So let’s apply this logic to everything else and create a “home” for all the things you own. Most of us get the idea of a permanent home with socks (dresser drawer), forks (kitchen drawer), coats (closet), etc. Place items in a permanent home that makes sense 'Keeping ten glasses checks the requirements of what you love, what you use, and what is practical.' 5. 'Ten glasses fit nicely on one shelf in your cabinet,' points out Lawrence. What if you love glasses that you picked up while on vacation in Europe? Add those four to the keep pile and adjust your kitchen storage accordingly. Sometimes you have dinner with six guests, add another four to your keep pile. Pick two of your best wine glasses to keep. If you have a lot of a certain item, it might take a little more decision-making to cut down your collection… Let’s say you have twenty-five wine glasses (I won't judge) and you and your roomie have a daily glass of wine. For example, if you see an item of clothing that you no longer wear and think ‘wish I fit into that’ or ‘wish it looked good on me,’ you do not need to carry those feelings around with you. 'Don't keep things that have a negative emotion attached to them. 'I recommend donating or throwing away anything you haven't worn in six months or used in six months,' says Cornell. So if you're feeling altruistic, giving away your secondhand wares to charity is one way to simplify your space. It's true what they say: one (wo)man's junk is another man's treasure.

Categorize what you love, what is useful, and what is practical

'If you want to organize your kitchen in 30 minutes a day, then one day pull out all the mugs, the next day sort through glasses, and so on.' 4. 'Break things down into little categories based on how much time you can spare,' says Katherine Lawrence, founder of Space Matters and support organizer for Hoarders on A&E. If you are clearing out your closet, put together pants, shirts, handbags, etc. You could also try the 15-minute declutter method, which will allow you to do a little bit each day. Set your expectations early and make sure that you do not do things in a hurry because you might not be able to declutter properly if you are pressed for time. Organizing a bathroom might take as little as half a day if you're not a skincare queen and generally keep your bathroom cabinets tidy.Ī whole weekend, on the other hand, might not be enough for larger places like a home office or when organizing a closet. That being said, Giuroiu suggests you make sure to allocate a proper time window for decluttering. 'You need to decide on a per-item basis if you’re going to keep something or not and that will definitely not always be a fast decision to make.' 'Decluttering takes time because it involves decision-making every step of the way,' explains Anton Giuroiu architect and founder,. Set a proper time duration for the activity

Declutter your house of papers