Looking for ways to make decluttering and organizing a little bit easier? Check out these quick organizing and decluttering tips for some realistic organization inspiration.
Quick Organizing and Decluttering Tips
Here are some organizing and decluttering tips that I’ve tried. Some of them worked, and some didn’t. Hopefully these tips will save you some time and keep you from trying out annoying, complicated organization tips.
A Time Saver
Stop matching socks! Next time your kids need to go up a size in socks (or you have to buy new socks because the ones they have are spent), buy one type of sock, and get rid of the rest. That way, all of the socks will match, and you won’t have to spend time folding them. Learn more about making a sock bin here.
An Organizing Fail – Don’t Do What I Did!
I tried to organize and de-disgustify the cup holders in our car by purchasing silicone cupcake liners, and putting them in the holders. Ideally, I thought they would catch all of the spills and nasties, so I could just pull them out and wash them as needed. Unfortunately, the ones I ordered were too small, so now I’m stuck with random silicone cupcake holders. Next time, I’ll try to find some jumbo cupcake liners and see if that works.
Decluttering Resources for Those Who Don’t Want to Let Go Of Things
If you want to get rid of things that might not be donate-able, consider joining a Buy Nothing Group or Freecycle. In both groups, people post wants and needs, and you can post things that you’d like to give away for free. This is especially nice for large items, or partially used items that are still perfectly “good.” Looking through the wants and needs of others has given me some new ideas for things I could get rid of. Knowing that someone else would put our stuff to good use motivated me to get things out of storage and give them away.
Getting Ready to Donate
Have a box or bag designated to hold items to donate. I keep a bag in my closet, and I have a box in my garage for donations. As I find things we could donate, I put them in the donation containers right away.
Before I started doing this, I would see things around the house and think, “Hmmm…I should donate that.” and do nothing about it. Now that I have a place for donations, it’s much easier to declutter the things we want to give away.
Doing a Little at a Time is Ok!
As busy moms, it’s just not realistic to expect that we can dedicate a whole day to organizing. Organizing and decluttering doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Doing a little bit of decluttering at once can have a huge impact over time!
Take the First Step
If you’re feeling discouraged, taking action can help. So, what should you do?
Start by throwing things away. It can be anything, but I like to start with things that are obviously trash. Head to an area where you know you’ll find trash (I usually go to my desk or the kitchen), and start throwing things away.
Follow a Realistic Decluttering Plan
When I started decluttering our home, I only worked at it 10 minutes a day. That’s all the time I had.
Over time, my house started to get better. Decluttering and organizing got easier. Because I started small and built up a consistent decluttering habit, I made good progress and I got better at decluttering.
I wrote an ebook about exactly what I did for the first 30 days of my decluttering journey. If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or you just don’t know where to start, this guide is for you! Click here to learn more.
Work with a Buddy
Organizing is much more fun if you’re doing it with someone else. You can keep each other accountable and cheer each other on. If you have a friend you’d like to start organizing with, share this post with them!
A good way to stay motivated is to share organizing and decluttering ideas. Pinterest is full of links to great resources, and it’s easy to create an organizing board of your own. That way you can share inspiration with your organizing buddy and easily find new ideas.
Sharing posts via Facebook or Twitter are good ways to share information too! If you’re looking for a group of Organizing Moms, join us in the Organizing Moms Community on Facebook.
You can use the social media buttons on this site to send ideas to your friends via whatever outlet you prefer.
Happy organizing!
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I have six boys, ages 15-7; the youngest are twins. Add a husband and me, the only “girl”, we’ve got A LOT of socks! I buy different brand socks for my older 3, who all where the same size, and younger 3, who all are very close in size. A near-perfect solution for matching socks in our house is using the mesh lingerie bags for each child. It is a near perfect solution because my younger ones don’t always get their socks in the laundry (or just one sock makes it while the other one is hidden in the toy box) or one pair ends up with one sock with a hole. I use the holey sock as a rag and save the other “good” sock for when another pair ends up with the same fate. Yeah, my husband thinks I am crazy for that one, too. Anyway. matching washed socks is very easy since all the pairs for one person should be in its own mesh bag. .
Wow, that’s smart! What a great idea!
I did the same thing, stopped matching socks for my kids and purchased the boys socks all of the same style. My husband started hanging up the boys shirts since it was quicker than folding their shirts. Also there is less in their drawers to be emptied on to the floor 🙂
Loving these tips – I need all the help I can get when it comes to decluttering!