Declutter Home Checklist: How to start decluttering when you're overwhelmed?

If you haven’t already started on your spring cleaning, remember that you’ve only got a month left before the Lunar New Year!

We know it's not easy to clean, organise, and declutter. Spring cleaning could be stressful family events for many, since material items are often closely related to our emotions, family life, and memories.

If you're completely new to home organisation and cleaning, check out the basics and beginners' tips below. For our regular readers and avid declutter fans, scroll on for expert tips from professional home organisers and declutter pros.

No matter where you are in your cleaning journey, always remember that a clean and tidy home environment can do wonders for your psyche and mental health.

Content

• Decluttering Tips For Beginners
• Expert organisation tips from Kris Tan, The Declutter Professionals
• Expert declutter tips from Nathalie Ricaud, Get Organised & Beyond
• Keep home neat & tidy afterwards

10 Decluttering Tips For Beginners

For those who have always struggled to keep your place neat despite all the storage built into the home, fret not for here are some basic, easy and effective tips to start decluttering today.

1. Define "Clutter"

Be clear about the items that need to be cleared out. Anything that is not used within the past six months, belongings that have no financial or sentimental value, or clusters of duplicate items that you don’t use often such as multiple sets of cutlery, can all count as clutter that you should get rid of.

2. Everything should have a place

“You should always have a home for everything in your home. With neatly labelled storage boxes for things like Thank You cards or toys, the whole family will know where everything should go. Organisation is about progress, not perfection. Just start small by spending 10 minutes every night to clear your desk and you’ll see a difference,” Kristina Karlsson, founder of Kikki.K, on some tricks she applies to her own household.

3. All items should be easily accessible

Ensure that your belongings are all in full view when you open the cupboard doors or pull out the drawers. Remember: out of sight, out of mind.

And before you assign a storage location for something, consider if it’s easy to place the item back in that exact location.

If it’s even a slight hassle to put it back in place, it’ll end up as clutter somewhere else in the house and you’ll end up wasting time searching for it again.

4. Dump dusty items

Remember how your parents used to discourage you from buying something you’d regret by saying: “It’ll collect dust.”?

Well, if there’s anything that’s collecting dust in your home right now, it’s a pretty clear sign that it’s under-utilised and should probably make way for something more indispensable.

5. Declutter by category

“Declutter by item category, not by room. Working by category allows us to see clearly the amount of items and duplicates we have in that category,” says Haw-San Au-Yong, founder of Edits Inc, a professional organising service.

She also suggests starting with easy categories like clothes and kitchenware, and work your way up to items that possess sentimental value.

“Handle one item at a time and ask if having it in your life makes you feel happy. If not, trash it.”

6. Sleep on it

If you find it hard to make on-the-spot decisions about whether to bin certain things, allocate a compartment within your cupboard to store these on-the-fence items.

Reassess these items a couple of months later, and if you have not found the need for any of them, it’s time to either donate or chuck the whole lot.

7. Exercise restraint

Go to the source of all the clutter around you and nip this problem in the bud. Besides hanging on to redundant possessions for too long, are you also guilty of acquiring too much?

Add whatever you’re yearning to buy to a wishlist first and revisit it a couple of weeks later, or simply stop to think whether you really need the item before taking it home.

The answer is often a definite “no”, so let it go!

8. Sell unused items

All hail the arrival of Carousell! Now selling second hand clothes, collectibles, and CDs are easier than ever – just snap a picture of the item with your phone, post it up on the app, and wait for the offers to flood in.

You just have to resist the urge to buy items off the app while you’re at it!

9. Regular monthly cleaning is best

The longer one puts off decluttering, the more intimidating the task will be. It’ll always be easier to flex those organisational muscles once a month (make it weekly if you’re looking for an ambitious New Year’s resolution) than wait till the end of each year because the task will be 12 times more difficult physically and emotionally.

10. Do it "FAST"

“Statistics shows that getting rid of clutter eliminates 40 per cent housework in the average home,” Georgina Wong, CEO of Asian Professional Organisers, reveals. She often guides her clients on the F.A.S.T sorting technique when it comes to getting rid of clutter:

• Forward, gift or donate things not used within the past six months
• Action it immediately if you can complete the job within two minutes
• Store or file for reference
• Trash it when it’s broken or doesn’t fit

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Expert Tips from Kris Tan, The Declutter Professionals

Kris Tan, from The Declutter Professionals, shares her tips on getting spring cleaning done quickly and easily this Chinese New Year.

1. Grab a garbage bag

Simply start by grabbing a large black garbage bag and discard items that should go, starting from the dining table which usually holds the most foodstuff, to the coffee table and then to the sofa area and finally the storage areas such as shelves, cupboards, TV console.

Most of the time, in a normal household, you would have gotten rid of at least 20-30% of the unwanted stuff just by doing this. 

