It is always desirable to live or work in a place where everything is properly placed, organized, and simplified. And that is the primary benefit of being a minimalist as someone who has fewer significant possessions. Having lesser stuffs to deal with means a decrease of extra loads, less cleaning time, less things to organize, less money to expend, less stress, and more energy that you can use to do other important things.

And to tell you, the hardest part of decluttering your place and that is deciding where on earth should you begin? As the clutter on your place starts to pile up, you will start to feel overwhelmed, lost, anxious, and defeated in the idea of decluttering all of them. If you feel this way, don’t worry because we come up with some pretty clever and creative ways on how you can declutter your place like a pro! 

1. Start with Just Five Minutes

If you are a busy person and you don’t have much time to start decluttering your place, maybe you can start by allotting five minutes a day to deal with it. Five minutes isn’t that bothersome since it doesn’t take that much on your 24-houred-day.

Start decluttering your house by doing small steps at a time. A big change comes from the accumulation of small changes. You just have to be patient and make it a habit to tidy up your stuffs for five minutes every day. 

2. Gradually Declutter One Item Every Day

Situation may seem hopeless and an impossible challenge to be solved due to the serious cluttered house you live where you feel like downsizing all at once is impossible for you to achieve. But trust me, there is a way out for you!

You can gradually declutter your place by throwing one item away every day until you downsized enough to the point that every necessary thing on your place could fit in one visible cabinet. And if you continuously do it, you will witness the transformation of your home over the years. 

3. Redefine Value

Redefining the value of your stuff may be a deeper approach, but it seriously works. Look around your place and start analyzing every part of it. Don’t look at it as if it’s a big picture, look closely and mind every detail that makes it up.

Think about the value of every item in your house. Are you still using it or how often do you use it? Is it important or does it have some sentimental value to you? These questions will help you in decluttering your home. Always remember that if things are already unnecessary and of no use, you have to let go of it for good.

4. The Four- Box Method

In four-box method, you will gather a total of four boxes and label each one as: Put away, Storage, Give away/Sell, Trash.

This method is very effective as it forces you to decide immediately, item by item. Put away the items in a more appropriate place, store other in your storage area, while give away the other to charities or put them in the garage for sale, and lastly, you should immediately empty the box of trash before you have some second thoughts.

5. Box and Banish

It is the alternative way of decluttering instead of the Four-Box method. It is the drastic clearing out that moves all the clutter away from the living area and put them altogether in a single box. It is a simple way of collecting all the clutters in your drawers, counters, chairs, table, floors, etc. and then deal with it later. Make sure that all the surfaces are clutter free and clear.

After collecting the clutter in a box, stash it in the garage and let it out of your sight. And when you have a free time, sort out the items and bring back the absolutely necessary things to your room. This Box and Banish Method provides an immediate result and gratification of a decluttered space though it doesn’t really solve the root problem. 

6. One In, Two Out Rule

It is important to monitor all the stuffs in your house to avoid the most nuisance problem of all time. The one in, two out rule can help you out, plus it is a very simple way. Make it a habit that every time that there is a new item in your house, you should obligate yourself to remove a similar item.

7. Grab and Go Approach

Many people lose patience in decluttering because they are too overwhelmed with so many clutters they have to deal with. The grab and go approach will surely help you out. All you need is a single basket and grab as many clutters that you can and place it in the basket. Now, start dealing with the small pile of your stuffs in the basket. If you continuously do the same thing every time, you will be able to surely finish processing all the clutters in your house.

8. Use Packing Cubes

Packing cube is a zippered goodness that can help you in sorting out your stuffs. You can simply put category or label on each travel packing cubes. The packing cube is also useful to contain small items that you usually struggle to find on the huge pile of clutters on your place. This container comes with different sizes that could accommodate your demands in organizing. 

9. The One-Year Box

All you need is to grab a box and place it in on one side of the room. Just pick up an item that you do not use and place it inside the box! It sounds easy but you have to resist the temptation of bring the items in the box back to your counter. At the end of the year, you have to make sure your one-year box is full and start letting go of them by giving them away or selling them. This will help you out in controlling yourself from starting to pile clutters again.

10. Take Before and After Photos

Taking a picture of your place before and after you declutter won’t help you in the process but it can motivate you. Just look at the pictures and see how nice it is when everything is organized in their most rightful place. And when your place started to clutter up again, this vision will surely drive you to declutter your house again.