Day two of our challenge and day two of the year! I hope things are off to a great start for you. Did you think of a word to help define your 2020? If so, I’d love to hear it. So what’s next in our decluttering challenge? Today we’re going to talk about one version of a method for getting started cleaning and decluttering in a room. It’s a method designed by Dana K. White at the blog called A Slob Comes Clean. Dana has an entertaining podcast and a fuss-free method for getting started and gaining momentum.
When you enter your room, bring a garbage bag and a donation box with you. Start by going quickly around the room; toss any obvious garbage, remove dishes and collect items that don’t belong in that room including dirty laundry, old dishes, paperwork-anything that obviously has a home somewhere else. Put those things where they belong, but don’t get distracted by doing the dishes or a load of laundry just yet. Now go back and look around your room, isn’t it getting better already?
Next, you need to spend a little time purging the items you don’t want or need anymore. Some of that will be garbage and some will be worthy of donation. Don’t sweat this too much. Just purge the items you don’t love, clothes that don’t fit, the games that don’t have all the parts for and the goods you know you won’t use again. Maybe you have furniture that doesn’t work in your home. Sell it or donate it to clear more real estate in the room. I’ll spend a later post outlining good ideas for places to donate, but for now, just put them in the box and keep it out of that room.
After you’ve decluttered, spend some time cleaning and dusting. Wash the windows, vacuum the floors and scrub the baseboards. Open a window, light a candle or diffuse some essential oils to clear the air. You won’t believe the change a room when the clutter is cleared, the garbage is removed and the dust is swept away. Take a few moments to celebrate your achievement. Take pictures or phone a friend. Or you can connect with your friendly neighborhood home coach! I’d love to hear about your progress.
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