With the New Year started I am really taking a look at my home. A few days ago my sister helped me clear out clutter from the upstairs area, 5 bags of trash later…ugh, yes. I am a bit of a hoarder and my kids (who use most of the space upstairs) have become hoarders too!
Are you a secret hoarder?
You may be asking yourself “what is a secret hoarder?”
You’re a secret hoarder if you have closets full of junk you’ll never use. And the junk just sits there going to waste.
The “living areas” of your home may be clean and presentable but, if you’re a secret hoarder you probably need to clean out:
- Your drawers. Because they are most likely full of clothes you don’t wear, don’t like or don’t fit into.
- Your closets. I still have 5 closets to de-clutter. FIVE. Seriously, it’s disgusting.
- You have several junk drawers. Why??
- The trunk of your car.
- The garage.
- Your cleaning supplies.
- Your spices.
- The pantry.
- The top of your fridge.
*Sigh* So I just listed all of the areas in my home where I have clutter. Lots of it!
Do you have any clutter in those places too?
Ideas For Decluttering:
- Write down each area in your home you need to work on. Which one will make the biggest difference in your day to day life? Start with that area first. My list looks like this:
- Front closet
- Master bedroom closet
- My bathroom
- My clothing
- The pantry
- The top of the fridge
- Spice cabinet
- clear out appliances and kitchen things we don’t use
- My daughter’s closet (which is full of my things)
- My office closet
- In your planner write out when you’ll be working on each part of the home. To do this, you need to estimate how much time each area will take you to declutter. I’m slower when going through junk. Mostly because I’m trying to talk myself into keeping it! 🙁 This is why my sister comes over and makes me throw everything away! Start with small chunks of time, like 15 minute sessions. I bet once you start you’ll want to keep on going.
- Grab your supplies. You need a 3 boxes, containers, or bags. Grab each item and figure out if it’s trash or not. If not, do you want to donate the item or does it belong in another place in your home? Be careful with this step. You don’t want to keep too many things. I mean, if it’s been in a closet for the last 8 months and you haven’t needed it, why would you need it now?
- #1 To donate
- #2 To throw away
- #3 To put back in it’s place
- Don’t bring more junk into your home. When you’re out shopping be sure to ask yourself if you REALLY need that new item. I recently read the amount of clutter in a woman’s home correlated with the stress level she had. The more clutter the higher the stress. I totally believe that!
Okay so now you’ve got an idea on where to start decluttering. Getting rid of all the junk in your home is going to make you so much more motivated to keep your house clean and tidy!
Think about it: you’ll have less to clean, less mess around and more space to breathe!
I love having a clean home! A clean kitchen motivates me to cook and bake and whip up tasty treats for my family.
A clean bathroom motivates me to get on youtube and try new makeup tutorials or sit in a hot tub and relax. Who can relax in a dirty home?
We sweep and mop pretty much every day. I like to have clean floors and having a dog makes that not always possible!
Here are 2 products that help us keep our home clean:
The Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop Kit
I used to use the Swiffer Wet Jet. I didn’t like running out of the cleaning pads or running out of cleaning solution. I even “hacked” it and made my own cleaning solution but I still hated wasting money on the pads and batteries.
I started searching for a better option and found the Rubbermaid Reveal. It’s got a 4 out of 5 star rating and comes with 1 mop, 3 (washable) microfiber cleaning pads and 2 refill bottles and no batteries are needed! 
I use a little bit of Fabulouso and water and I never run out of solution! I’ve been using this mop kit for one year now and love it!
To save money and waste I started using E-cloths last year. I wanted to use less chemicals around my home and these cloths helped me do that! They have a 4.7 out of 5 star review on Amazon. I thought they were so amazing that I bought my sister a set too!
Here’s what I learned about e-cloths:
More effective healthy cleaning with less effort – removes over 99% of bacteria with just water
Yes e-cloth cloths are durable, reusable cleaning tools, but the most impressive thing about them is their performance. The cleaning power comes from remarkable fibers with microscopic texturing that attracts moisture and oil, lift and trap dirt, grease, grime and bacteria without using any potentially health-harmful chemical cleaners.
Save money by reducing the use of paper towels and chemicals. E-cloths come with a 300 machine wash guarantee giving you years of cleaning performance and savings.
No chemical residues!
Both of these products save me money because I am not buying refills for my swiffer or batteries. And I’m not spending a lot of money on cleaning supplies each month since I use the e-cloths. I’m a clean freak and these 2 things make a big impact on my home and budget.
You CAN get time for yourself every single day!
You can go from being stressed and feeling like the “mean-mom” to learning how to take are of yourself and chilling out in the process.
You can do things you love every day no matter how many kids you have.
Read it in 5 minutes and make changes starting today!
I hope this post motivates you to take control of your home and get rid of your clutter. A clean home makes me happy and less stressed!
I’d love to hear about your favorite cleaning products OR What’s your secret for decluttering? Help a sister out! 🙂
Self-care guide for YOU!
Read in 5 minutes and make changes starting today!
these are such great tips! I don’t remember the last time I opened up my front closet!! LOL! I never heard of Ecloths., but I really want to try something new!!
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Thank you! And I still need to clean out that front closet Have it on my list for this week.
I think I’ll have to get that mop. I didn’t like the others with solution you have to purchase, I like to mix my own. I like to spend about an hour or so each day on cleaning or tidying up. I have everything that needs to be done divided by the days of the week, and try to keep up with the schedule. Great tips, thanks so much!
It really is my favorite mop. Laurie I need to take a look at your cleaning schedule! 🙂 I can’t complain too much because my 10 yr old and 11 yr old do chores every day, so it’s not spotless around here but it’s clean[ish]
One of the things that worked for me is to get my kids declutter their own room in return of chocolate pudding 🙂
laurel recently posted…Best Electric Smoker Reviews 2018– Have the Best Smoked Meat Today!
LOL! thats a great idea Laurel!