5 Tips for Organizing Clutter (And Getting that Early Spring Cleaning On!)

By Rachel Anne Dickinson

I’ve recently been trying to declutter our apartment, getting rid of things to have more space. There’s something so gratifying when you throw away, recycle, or donate items that we no longer need and make room for the things we cherish and love. For me, when I see clutter, it’s hard for me to focus, whether it’s on writing, planning blog posts, or trying to be productive on anything in general because it’s so easy to be unmotivated and stressed out by the pile of papers or dirty dishes. Here are a few tips that I’ve gleaned and tried that have helped make decluttering not as painful and more enjoyable.

1. Put a Cleaning Playlist On! There are some playlists on Spotify, specifically for cleaning, that make cleaning motivating and fun. Turn it up to your favorite energizing beats, whether it’s pop, rap, hip hop, country, or rock. Music makes cleaning for me go by faster while I’m singing to my favorite artists.
   


2. Digitize Paperwork and Photos. There were a bunch of cards, whether it was birthday or thank you greetings that I enjoyed from family or friends, but I’ve found I kept a lot of them. Like too many of them. Take photos of the sweet words and comments from friends, and then recycle them. Also, when you digitize photos, you’ll save a ton of space on prints and have them accessible on the Cloud or Google Photos.
   


3. Less is More Mentality: I recently perused a local print magazine and noticed a beautiful home that was highlighted and showcased. While the home was super clean, I noticed the decor in each room was pretty minimal. I used this inspiration while decluttering; an artfully decorated space typically has less “things”–old mail and catalogs, receipts everywhere, piles of who-knows-what–and keeps the space tidy and clean. I felt way better when there was less on the table and felt more motivated to keep going with the decluttering.
   


4. Know It Takes Time: Don’t fret about how long it will take because then you might not ever get started. Start with 10 or even 5 minutes to declutter just a portion of a table. You might find that that one simple task will encourage you to clean more than what you set out to do and in no time, a whole room will be decluttered!
   


5. Stay Positive: Reward yourself by pulling out a nice scented candle you’ve been hiding (I pulled out an old pumpkin candle and lit it after I decluttered), treating yourself to a nice snack, or taking a break and unwinding with your favorite TV show. When you treat yourself to something good, you’ll want to keep up the habit.

Try to keep up with a decluttering habit for one week and see a difference in your home. You’ll feel much more at ease, relaxed, and focused to tackle other goals and not have to worry about all the clutter.