When you first move into your own place, you quickly learn how much effort is required to keep your space clean and decluttered. Life is exhausting, and you just want to relax during your evenings and weekends and not spend the whole time cleaning the house. But your parents have managed to keep their house decluttered all these years. Your friends do it. Your great aunt who makes pointed comments about your home’s cleanliness level whenever she comes over does it. So what’s their decluttering secret? How do they balance cleaning with work or school, children, a social life, and adequate sleep? While they may not consciously realize it, they are probably utilizing the biggest decluttering secret of them all. And if you implement this easy, two step decluttering secret into your regular routine, you can keep your house clean and decluttered for good.
The 2 Step Decluttering Secret
Step #1: 15 Minute Sprees
For those moments, days, weeks, months, or even years when you feel like you have absolutely zero time to declutter your home, you have to take a step back. You’re probably thinking about the big picture and mentally preparing to spend 1-2 days cleaning your whole home. Most people don’t have that kind of time to devote to decluttering. The secret is to break it down into manageable, achievable chunks. Committing to only 15 minutes of decluttering keeps you from feeling overwhelmed. When you find you have a spare 15 minutes before you need to pick up the kids or wait for dinner to finish cooking, utilize that time to do a quick declutter.
What You’ll Need for Your Quick Declutter
- Timer
- Dirty clothes hamper
- Trash bin or bag
- 2 Large, empty containers, like a rubbermaid bin or a laundry basket
Steps for a 15 Minute Declutter for Any Room
- Set your timer for 15 minutes, then get started!
- Throw out any trash.
- Put any dirty clothing or towels in the hamper.
- If anything belongs in another room, place it in your large empty container.
- If there’s anything you no longer want or use, put it in the other empty container for donation.
- Carry your first container around the house and put those out of place items where they need to go.
- Stop when the timer goes off!
Use this list as a starting point. You can add any steps that make sense, like wiping down kitchen counters or dusting the entertainment center. If it makes sense for the space and can be done in your 15 minutes, add it to the list. Keep in mind, each room might require a different number of declutter sessions. And even after you’ve decluttered every room, continue to utilize these 15 minute sprees to avoid having weekends filled with nothing but cleaning.
Step#2: The 2 Minute Rule
Once your space is decluttered, the easiest and most efficient method to keep it that way is following the 2 Minute Rule. If there’s a task that needs doing that can be completed in 2 minutes or less, take care of it now rather than putting it off until later.
For example:
Instead of leaving dirty dishes in the sink…
Rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher.
Instead of leaving mail on the kitchen counter…
Put it on your desk, the entry way table, or wherever it needs to go.
Instead of leaving your coat on the sofa or kitchen chair…
Hang it up in the coat closet.
All of these little tasks that take only two minutes can add up to hours of tidying up on days off. Say goodbye to cleaning sprints right before a last minute visit from family. Taking care of the little things in the moment will help keep your home looking clean and tidy. And continual use of these two steps in conjunction with one another will make you feel like you spend little to no time cleaning or decluttering.
Once you’ve completed your decluttering, you’ll probably end up with some things that need to be donated, recycled, or trashed altogether. Whether you have a large amount of small items to get rid of or a few small pieces of furniture, Moving U & Junk U can safely remove your junk and take care of donating any reusable items. Our junk removal crews provide friendly, professional removal services. We’ll make your junk disappear and take care of all the heavy lifting for you.
3 Steps For Quick & Easy Junk Removal:
Get Your Price
Our all inclusive pricing is volume based. We’ll give you an estimate for your removal ahead of time so you know what to expect on the day of your pick up.
Schedule Your Junk Removal
We know you probably want this junk removed as soon as possible, so we’ll always try to accommodate with same or next day service. But even if you’re planning removal for a month from now, give us a call, text, or email. We’ll schedule your junk removal so you don’t have to worry about it.
Say Goodbye To Your Old Junk
Our friendly Junk Removal crew will give you a call half an hour before your arrival window to let you know what time you should expect them. They’re also trained movers, so they can safely remove the junk from your home. Wherever it is–basement, living room, loft–we’ll remove it from there. You won’t have to lift a finger (except maybe to show us where the junk is located).
Bonus Step:
While we’re there, if you have anything else you need removed like a sofa, mattress, TV, old paint, appliance, weight bench, treadmill, elliptical, old carpet, or piano, we can haul that away with the junk as well.
Ready to get your junk removal estimate? Give us a call or text at 484-301-2442 or email us at info@movingujunku.com
