We girls have come to the conclusion that we did not feel comfortable in a messy house. For us the rule ‘a tidy house is a tidy head’ certainly applies, but this does not necessarily apply to everyone. So please don’t get irritated if you don’t feel like cleaning up – you don’t have to do it! So if you feel like you need some cleaning to do, here is how to get started.
Messy House? How to get motivated to clean and declutter!
CHOOSE A GOOD TIME
You prefer to choose an entire day, or maybe even an entire weekend. If you start early in the morning, you might still be able to drive to the circuit in the afternoon with stuff you would like to get rid of. Maybe you don’t have any special plans this Easter weekend and you want to get started. Or maybe you think: it will be King’s Day soon and I would like to sit at a flea market with things. Then it is advisable to poke a moment within now and two or three weeks. We recommend that you reserve at least one full day for this. Experience shows that you will need more time – but that of course also depends a bit on the amount of stuff you have to sort out.
PREPARE YOURSELF
You may find it sounding exaggerated, but we think you should prepare yourself for your large-scale clean-up campaign. How can you prepare for this? These are the things we have done:
– boxes, crates and / or bags collected (in which we can sort things)
– a Greenwheels car reserved to be able to drive to the cycle (if you have a car yourself, this is not necessary and if you do not have a car, you would have a be able to do part of the bike or borrow a car from someone)
– brought food and drinks into the house, so we didn’t have to leave the house to do the shopping (or; order a pizza in the evening or go eat outside, because You have earned that!)
– planned a free evening to be able to fall down exhausted on the couch in the evening and not have to do anything anymore
– you may also need a good vacuum. See reviews at ByPurify.
CLEAN UP PER CATEGORY
Always complete a category first, before proceeding to the next. When you are only halfway through your wardrobe and then already start working on your kitchen cupboards, despair can quickly strike. In addition, your house is an even bigger mess than before and we really cannot recommend that. Suppose you started in your wardrobe. Then make sure you have looked at all your clothes, checked and sorted by ‘stay,’ ‘clean up better’ and ‘get away with it’. Only when all your clothes are neatly in your closet again, dirty items of clothing are in the wash, the clothes that can be neatly packed in a bag and are ready at the door to be taken away, then you start working on your kitchen cabinets.
VIEW ALL YOUR STUFF
Ask yourself. Do you still have a need for all the stuff you see? “Does it spark joy?” In other words: does this make me happy? If yes, then it can stay. If not, it must go away.
Of course you determine that yourself. But what works very well for us is to lay everything on the floor for you. So you take all your books out of your closet, put them on the floor in front of you and take a good look at them. Take a seat yourself, make yourself comfortable and pick up your books one by one. View the cover, browse through it and ask yourself with each book whether you are attached to it, still happy or whether you still need the book. Then make piles: 1) no longer needed and also not special, 2) no longer needed, but special enough and 3) I am still very happy about this and I want to keep this book.
TAKE YOUR THINGS AWAY IMMEDIATELY
Perhaps after cleaning up one category you want to bring your sorted things. Suppose you started with your wardrobe and you already have two garbage bags full of things that can go, it is definitely advisable to do this immediately. Take them to the local circuit, donate it to the Salvation Army or take it to a clothing bin.
SIT BACK AND LOOK AROUND
After cleaning up, bringing things away and cleaning / refurbishing, it’s time to sit back and take a good look around you. After all, you are extremely proud that you have finally started cleaning up. Apart from the fact that you are proud of the result, it is also a good reminder for yourself.
