At the beginning of this year, I decided to go back and start my 52-Week Decluttering Challenge from the beginning. We’re well into June now, so it’s time for another monthly update. This month, I decided to switch things up a bit and share my top 10 decluttering and organizing tips.

52-Week Decluttering Challenge

If you missed last year’s challenge, here are some links to help you get started.

• 52-Week Decluttering Challenge – Free printable
• Week 1 – Easy decluttering checklist
• Looking back on a year of decluttering
• And, if you just want to jump in and declutter a specific area, you can find links to all the weekly tips and posts on the main Decluttering page.

What I decluttered in May

This month, I took a different approach. Instead of taking pictures and tracking what I decluttered week by week, I started a list of my top decluttering and organizing tips.

I did complete my weekly decluttering tasks, and got rid of 12 items from my bathroom counters, medicine cabinet, tub and shower area, and laundry room.

Top 10 decluttering and organizing tips

I’ve learned a lot on my decluttering journey. Here are my top 10 decluttering and organizing tips. I hope you’ll find them helpful.

You don’t have to do it all at once

I’ve never agreed with Marie Kondo‘s theory that successful decluttering is a big, multi-day event that you do once and never revisit. That may work for some people, but most of us will never have the luxury of dedicating an entire weekend to decluttering.

For me, decluttering is best tackled in smaller chunks. Make a list of areas of your home you want to declutter (or save some time by downloading my checklist) and set aside time every week to get it done. Some tasks take 15 minutes, others might take a couple of hours. It won’t take long until you start to notice the difference in your home.

When the mood strikes, embrace it

If you’re like me, you need to be in the mood for decluttering. In May, I found a couple of times that I didn’t feel like doing the next task on the list, so I picked another area instead.

When you’re walking through an area of your home that needs decluttering and you’re in the mood, go for it!

Be thoughtful about it

Decluttering doesn’t mean filling dozens of garbage bags destined for landfill. As an eco-friendly living enthusiast, just the thought of that makes me cringe. In a full year of decluttering, I sent only two bags of decluttering garbage to the landfill. Everything else, I gave away, donated or recycled.

Make a plan from the outset for how you want to get rid of the things you no longer want. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out 5 ways to turn your junk into treasure. 

Declutter first, then organize

Let me be really clear, you can’t organize clutter! One of the big mistakes people make when they start out is wasting money on storage baskets and organizing units.

If you declutter first, you’ll have less to organize. You may find you don’t need those fancy baskets and “life-changing” organizing solutions.

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Repurpose existing items as storage solutions

While we’re on the subject of organizing solutions, you can save money by using containers you already have. If they’re tucked away in a drawer, who will see them?

Here are some ideas of things I’ve reused to keep drawers and cupboards organized:

• Margarine and yogurt containers
• Small plastic fruit baskets
• The box your smartphone or tablet came in
• Bread tags to organize cords and cables (thanks to Krista and Alison at A Sustainably Simple Life for this tip).

Organize with task-specific totes

If you have regular tasks where you use the same items, why not put all those things together in a single basket or tote?

When decluttering my kitchen counters, I put together a “breakfast box” with the things I use every morning: tea, tea balls and filters, reusable straws for my smoothies, and the cleaning brush for straws. I pull out the basket in the morning, and then keep it out of sight in the cupboard for the rest of the day.

You can do the same thing for craft supplies, sewing supplies, writing paraphernalia, and any other frequent tasks.

Develop the quick glance habit

When you enter a room, get into the habit of having a quick look around. Take one minute to tidy up by clearing off surfaces, gathering up things that don’t belong, and putting them away.

Avoid the just-in-case trap

Are you hanging on to things “just in case”? I had an interesting chat about this with my sister-in-law a couple of weeks ago. She mentioned some of the supply chain concerns we’re currently experiencing in a post-pandemic world, and that we need to be careful what we get rid of because we may never be able to get some of these things again.

I believe the supply chain issues will work themselves out, but it was a good reminder not to fall into the just-in-case trap. If you’ve been managing fine without using an item, or had forgotten you owned it, you really don’t need it.  

Avoid replacing old stuff with more stuff

Decluttering is a mindset. When you start your journey, make a conscious decision to be mindful about what you buy. There’s no point decluttering if you’re just going to bring in new stuff as fast, or faster, than you got rid of the old.

Adopting a one-in-one-out rule is a good way to stay on top of the clutter. Even better, consider a one-in-two-out approach.

When you think you’re done, start over

When you get to the end of your decluttering list, it’s tempting to sit back and say “I’m done.”

It’s okay to celebrate your accomplishment by taking a break for a while. When you’re ready, go back to the top of the list and start again. That’s what I did at the beginning of this year. I’m definitely not getting rid of as many items as I did the first time around, but I still find things I overlooked, or just wasn’t ready to say good-bye to last year. 

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Once you build good decluttering habits, you’ll find yourself doing some of these things automatically. Be kind to yourself. It took you a lifetime to accumulate this clutter, so you can’t expect to get rid of it all overnight.

What are your best decluttering and organizing tips? Feel free to drop them in the comments below.