How To Find Time And Energy To Declutter Your Home

The number one question I get asked over and over again is how do you find time and energy to declutter your home? Between working full time, running this blog, two kids at home, volunteer work, if I can find the time and energy I promise you everyone can!

First, let me just tell you that I know it can be really hard to find time and energy to declutter your home in the midst of your everyday busy life. The truth is, decluttering is both time-consuming and physically demanding. It requires lots of energy. All of this can make it seem down-right impossible.

But it’s also true that it really isn’t impossible! No matter how busy your normal life is, you can have a simplified and clutter-free home.

Try these five tips to find time and energy to declutter your home.

The benefits you will gain when you seek to simplify your home will make any effort well worth it. And the best part is, the more you declutter, the more time you will begin to gain in your schedule.

So start by being purposeful and intentional with these tips!

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1. Adjust Your Mindset

Everything you own takes some amount of your time. And it’s exhausting to organize, clean, maintain and store all that stuff in your home. On the other hand, the more you get rid of the more time you gain.

You see, keeping the clutter in your home is actually taking more of your time and energy then it would take to declutter your home.

With this in mind, it’s undeniable that you don’t have time not to declutter. In fact, the more difficult it is for you to find time to declutter, the more important prioritizing and simplifying your home is! Why? Because clutter is stealing a LOT of your time and energy.

This mindset adjustment will change everything! Once you’ve shifted your mindset, you can begin focusing on practical ways to include decluttering in your schedule.

When we have something we want to do, we let go of other activities so we can do that one thing. This is how it has to be with simplifying your home! To find time and energy to declutter your home, you need to give up any activity that isn’t absolutely necessary for your job or family.

Let decluttering become your relaxation time. Instead of watching T.V. put the kids to bed, throw on your comfy clothes, pour a glass of wine (or your beverage of choice), put on some music, and start going through that hall closet.

The more you declutter, the more time you free up. The more time you free up, the more energy you have to continue your decluttering efforts.  All because of a shift in your perspective!

2. Understand the Importance of Your Home

If there is one thing I am 100% certain about, it’s that your home matters! In the midst of our crazy busy lives, having a home you love, is vital to living a life you love. Your home is the place you start and end your day. You want it to be the one place you feel the most relaxed and content. It should be the place that recharges you to take on the challenges of the day.

Your environment has a big impact on how you feel and process things. When you wake up and go to sleep feeling frustrated with your cluttered home, those feelings follow you throughout your day. This impacts every other area of your life.

On the other hand, when you look around your home and love what you see and your home functions well, those feelings of joy and contentment follow you around. The result is that you improve your entire day!

The key to loving your home starts with decluttering and simplifying. The nice thing is, the more you declutter and organize, the more you will fall in love with your home!

Focusing on the truth that a simplified and clutter-free home is important to your overall outlook and contentment in life keeps you motivated to find time and energy to declutter your home.

3. Plan It Out

One of the best things you can do to find time and energy to declutter your home is to have a plan before you start! In fact, having a plan in place should be at the top of your list!

Having a solid plan in place for decluttering your home will save you countless hours. It will also cut down on a lot of frustration and discouragement.

Create a mood board

Start by taking the time to think about what you want your home to feel like. Decide what your goals are for your home. For example, do you want a home characterized by hospitality? Will it be the place everyone comes to hang out? Perhaps you want a quiet and cozy home filled with family togetherness. These goals for your home will play a role in your decor, color scheme, and even what items you will declutter.

Spend some time on Pinterest or your favorite home sites. Pay attention to the images you are naturally drawn to. Save those images to a Pinterest board. All of this will keep you going when you feel you don’t have the time or energy to keep decluttering.

Decide on a method.

In the second part of your planning, you’ll decide on a method that will work for you. If you’ve tried various methods in the past that haven’t worked, don’t be afraid to try a declutter method you may not have thought of.

It’s about finding what works for you!

Personally, I think it’s best to focus on decluttering one room until it’s completely done. If you struggle with deciding what to keep and what to get rid of, choose a room that’s easy to make decisions with, like the bathroom.

