How to Eliminate Massive Clutter in Record Time

 

How to Eliminate Massive Clutter in Record Time

When people are faced with massive clutter or hoards of junk, the natural reaction is to throw their hands up in the air and put it off. Although this is the typical reaction, it is also the worst possible way of dealing with clutter. If you go this route, you will end up with an even larger mess and no motivation to turn it around. If you are facing a huge mess of clutter and are not sure what to do, these tips should be of particular help to you.

Get a plan

Having a bad plan is better than no plan at all when it comes to massive clutter. Why? Because your plans are going to change as you go. Huge areas of clutter are not going to magically fix themselves in a nice and tidy way. Big messes means big changes along the way. That said, you need to have the most basic of plans with tons of clutter.

One of the best plans is the simplest. You need to start out with three piles and have avenues for each pile to be transported and moved that same day. You need a pile for trash, a pile for donations and a pile for keepers. Whether you need a trash runner there or a dumpster there, you need to make sure you can carry it away right then. Leaving it in place will do what? Create more clutter!

Make sure your working areas are out of the weather or at a minimum, coverable in an emergency.

Start with one five foot area

Five feet is more than enough in a high clutter situation. Commit to finishing that five foot area and not stopping until you do. Completely finish that area before moving on to anything else. This includes cleaning to a certain degree. The bottom line is that when you finish that area, you feel good about it. When you commit to small wins like this, you are much more likely to move on to the next areas.

Don’t overwhelm yourself by looking at the entire house

When you look at the large area that has to be cleaned, you can easily find yourself being defeated. Keep your focus and goals narrow and beat the clutter a few steps at a time. When you clear out the areas, you will then start to see that it is possible.

Clean the most used areas first

If you are cleaning a large home, find the one area that you would use the most if it was clean. Once you locate that area, clean it first. At the end of the day, you want to have the pleasure of enjoying your home again. Clean out an area that will have a huge impact on how you live. For example, do the kitchen first if you love to cook but can’t because of clutter.

Take away the clutter as you go

On the television show, you see entire homes being cleaned out in what seems like a half hour. The fact is, hoarding and massive clutter is a progression. Cleaning it up and getting help with the problem is progressive as well. For the average person, you will need to clean the clutter and take it away in bite sized chunks. At the end of the day, you should understand that some messes are simply too big to knock out quickly. That can actually bring you some peace because you are accepting that you have time. There is no reason to panic and you can do it. Just take it in baby steps and win each small fight.