Does cleaning your house always involve moving piles of stuff out of the way? Clutter has a life of its own – it tends to proliferate as piles of magazines, paperwork, and other items get moved from room to room to free up space for, well, more clutter! Reducing clutter will make your home cleaner and neater and your life more manageable. Here are some tips to help you.

Banish the Word “Might”

Ok, you might use the home-made ice cream maker that is still in its box or you might use the food dehydrator that you thought would save you money on camping trips. However, if you haven’t even thought about these items for years, you need to free up some cupboard space.

Forget that you Spent Money on it

It’s so hard to throw something out, even if you’re not using it, if you dwell on the hard work that went into earning the cash you used to buy it. However, maybe you can sell it on Craigslist or eBay and get some of your hard earned money back.

Find New Ways to Keep the Things You Love

Today’s digitized world makes it possible to keep photos, CDs, movies, etc. without keeping the clutter. Of course, you might end up with digital clutter, but this is preferable to having the physical kind all over your house. Allow yourself a fair amount of time to go through the items in question and decide which ones are really worth keeping.

Realize you Don’t Need All of Those T-Shirts

The number of T-shirts, tote bags, water bottles, and other “swag” items that we bring home from events piles up over the years. Before you know it, you have a whole closet dedicated to T-shirts or an entire shelf in the kitchen just for water bottles. Go through this stuff and just keep a few favorites. And steel yourself not to keep bringing such items home in the future.

Regard Procrastination as the Enemy

Every New Year many people make a resolution to have a good clean out of their stuff, but August comes around and they haven’t even made a start. Avoid procrastination by regarding decluttering as a series of sprints, not a marathon. Remember, it took years to acquire all of this stuff, so give yourself some time to let it all go. Plan to target specific areas for de-cluttering in a certain period of time – may be one area per month. Stick to your plan so that you don’t exhaust yourself and give up.

Work with a Local Hauling Company

If the thought of what’s involved in getting rid of your clutter in a responsible and environmental way is too overwhelming, the good news is that you don’t have to do it all yourself. Many hauling companies will donate or recycle as much of the material they collect as possible. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are a great option! Contact us to find out how we can help make de-cluttering your home as easy and painless as possible.