How to Get Rid of Junk Systematically
1) Determination & Ruthlessness
If you are determined to get rid of the junk in your house that has accummulated over many years, you must start with a positive mindset. You must have great determination to complete this “overwhelming” task. But that is not sufficient, you need to be ruthless. Do not be sentimental, just throw out the things you do not need. Okay, there may be an item or two that are very precious to you. By all means, keep them. But don’t hoard everything.
2) Identifying Areas
The next step is to identify different areas in the house that need to be looked into. List them down on a piece of paper. Once you have completed a task on the list, you can tick beside it. You will soon feel good that you have managed to handle each and every item, as time goes by.
3) Start with a Small Area
Begin with a tiny area to work on daily. Each area should not take you more than an hour to sort or complete. If the area is too large, break it down further so that you only work on a small manageable area. If you can complete sorting out the junk in an area within an hour, you will feel more accomplished and be motivated to do more the next day. Do not try to clean up the entire house in on e single day. It’s not possible and you might abandon the idea before you even started.
4) Get Help
Do not do this alone. Try to elicit the help of other members of the family, especially if the area concerned belongs to them. Cleaning up junk with others will ensure you complete the task faster and it will also pass the responsibility to others to maintain their areas in the house in the future.
5) Condition & Usage
Look at the items in front of you and pick out items that are broken or has expired. Assess the items based on its condition first. If it cracked, chipped or broken, throw it out immediately. Subsequently, check if you have any use for the item anymore. If you found old notebooks with some writing on the first page only, tear out that first page and keep the notebook together with your stationery. It is still of good use. If you feel that you have too many notebooks, consider giving them away to those who would need them. Alternatively, you can recycle the item if it is recyclable.
6) Organization
Once you have assessed the items, it is now time to organize them into different categories. These are for items you want to keep. If you found a T-shirt among your junk, put it in the wardrobe. If you want to give it a wash, throw it in the laudry basket. If you found books and magazines, put them on the book shelves. Everything should have its own place.
7) Miscellaneous Items
There may be some miscellaneous items which do not belong anywhere in your household. You may want to put similar items in a box and label it clearly. If you do not plan to use the item immediately, then seal the box and put it in the store room. Once this is done, you have finished for the day. Remember to tick it off your list. You can start on another area tomorrow.
8) Stop Buying More Junk!
When you have repeated the task for all the areas in your house, you will feel that your house is clutter-free now. The most important thing to note is not to buy more items you have no use for. Stop buying those junk! Assess the need and usability of item before each purchase. If you follow these steps, you will find that your house is junk-free for many years to come.
