Decluttering your home: The ultimate room by room guide

Every home needs care and attention, but after a while, it will take more than mere sweeping and dusting to clear the mess that has been creating by piling up things one over another.

For some, this is the sign of dissatisfaction with themselves, for others, it’s just the expected reflection of their busy lives.

Although the cause should also be addressed, the first thing that needs to be put in order is the consequence – and that’s your home. And if you decided to declutter it, here are some suggestions how to do it room by room.

Just note that the first and easiest step to take in decluttering is to remember to put something back in its place immediately you’re done. This will save you a lot of stress and mess in the long run.

Bedroom

The messiest place in your home is usually your bedroom.

The main reason for being so is that it’s the room you usually hide from other people’s view.

When you start with your bedroom first, you’ll easily continue with the rest of the house because this room needs segmenting of its own.

Start with cleaning up the room first. This means to pick up dirty and scattered clothes just lying around and then move on the closet and drawers.

If you own a vanity and/or a nightstand, make sure that all the trinkets and knick-knacks are back in their place, since those make the mess most easily and tend to end up on the floor and around the room quickly. 

Decluttering your bedroom is usually quite a task, but with good organization and decisiveness to get rid of all the needless stuff, you will finish it up quickly and to your satisfaction.

Living room

Known as entertainment area of the house, the living room is usually kept in somewhat order, but after a while and if not thoroughly cleaned, it can be your number one embarrassment when you have guests.

The best way to deal with the living room is to move the furniture and take out the carpet if you have one.

You can send it to dry cleaning or you can do it yourself, but the first thing out of the room your carpet and it will be the last to be brought back after you finish.

Vacuum and dust every corner, edge, and areas behind the desk, cabinet and other pieces of furniture placed to the wall.

Remove the mess under the centre and side tables and wash the curtains regularly. If your seating set needs cleaning, do it with non-aggressive agents.

Also, consider adding some decorative pillows and embellish the room with some candles, paintings, and plants to create more natural and homey atmosphere.

Kitchen and dining area

This is always considered as the dirtiest area because of the food and meal preparation. But actually, due to constant washing and cleaning up after yourself, this can actually be the best-organized space.

If that’s not the case, you will have to be really aggressive when cleaning the kitchen since this is the perfect ground not only for bacteria but also for pests like cockroaches and rodents.

Throw away all improperly closed boxes and bags of food as well as those with expired dates. And when it comes to the dining table, put on a nice tablecloth and decorations, fresh flowers are usually a nice touch.

Passage/Corridors

Being a transit area, this is where you come in with dirty shoes and leave your jackets, bags, and umbrellas.

It requires regular cleaning and the best way to do it is sweep and mop in case of tiles or wash the rugs if you have one.

If you have a small hallway and you cluttered it with shoes, jackets and so on, consider placing them in storage if you can.

This space should be as minimalistic as possible to accommodate freedom of movement and not keep things, which can quickly pile up and become a huge pile of rubbish.

Bathroom

A bathroom is under water in one form or the other for most of the time, so it will require some persistent cleaning techniques to remove the lime scale and dirt deposits.

Due to moisture and warmth, the bathroom is perfect for reproduction of bacteria and other microorganisms, so it would be ideal to clean it right after you take a bath or a shower or every other day at least.

If you can, avoid cleaning products with hydrochloric acid, chlorine or other potentially toxic or dangerous ingredients and use more eco friendly and organic agents to avoid burns, allergies, and irritations.

It is important to change your towels, toothbrushes and personal toiletries as often as possible as they tend to harbor germs a lot.

If you realize that you are not good at keeping your home decluttered and in order, maybe you should get help to do it for you.

A clean home is good for your health and mind, as well as perfect to give you shelter from the world and sanctuary from your troubles.

In the end, it’s not about being good at housework, but rather being good to your home and subsequently yourself.