7 stress-free tips to declutter your home during the New Year

The most difficult part is getting started–set a ten-minute timer and start working on a small area, like a closet shelf or kitchen drawer. Breaking through the initial resistance to decluttering helps build momentum. It can also be helpful to play music or listen to a podcast. As the space clears up, you may find enough motivation to move on to the next space.

Even if you’ve identified the items you want to remove, it can be difficult to decide what to do with them. It may be easier to have three separate boxes with the labels ‘keep’, ‘donate’, and ‘discard’. Connecting each item to a clear action word gives you more control over decluttering, helping you streamline your New Year cleanup. 

Spaces can easily be cluttered with items outside the proper area. Placing a basket by the doorway can reduce the overwhelm associated with clutter. For homeowners with multiple floors, consider placing two baskets on either end of the staircase. In the upper basket, you can quickly place items that need to be returned to that floor–usually, these items should go back into bedrooms. For the lower basket, the items should go back to the living room or entertainment room. 

Once the items are gathered in one place, they can wait in their basket until you have the energy to complete the ‘relocation’ process–you don’t have to complete the task immediately. In the meantime, you can relax in a slightly neater environment that helps you regain the energy you need to continue cleaning. 

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Decluttering can also be challenging because we have a sentimental attachment to different items. But it can be helpful to remember that other people can make better use of these same pieces that you don’t find yourself reaching for. Collecting items without using them allows them to take up valuable storage space in your home. If you have multiple copies of the same item, prioritise what you use most often. 

Consider adding a fun twist to your decluttering process by having specific people in mind who would better use an item–perhaps your mother-in-law would like this dish for a holiday tablescape, or another child may enjoy a toy that your own has outgrown. This way, you can breathe new life into each piece while minimising the clutter in your home. 

Decluttering is not just about giving or throwing items away, it’s also about maximising the use of the items you keep. This can be the trickiest part of the process, as you examine where the most clutter accumulates. Perhaps you have a desk or table piled with items, especially if it’s stationed in a shared space. 

Because these spaces fill up quickly, it can be overwhelming to sort through the items. This can be a sign that these items are easy to access, but are inconvenient to return to the proper spot. Experimenting with different storage styles and combinations can make the process smoother and minimise the clutter without fuss. 

The items you’ve decluttered can reveal valuable insights into your spending habits and personal goals for the new year. It can be helpful to examine the items in your ‘keep’ piles, as there may be more efficient ways to store them so you can get more use out of each piece. 

The items you’ve placed in your ‘donate’ and ‘discard’ piles may show you what you want to stop purchasing. This can help you set better priorities that align with your financial goals and help you make choices that better align with your home’s unique design story.

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