Why should you make decluttering a priority?
Being surrounded by a mess in your home can be stressful. Even if you do your best and take all of the recommended precautions to prevent your home becoming cluttered, it really does happen to the best of us!
Deciding to start your decluttering journey doesn’t have to be scary, though. Even just by making a few simple changes and making a schedule or time frame for yourself can really make a big difference. And the best part? You don’t have to do it alone.
While you have plenty of room in one of our St. Joseph apartments, you might not be feeling the maximalist vibe, and that’s totally okay! So if you’re looking for a few tips to help you manage the clutter in your home or apartment, here are some tips that you might want to try:
1.) Schedule a day for you to declutter your apartment and knock it out all at once.
Some people are able to work on cleaning their home in increments, doing a little a day. If you’re got the discipline to do that, then great! It’s a really efficient way to break up what can be a long and arduous task.
For many others, however, the idea of spreading something like decluttering out over a few days is even more stress-inducing than not doing it at all. That’s why, if the thought of getting rid of the clutter in your home is overwhelming, schedule a day for you to really sit down and do it.
And really make it a day! Plan your entire day around getting things cleaned up. If you need breaks throughout the day, use that time to take items to the donation center, or use it for food breaks or other small errands you might need to run to stay motivated. Or, if you’re truly worried about staying on task, invite some friends to come and help you! Offer to buy them some pizza, and they’ll help you organize and stay on task.
Getting everything done at one time means that you can knock it out, get everything cleaned, and just be done with it – no going back. It results in your house being clean, and everything nice and tidy!
2.) It’s okay to get rid of the boxes.
Listen, before you get up in arms: you do not need to keep the boxes for all of your purchases. You’ll likely never need that old shoebox that your maid of honor shoes came in, and you won’t need the massive InstaPot box any longer once it’s in your regular kitchen appliance rotation.
People think of several different reasons as to why they might need to keep a box: for moving later on down the line, for organizational purposes, or even for display if it’s for a keepsake. But take a look at it like this: is the value of your item going to be lessened if you don’t have the box? Do you see yourself pulling the box out for use anytime in the near future?
If the answer to these is no, then you might want to look into getting rid of the packaging boxes. It’ll help free up more space than you realize in your apartment, and having fewer boxes around makes a space look much less cluttered.
3.) If you’re feeling stuck, try the “three box” method. (Keep, donate, throw away)
Are you at a total loss on how to even begin to organize? If you are, then maybe trying out the “three box” method is for you.
The way you get started is like this: get three empty boxes, plastic tubs, bags, whatever you have on hand, and label them as “KEEP,” “DONATE,” and “THROW AWAY.” In each room, or wherever it is that you’ve gathered your clutter, start organizing each item into one of these three categories.
Being able to look at each thing individually and sort it based on its usefulness to you and your space can be a big help for those of us who really struggle with those organizational skills. Giving yourself categories to sort items into makes it less of a daunting task and helps make it a bit more manageable if there’s a lot to be done.
4.) Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t feel ashamed to call in a professional.
If you feel like trying to declutter your apartment is just too much of an overwhelming task, then it’s completely acceptable to call in the big guns. This can look like a couple of different things: it could be a trusted friend who has really incredible organization skills, it could be a family member to help keep you motivated, or it could even be a professional organization company to give you the best chance of success.
People have different talents and skills in many different areas of life. So, if your skill isn’t organizing and decluttering, there’s absolutely no shame in reaching out to someone to help who is much better at it than you. Plus, if you decide to enlist the help of a friend or family member, you could even treat them to coffee on the first floor of the St. Joseph apartments as a thank you!
AE Lofts
Here at our St. Joseph apartments at AE Lofts, we never want you to feel overwhelmed with your cleaning. Our on campus parking makes it easy to move your items wherever you need to, whether that be to the donation center, a dumpster, or even right back into your apartment. Our first floor coffee shop provides a place for you to be able to take a well-deserved cleaning break, too, helping to provide the motivation that you might need to keep going.
And, well, if you aren’t quite ready to get rid of some of the clutter in your home, that’s okay too. We all move at our own pace, and it can be hard to let something go. That’s why, if you’re having a little trouble decluttering, you might want to make use of one of our on site resident storage areas to give you just a little extra space while you’re trying to figure things out.
Whether you’re a minimalist or a maximalist, AE Lofts has a spot for you. If you’re interested in seeing all that our complex has to offer, contact us and schedule a tour today!
