5 Declutter tips for your February

I love January for it’s crisp, clean feel. I don’t make resolutions, but I love to set goals and intentions. 

Where January makes room for planning, February, triggers action. It’s a great time to get ready for Spring. To hold space for things that we want in our life, and push out things that only take up space that could be left for breathing room.

I first used Marie Kondo’s concept written in her book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. 

That year, I collected 12 large trash bags of stuff that no longer served my life. I excitedly donated them, with the thought that they’ll serve a purpose for their next owner. 

I make this more of a regular practice now, but I also ensure that I do a really good deep dive after the new year. A lot more stuff comes into the house around that time of year. With 3 birthdays within 4 weeks of the holiday season, and of course the holiday itself, stuff is on the rise in my house!

I love to use these tips when it comes time to declutter. 

• Chop up sessions. Don’t over do it or make things complicated. You don’t need to accomplish things in a day, or even a weekend. Decide how long you’re giving yourself and then split your time wisely. I like to break things up by floor and then room. For example, I have 3 floors – main floor, basement, and upstairs. I give myself three weeks and take one floor at a time. I’ll do upstairs first and tackle the bedrooms on Saturday, and then the bathrooms and laundry room on Sunday. But you do you!

• If you can’t clean it easily, there’s too much. You should be able to move things easily to clean the surface, if you can’t do that, that probably means some things need to be removed – permanently. When deciding, leave what you love! Everything else should leave that space, think about where it might better fit, and if you can’t, it might be time to let it go. Create a basket for things you no longer need, and then bag them up once a month, and take them to donate on your designated day.

• Have fun with it. Dreaded chores are no fun. Ask yourself what you can do to make it a little more joyful. Listen to some of your favorite music, put on a podcast, or make it a game. There’s so many options when it comes to pairing not so fun things with something you look forward to or enjoy to make the time more valuable. 

• Stop and think – before you buy. Ask yourself what purpose it’s going to serve before bringing something in. Another good rule of thumb is to sleep on it. Impulsive buying is a thing, I know, I’ve been guilty of it. I can’t even begin to recount things I’ve done away with that never even made it past my storage because they weren’t bought with any intention of how’d they’d fit into my life. Make sure you really love it, no question, and you know exactly what you’re doing with it!

• Keep it clean routine. Maintaining things is key! Enlisting the help of others goes a long way. I love the 5 minute clean up idea. In the evening create a 5 minute clean up routine, and get others involved. This is simply making sure shoes, dishes, laundry, you name it, are where they should be. My kids love leaving cups and snack bowls around the house, but a 5 minute pick up regularly goes a long way to help keep things tidy.

How about you? What great tips do you have? I’d love to hear!