The Home Detox: Clear the Clutter for Good!

The Problem:

Often after the holidays, it feels like everyone moves from a time of excess to a time of restriction- a cycle that is not always the healthiest, in my opinion! We go from buying too much and eating/drinking too much to stressing about our spending and getting on that “new years resolution” diet to make up for our holiday indiscretions- creating a cycle is exhausting, unrewarding and un-sustainable.

In our homes, this issue of excess shows up in the topic of clutter. The beginning of the year tends to put a focus on throwing out all the things, making room, cleaning out- and there’s nothing wrong with that. What is exhausting is when this becomes a cycle every single year of feeling like you need to completely re-organize your home top to bottom- and you think you do, until it all becomes disorganized and clutter filled shortly after. (side note- don’t just organize your clutter without getting rid of anything because you are wasting your precious time!)

The Solution:

I find it is so much more joyful + fulfilling to only do a large scale home detox once- not every single year! Do your big cleanout/ Home Detox, and after doing that detox, create systems so the clutter pile up never happens to the same extent it did again. Will your home get messy and will clutter appear, even after a whole home detox? YES, because LIFE. But this time, when it appears you will know what to do with it because of the practical home systems you’ve created.

What is a home organizational system? Fancy wording that means everything has a place. Everything. By detoxing your home first, you’re removing any unwanted/un-needed items, so the system comes into play after that. It’s finding/creating a place for the items you want in your home. It’s purchasing with the mindset of- it doesn’t come into your home without you knowing where that item is going to live. This is the bulk of the work in your home detox- going through, room by room, zone by zone, and deciding if the item stays in your home, and if so, where it belongs for good. Once you have an organizational system down, you will know what to do when that item gets out of place, and even better- you can empower the rest of your family so they can put things where they belong, too. 

Once you have your organizational system set, you can maintain a mostly clutter free home by doing 15-minute clean ups at the end of the day! Doesn’t that sound more refreshing than dismantling your house every January? This is design with life in mind- No perfectionist pressure to always have your home pristine, and at the same time, you get to experience the joy of an organized space maintained with simple daily actions. Yes please. 

How to begin your Home Detox:

• Get your head + heart in the game. Remind yourself WHY it’s important to you to have a clean/clutter free living environment. You and I both know you don’t need more to do, so if you’re fueled by “shoulds” or people pleasing, that motivation won’t last long. Cleaning out a whole home takes a lot of effort and love, and you need to feel like it’s worth it to you in the end (because it is!). Your motivation might be totally different from mine, but what’s important is that it’s personal and meaningful to you. Truth: You need to start with this reminder because often in home renos and organizing, it has to get worse before it gets better. When the going gets rough, remember your why.

• Prioritize. I suggest starting with your most used, high ROI (return on investment) areas and list them room by room and put them in priority order. This can be in a spreadsheet, a note on your phone or good old pen and paper- whatever works best for you. It’s also highly rewarding to your brain to keep track of what you’re working on visually. High ROI rooms are places you see and use every single day. Areas like kitchens, living spaces, mudrooms, or entries to your home. The idea behind this is that by starting with an area you see/use all the time, it’s creating a big “win” once it’s complete, and that will in turn motivate you to keep going.

• Make room in your schedule. Now that you have your priority list, schedule specific times in your calendar (google calendar is my fave) to work on these tasks. Ditch that all-or-nothing thinking, It doesn’t have to be a whole week, or weekend, or even more than an hour at a time if that’s all you’ve got. You can pre-schedule it all out for a whole year if you’re so inclined, or just go week-by-week. By putting these time blocks on your calendar, you’re committing to getting it done.

• Use my Home Detox checklist (available to my email subscribers!) and go through each task, for each zone in your space. When all zones are completed, CELEBRATE because that room is cleaned out and systematized! Recharge, and then move on to the next space. Little by little, before you know it, you’ll be living in a home that is organized and supported to stay organized. 

Cheers to creating an organized home that is livable, maintainable and designed for real life. I’d love to see your photos of YOUR Home Detox before and afters! Send me a DM here!