2. Take before & after photos

The whole idea of spring cleaning is to clear out what is no longer serving its purpose in your home so that it is ready for guests.

Take a before photo, and then an after photo, and look at the difference. Seeing a big change can be a great motivational factor.

3. Think before buying new items for the home

Before you start purchasing new stuff for the home, take a moment to spring clean first. Are there unused brand-new bed sheets? Unused clothes? Can this be "reused" this coming new year? We should reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible.

4.  Make it a family event

If its possible, gather your family members to spring clean together. Discuss and get each of them involved in various sections of the home.

For instance, each member should bear the responsibility of clearing out his or her own bedroom. During the process, words of encouragement go a long way. Avoid blame as it can escalate into an unproductive argument.

5. Avoid quarrels, do it together

Avoid negative comments during the spring cleaning process. Often, we tend to point fingers and push the blame of the clutter to others. Remembering that there is a common goal and objective will help you work together to get to the goal, which is to get your home ready for CNY. 

6. Think twice before buying decor

Some décor is only used once a year, and zodiac-specific CNY décor are only single-use (unless you’re going to keep it for the next twelve years). So avoid buying too much before CNY, or the clutter will mount up again at home right after you have decluttered.

7. Donate useful items

It is also the time of the year to bless less fortunate families with your clothes, bedsheets, shoes and more.

With this in mind, it helps when you are decluttering your clothes in the bedroom: Do I still wear this? Can it be gifted to someone else?

This process makes it easier for you to let go of items, knowing you are giving them to families who have few resources during this festive time.

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Expert declutter tips from Nathalie Ricaud

Nathalie Ricaud is a professional organiser and the founder of Get Organised & Beyond. She helps people declutter and establish systems so they can create and maintain a clutter-free, organised and peaceful home and make time for the meaningful things in their life.

1. I tend to procrastinate before cleaning

To stop procrastinating, envision your life free of clutter.

For most people, cleaning is a chore that we’d rather put off. To get over the procrastination, focus on the benefits of being clutter-free instead of the task itself. Envision saving time by being able to find things easily, increasing energy and happiness in a clean home, and living in a stress-free environment.

2. Make small, achievable goals

Break down your spring cleaning into small and manageable parts.

Be realistic with your concentration threshold and availability. Even 15 minutes a day can make a difference!

3. Sort and clean by category

Purge by category where possible.

Proceeding by category such as clothes, toys, kitchenware, books, paper etc. gives you visibility on how much you own in one category.

4. Decluttering takes practice

Build your decluttering muscle over time.

Although Marie Kondo advocates to “discard all at once, completely and intensely”, it can be paralysing for some people because of all the decisions to make, so don’t feel bad about breaking your clean-up tasks across several weekends.

5. Never purge anyone else's belongings

Be respectful of others’ belongings. It may be tempting to get rid of everything once you’ve started, but don’t ever purge your family members’ belongings without their involvement.

6. Always set a deadline

Give yourself a deadline to dispose of your castaways. If you intend to sell an item but there hasn’t been any buyer by your deadline, donate it.

Similarly, if you want to offer items in good condition to your friend but can never find time to meet up, donate them instead. Sometimes the most important thing is to find the best option and move on.

7. Be savvy when selling

Selling takes time, so make sure the item you’re trying to sell is worth your while by setting a minimum amount – if it goes under that amount, you might be better off donating it instead.

A garage sale is hard work but makes sense if you have a lot of small items to sell. Selling online on the other hand can be a long and tedious process, so evaluate which makes the most sense.

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5 Tips to Keep Your Home Neat & Tidy After Decluttering

1. Start your day right by making your bed

A crumpled blanket can give your bed a cluttered, untidy look. If you can't be bothered to flip your blanket and cover your entire bed, fold it into a rectangle and place it at the end of your bed. 

2. Store your beauty products immediately after use

Avoid cluttering your vanity or dressing table by storing all your beauty products away once you've finished using it.

"A place for everything, and everything in its place," my mum says that all the time. You'll be surprised how an empty tabletop can make a difference to your room.

3. Line your trash bins with fresh plastic bags

This works perfectly two ways: first it ensures your bins are empty in the morning and trash won't sit there rotting away and stinking up your home. Secondly, it means you have fresh bins to use once you get home after a long day of work. No need to bend down and change them when you're tired.

4. Leave a cloth next to your sink

Once you're done using your sink to wash your face or brush your teeth, wipe it down with the cloth folded neatly by the side of the sink. It prevents water spots, keeps the area dry preventing mould, and it means less work's needed to clean the bathroom during your weekly bathroom wipe downs.

5. Before you sit down to dinner, leave your pots and pans filled with hot water

This makes cleaner a lot easier after dinner! The hot water will loosen grease and burnt bits.

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