Organizing: 5 Simple Tips to Help Declutter

Fall is here and as we enjoy the cooler temperatures, cozy clothes, and pumpkin-spice lattes, we might also be feeling more stressed out with new commitments, appointments, and schedules to manage.

After the laidback-ness of summer (slightly altered due to Covid we know), fall can feel jarring, busy, and cluttered. The pace of life seems to quicken, which often leads to more clutter, disorganization, and stress in your home.

Here are 5 decluttering and organizing tips to help you enjoy your home this fall:

1. Create a Decluttering and Organizing Plan & Schedule

No doubt about it, having goals and a well-thought-out game plan for getting your home organized will increase your chances for success.

Whether you choose to do this on paper or digitally, we suggest thinking through your answers to these three questions:

How does the clutter in “x” area make you feel?
How do you want to feel after you declutter & organize “x” area?
What action steps can you start taking to fill the gap between # 1 and # 2?

2. Just Start

Often the hardest part when decluttering and organizing is starting. It can feel overwhelming, stressful, and insurmountable when trying to start.

Once we start, momentum kicks in and it’s easier to stay on track, but getting to this stage is not always easy.
Realizing that everyone’s needs are unique, here are 5 ways to kickstart your decluttering and organizing project/s

List all your ideas (see #1 above!). Getting them out of your head makes room for action-taking
Gather your supplies – recycle/trash/donate bags, sharpie, labels
Set a timer – short bursts of 15 min are good to start. Once you start, you’ll want to keep going!
Pick a non-sentimental area to start with (i.e. junk drawer vs photographs)
Choose an area you use daily so you can see immediate results and build momentum (i.e.: front entrance)

Many decluttering and organizing projects fall short (or don’t even get off the ground) because we set unrealistic expectations for ourselves and try to take on too much at the start.

By starting with small actions, you’ll recognize what gets in your way (time, energy, strategies, motivation, or skill), and can adjust accordingly. Once you pace yourself and start seeing results, you’ll be able to harness that momentum to keep decluttering and organizing.

3. Seasonal Clothing Switch-Out & Organizing

With every new season comes an opportunity to declutter and organize more efficiently.

Now that’s it’s fall, it’s time to put away your bathing suits, beach towels, sandals, and other fun summer items. Whether you hang them in the back of the closet, place them in a non-essential drawer, or pack them into bins, they do not need to be front and centre in your home.

Instead, make it easy to use your fall jackets, scarves, hats, and boots by placing them in easy-to-access areas such as the front hall.

Choose an organizing method that works best for your space, which could mean using your front hall closet, baskets, or shelves. Having items at eye level (your prime real estate) really helps as well – this is all about making things easier!

As you ease into fall, consider using this same approach elsewhere in your home, such as the bathroom or linen closet. To make your seasonal transition easier, consider bringing fall and winter moisturizing bath and beauty products, along with warmer comforters, to the forefront.

Ensuring that only seasonally appropriate items are taking up your most valuable space will make daily life easier as you’ll have fewer things to sort through and less decisions to make.

PRO TIP: Before you pack away your summer items, review each one carefully to determine if you need/use/love the items. If not, you can recycle or donate them – no need to pack excess.

4. Declutter your pantry and food storage areas

Is your kitchen the busiest area in your home?

For many of us, this is true, which means our busy kitchens deserve a fall makeover too.

The best way to declutter and organize your pantry, fridge, and freezer, is to empty all contents – category by category, item by item. After determining what’s spoiled, past it’s due date, or inedible, either donate, compost, or dispose of the items you won’t be consuming.

Next, decide which items you consume (or want to consume) most often and place them front and centre at eye level for easy and more consistent access.

Don’t forget to give your pantry and food storage areas a good cleaning before putting items back!

5. Organize Your Digital World

As we continue to use our smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers more and more in our daily lives, it’s important to pay attention to our digital clutter.

Just as in our homes, too much digital clutter causes us to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious. We know we shouldn’t be on our devices so much, but distractions and interruptions are everywhere!

Below are five simple ways to start your digital decluttering:

Review your mobile apps and delete any that are not being used
Remove notifications
Group your mobile apps by category and create folders so you don’t have multiple screens to swipe to get to the app you want to use
Delete emails as soon as you read them OR archive them – no more overflowing inboxes
Group your desktop files and icons into folders. Archive or delete whatever is not current

Fall is a wonderful season and what better way to honour this transition than by decluttering and organizing our homes

Successful decluttering and organizing can certainly make us feel more grounded, calm, and joyful in our homes, but it’s not always easy to find the time, energy, motivation, and strategies to carry out this process.

The good news is that there are solutions, so if you’ve been thinking about making time for some of these fall home organizing projects and want support, contact Simply Home Downsizing, and let’s see how we can help you ease into fall.