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Four fun ways to declutter your life

Your house is messy. Stop living in denial.

Nurfaizah Faizuwan

Published: 27 January 2016, 3:18 AM

Chinese New Year is right around the corner and if you have not spring cleaned your house, I’d suggest you start now. But if your house is filled with clutter, you might tend to feel so overwhelmed and not know where or how to start.

A simple and uncluttered home may sound tough to achieve at first, but take baby steps. I am no cleaning expert, but if you are feeling stuck and uninspired, here are four alternative ways you can declutter:

1. It is never too late to donate.

I always receive these paper cut-outs at my door, telling me about a secondary school or junior college nearby collecting old clothes, newspapers and what not for an old folks’ home or an orphanage.

I also think when you think that you are donating for a good cause, you would be less attached to it and be more willing to give away to people who might need it more than you do.

LOOK OUT FOR THESE NOTICES THAT ARE USUALLY STUCK ONTO YOUR DOOR OR IN YOUR MAILBOXES.

2. A bag a day keeps the clutter away.

If you are the kind that does things halfway and never finishes a job completely, I personally think that this method would be super productive for you: Get a black trash bag (or any other plastic bag) and throw as many things as you can find to dispose. Once the bag is full, you can stop… and repeat the cycle again the next day. Slow and steady wins the race (in cleaning!).

3. Schedule a weekend to declutter.

What I personally like to do is to set aside a “decluttering weekend”. I do nothing but declutter because frankly, everything else can wait. My entire family usually cleans the house for one weekend – sometimes if we are feeling determined we would clean for two weekends!

Even though decluttering is a chore that everyone hates, when you do it together, it feels less tiring and more productive. You could split the responsibilities by room or area – let’s say you and your siblings clean your living room, while your mother cleans the kitchen and your father cleans the bedrooms. Work gets done fast that way.

TAKE A DAY OR TWO OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE, IT WILL BE WORTH IT, I GUARANTEE YOU.

4. Numbers, numbers, numbers.

The struggle is real when you absolutely cannot stand the clutter around you but you are too lazy to clean. What I like to do is set a goal or a number for myself. For example: just dispose five items out of your desk today, which you think you might not need anymore. It could be five old pens that have ran out of ink or irrelevant post-its with deadlines that have passed. You are still getting rid of something, nonetheless.