decluttering your home--a reward could be having a scoop of ice cream or spending the day at the beach. Your home will be clean in no time if you follow these tips.