If you're ready to do some major house decluttering, it's time to use the three-pile approach to get rid of everything you don't want or need. You'll need to be ruthless in your decisions to keep or get rid of something, which can be difficult. But when you're done, you'll have more room in your home and you'll feel good about your organizational efforts.
Defining Your Three Piles
By using these three piles, you identify everything that you no longer need and distinguish how to dispose of it all:
Your goal is to place as many items as you can into the donation pile. Next you want to recycle as many items as you can. This leaves the minimum amount to send to the landfill. Establish a distinct physical space for each pile away from the others. This helps to keep the project from feeling overwhelming as each pile increases in size. For example, set aside part of a room for the donation pile. Make space in your garage for the recyclables.
Make arrangements with a trash collection service to haul away the landfill items to save you trips to the city dump. If you have old appliances to get rid of, such as a washer and dryer, you'll appreciate the convenience of a service that comes to your door and takes those items away.
Create a Decluttering Mantra
For every item you touch, you need to ask the following questions:
This helps you to decide in which pile to place the item.
Decluttering Room by Room
Pick at least one room every day to go through until you've been through the whole house. Doing more than that may feel overwhelming. If you don't think you have much clutter, here are some examples that you may actually have in each room.
Kitchen
Bedroom
Living Room
Bathroom
Basement and Attic
You'll be surprised at how many things you're able to get rid of by following this approach. You'll gain space back and many of your unused items will be put back into circulation where they can be of benefit to others.
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