The Journey to Decluttering
Every journey worth taking has to start somewhere. If you’re on a quest to declutter your life and your space, here are some simple ideas of where to begin. I suggest you start small, and over time, tackle bigger projects. Starting with big projects can lead to feeling overwhelmed and losing motivation.
#1 How to Organize your Junk Drawer
We all have one or two, or in some cases, one in each room of the house!
Even if it is a “junk” drawer, we could all agree that much of the stuff inside most likely isn’t junk (some might be).
Our junk drawers often turn out to be a storage place with easy access to some common items. Things like scissors, screwdrivers, pencils, pens, charger cables, sticky notes, loose change, etc.
The first thing to do, which you’ll find is a common theme with many decluttering projects, is to empty out the drawer. Yep, just take it all out; empty it on the floor if you have to.
Next, look through everything, and put away items where they actually go. If you have loose change, put it in your piggy bank; screwdrivers in the toolbox; pens in your desk drawer.
If you truly want to keep some of these items in there (depending on what you want the drawer for) then keep one of each. Maybe just one pencil, one multi-screwdriver (extremely handy), etc.
Also, consider adding a drawer organizer (or making one). Here are a few good picks from Amazon. I’ll have a tutorial on how to make a simple one soon.
#2 How to Organize the Cabinet Under the Bathroom Sink
This one is sort of like the kitchen drawer, but with bigger stuff. You’ll find old dried-up cleaning products, half-empty shampoo bottles, some smelly soap that we got as a gift that one time, and other random stuff that we forgot we even had.
The problem with places like the junk drawer, or the bathroom cabinet, is that once stuff goes in there, we forget about it – outta sight, outta mind. Remember though, our goal is to declutter, and you’ll be happy once you’re able to use your cabinet space for its intended purpose.
So, let’s get all those things out of there that we don’t need, and reclaim our space!
Start by taking out everything, and throw away any empty cleaning products, old toothpaste (yes it does expire) and anything else deemed trash-worthy.
I would say to put everything back in neatly, but the space here is tricky. Because of the drain from the sink, the space in not your typical space. The finishing touch here is adding a small shelf. A shelf will help you stay organized and help you avoid throwing a bunch of stuff on top of each other in the future.
I’ll soon have a quick tutorial on how to build your own, but here’s an inexpensive one from Amazon for now: Under Sink Organizer (or if you want a fancier one – Fancy Under Sink Organizer)
#3 How to Organize your Home Office Desk
These are way more popular now than they have ever been. It’s also one of the messiest areas you come across in your everyday life. A cluttered and messy desk distracts you and decreases your effectiveness at work. What’s worse, if you already have brain fog, it will amplify it!
Again, the first thing to do is to clear your desk completely and figure out what you truly need to get your job done. Get rid of everything that you don’t actually need. You don’t have to trash everything, but get it off your desk if you don’t use it. This includes any unnecessary papers, extra pens, cables, paper clips, notepads, or anything else that is just in the way.
Now you can put everything that you actually need back on and be methodical about it. That means put the things you actually use close by, and the things you don’t need shouldn’t go back on your desk.
It’s also a good idea to enhance your desk with some desk organizers. Here’s some things you can either get, and in some cases, make yourself! I’ll have some tutorials soon on how to DIY some of these things. The links are some inexpensive items offered on Amazon that can make a world of difference on your desk.
- Pen/pencil organizer
- Vertical paper storage
- Computer monitor mount
- Vertical laptop/tablet stand
- Wireless mouse/keyboard (reduces tangled cables)
- Cable Manager
- Desk Drawer Organizers
#4 How to Organize the Medicine Cabinet
Yet, another messy cabinet space. This one could directly affect your health. You don’t want to take old, expired medicines that you might not need any more. On the other hand, you want to make sure you can find the right medicine when you actually need it.
So, what’s the first step? You guessed it! Take all that stuff outta there! At this point, this has got to become a bit fun for you already. Like everything else we’ve been decluttering, take out the things you don’t need, and only keep the things you do need.
The best way to keep this organized is to get a small cabinet organizer made specifically for the medicine cabinet. It can be used for other things, but it really does wonders to organize the medicine cabinet. It lets you see all the small plastic bottles at a glance, and still have enough space to store bigger items.
Here’s a couple items from Amazon that will enhance your medicine cabinet game:
- Cabinet Caddy
- Lazy Susan
- Spicy Shelf (works with spices and medicines)
(Build your own – Tutorial coming soon!)
#5 How to Organize Your Pantry
Do you sometimes go to your pantry, and realize, the thing you’re looking for isn’t really in the same spot it was last time. This can be the case, especially if you’re not living alone. Maybe you just haven’t been through all your things in a while, and you have too much stuff, some of it expired. It’s easy to feel frustrated when looking in your pantry, and maybe it’s finally time to fix it!
The pantry might seem overwhelming to organize compared to your junk drawer, or cabinet spaces. Not to worry though, it only seems bigger, but you got this. The truth is just that the things inside are bigger, making it seem big, but it’s the same concept as all the other things we’ve organized.
Like the rest of our decluttering, you can start by taking things out. However, in this case, we can take care of one shelf at a time, otherwise you’ll end up with a big mess that might overwhelm you even more.
You can go about it like this –
Take out all the items from one of the shelves and place them on the floor; preferably a shelf you can reach easily since we’re doing breakfast items first.
Now, from the things you took out, and the things that are still on the other shelves, search for all of your cereal boxes, oatmeal, pancake mix, and any other breakfast items.
Next, place all the items back neatly on the shelf (wipe down shelves and items if needed). While you’re doing this, make sure to look at expiration dates and consider tossing anything that isn’t good anymore.
Once you finish this step, if you have space on the same shelf, start a new section next to your breakfast items. You can make this section whatever you want. I personally would go with a “snacks” section. If you have a small pantry, empty out a new shelf, and repeat the last process.
Repeat the process with the rest of the shelves and keep making sections with similar items. You can choose a section for canned foods, baking items, grains, beans, snacks, pasta, etc.
Enhance Your Pantry
Just like with all the other storage spaces in your home, you can add things to your pantry to make storing things more efficient. Here are a few items you might want to consider:
- Food Storage Containers
- Pantry Door Organizer (not for accordion doors)
- Can Rack
- Soda Can Rack
- Storage Bins
- Storage Bins (for smaller items)
- Cereal Containers
The Decluttering Journey Will Continue
And just like that, our journey to decluttering is well underway. We are starting a new and healthy habit. Decluttering takes some effort, but it can be extremely rewarding. Not just because you have a more organized space, because you have peace of mind that you know where to find what you need.
This is a more efficient and effective way to live. And it’s ok if it’s not perfect, you will get better with time and practice.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to tackle a project all at once if you really have limited time. You can break it up into smaller blocks of time. Maybe you don’t have time to clean out the whole pantry, but maybe you have time to reorganize your breakfast items. You can do the rest tomorrow, or when you have a chance. Just find little spaces in time that you can help yourself a bit, and declutter.
Please share this with someone you know could use some help decluttering. Also, leave a comment below if this helped you, and if you would like me to cover any other decluttering ideas.
Help your-shelf. Help others.