Otherwise, I recommend starting with the bedroom. A clutter-free bedroom means you’ll have a place to start and end your day that is not only clutter-free, but stress-free, and peaceful!

Be prepared with a couple of boxes or bags as you begin. Have one marked trash, one for things you will donate, and one for things you are unsure about.

The trick with the unsure box is to write the date on top.

Throw out anything broken, stained, or ripped. Also, toss anything not in good enough shape to donate into the trash box.

The donate box is for all those things you neither love nor use but are still in good condition.

The unsure box is for those things you’re not sure if you should keep or get rid of. These are usually things that you use every once in a while, but they are not worth the space they take up in your home. Sometimes they are things you don’t necessarily love but feel guilty getting rid of.

Whatever it is if you are not sure whether it should stay or go place it in the unsure box. Make sure the date is written on top of the box. When the box is full take it to the garage, basement, or other storage areas. If after 3 months you have not needed anything in that box, do not open the box! Instead, take it straight to the donation center.

Plan for what will you do with the stuff you’ve decluttered.

You have a plan for how you want your home to feel. You’ve decided on the method you will use to declutter your home. Now it’s time to make a plan for what you will do with all the stuff you’ve decluttered.

Not knowing what to do with the stuff you’re decluttering can un-do all of your hard work!

There are 3 main choices you have:

• Give the stuff you’ve decluttered to friends and family that may have a need.
• Donate it to a charity that is important to you.
• Sell the items.

I always recommend you go with options one or two. Selling often means keeping your clutter around much longer than you should. Not only that but, selling your decluttered items is a lot of work. It’s usually not worth the effort you have to put into it.

However, Simple Lion Heart Life has a good article that may be useful for you in deciding which option is best for you. You can read it here.

4. Write It Down

With your plans solidified, it’s important to write them down! The bottom line is that when you write things down… stuff gets done.

There’s something about writing stuff down that gets us to take action. It’s not a guarantee or a magic trick but it does help you find time and energy to declutter your home when you schedule it out.

Write it down in your planner the same way you would any other appointment. The Living Well Spending Less Planner is great for this. There are dedicated project planning sheets for each month. You can see from the image below how I’ve planned out a project for decluttering the bedroom.

But honestly, you do not have to use a detailed planner like that, writing it down in whatever planner you currently use will help you move your plan into action. You can sign up for the newsletter and you’ll receive a free printable planner, just click here. Once you write it down you’ll begin to feel responsible for getting it done.

5. Set Deadlines and Goals

Here’s a hard truth, decluttering takes effort and work. If you are not willing to do the work you will always find excuses as to why you can’t find time or energy to declutter your home. You must make it a priority by setting deadlines and goals period.

By making your home a priority, setting goals, and deadlines, you will begin to say no to things that may stand in your way.

Also, setting goals and deadlines makes it easier to break down a big project into manageable pieces without getting overwhelmed.

To do this, take your overall plan and break it down into smaller goals with specific deadlines. For example, if your plan is to fully declutter your bedroom. You can break that down to going through all clothing in the closet, or all clothing in drawers. Then set a timeline for accomplishing that. Next, you may want to break down clearing out the nightstand or the top of the dressers or decor items.

I think you get the idea, break down all your tasks into specific smaller goals with dates for completing the goal. When you do this, you will know exactly what and when you will be working on your decluttering tasks! By preventing overwhelm with small goals and manageable deadlines, you will be able to find time and energy to declutter your home.

Creating a home you love matters!

If you treat creating a home you love like it’s optional, then other things will constantly get in your way.

On the other hand, you will find time and energy to declutter your home when focusing on the truth that your home matters! This is your motivation!

Now, all it takes is adjusting your mindset. Start recognizing how keeping the clutter in your home takes more of your time and energy then it would take to declutter your home. Create a plan for decluttering and write it down.

Be prepared to temporarily say no to things that get in the way until your project is done. Then create goals and deadlines for decluttering your home.

In no time, you will have created a home that you love!