Easy decluttering isn’t necessarily what you’ll get if you follow the specific advise of a popular Japanese guru. In my mind, some of Marie Kondo’s ideas are a bit too tough and minimalist. So how can decluttering your home be easy and sustainable?

Decluttering your home helps to declutter your mind. If you arrive home from work only to be greeted by mountains of clutter, then consider streamlining your environment. Easy decluttering will make you feel more human and able to tackle hard tasks. Shifting clutter from your home to a rubbish bin or donation station WILL make you feel better.

The issue with decluttering is that many people simply don’t know where to start. It’s all too easy to enter a room, throw your hands up in the air and give up without even starting. Take a look at how you can embark on easy decluttering without the pain.

Easy Decluttering: Start A Sorting System

The easiest way to begin your decluttering mission is go room by room and make a list of all of the areas that you can target. Perhaps the bookshelf, cupboards and sideboard can be tackled? Or perhaps your garage is strewn floor to ceiling with junk?

Once you have a list of the areas that you need to clear, you need to consider a sorting system. Perhaps you could have piles of stuff to keep in the attic, stuff that you can sell and stuff that you can donate. Only as a last resort should you bin stuff. There’s always a chance to recycle stuff no matter how worthless it seems. 

Anything that you think can be sold, list on eBay. Don’t set a reserve, accurately describe the items and take loads of photos. With any luck, you’ll find a buyer and you can pocket some extra cash to top up your savings.

Easy Decluttering: Walk Through Areas

The areas in your home that have regular foot traffic can become dumping grounds. Consider sorting through your coat stand in the hallway, sort through your shoes and clear your porch. Seeing more wall space and decluttering your hallway can make your home appear so much bigger.

Sometimes we may find that our walls have become bleached with sunlight and the coat stand that you want to get rid of has left a large stain on your paint. If this is the case, you may need to whip out the spare paint and roll on a new coat.

The same goes for your flooring – you may need to buy a door mat to help you hide scuffs on your tiles. Or you may need to get yourself a new clever storage solution for your knick-knacks that now need tidying away. For example, decorative trays or boxes to hold keys, bills and other important information.

Easy Decluttering: Start Small And Set Goals

Don’t launch yourself into the home office that has a mammoth amount of clutter to clear. You will give up before you have even started. Instead, start smaller.

Clear the desk in your home office only. Then tick off this goal and congratulate yourself. Then do a couple of your kitchen drawers. Then go onto the coffee table in your living room. You don’t have to tackle anything in an order.

By ticking off the smaller decluttering missions, you will eventually win the bigger decluttering war.

When you embark on your decluttering, make sure that you have the end goal in sight. Being mindful and clearing your physical environment will help you to achieve a happier and more positive frame of mind.