As you learn how to find the motivation to declutter in this article, I hope you will consider joining in the efforts of Declutter for a Cause. This worthy cause is basically inspired by the decluttering movement that has hit in recent times. The purpose of the cause is for people to be motivated to declutter their homes and to donate their belongings to charity.
In this blog post, we will go over what the charity is so that you will be aware of why this article is included on this website. We’ll also cover the benefits of decluttering in the event that you are struggling with motivation.
Maybe just reading about them will remind you of all the reasons you will want to declutter, organize, and clean your wonderful home! Plus, I’ll share how to declutter (my secret formula)!
Finally, we will cover some awesome ways for you to get motivated to declutter, including how to get your kids involved, inspirational purchases you can make, fantastic techniques you can try, and plenty of other ways you can find motivation.
I’ll even share some family secrets that will surely have you reaching for your storage bins, donation bags, and sorting boxes.
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What is Declutter for a Cause?
Declutter for a Cause simply means that you are decluttering and will donate your unwanted items to a charitable organization.
Declutter for a Cause does have a Facebook page that you are welcome to check out.
Also, be sure to read my first article on this event called Declutter for a Cause: How to Get Started. That will give you the best start for getting motivated for this cause!
How to Declutter (My Secret Formula)
I LOVE organizing and decluttering if you haven’t noticed!! My process is pretty simple.
First, I remove everything from the space I’m trying to declutter. Then, I clean that area well. Third, I go through and declutter the items I removed from that space. Finally, once I’ve sorted the items, I return them in an organized fashion to the space, putting similar items together.
How do I declutter?
I typically have 5 boxes, bins, or bags to do my sorting. One is for items I wish to keep and return to my space; I clean those items before returning them to their “home.” I have another section for trash, one for donation, one for items I wish to try to sell, and one area for items that belong to another location in my house.
That’s it – a pretty simple system!
The Benefits of Decluttering
Minimalism is one of the latest trends in society today; people want to have organized, simple homes. I think the rage for decluttering started around the time that Marie Kondo became a big star. If you haven’t watched her series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, or read her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, be sure to check them out.
Sure, it would be awesome to have a beautiful, minimalist home like the ones you see on television, but why else should you declutter? Let’s look at some of the benefits of decluttering, besides the fact that it would be totally cool to have a chic, modern-looking home, of course.
1. You will have less stress when your home is organized.
You will know where everything is in your home or where it belongs, so your stress level and worrying will decrease. Imagine walking inside your house after a long day at the office; you know exactly where to put your keys, wallet/purse, and briefcase. This also means your home will always look neat and tidy if you keep it up.
2. You can save time by having everything in order.
So, when you have a neat, organized home, you won’t have to wonder where everything is because all of your belongings have “a home,” a place where they belong. Continue putting things in their homes, and you will save time because you’ll no longer spend hours looking for your car keys in the freezer or specific bills in stacks of paper.
3. You could make money from selling your unwanted stuff.
Consider having a garage sale if you have an enormous amount of clutter to get rid of. In keeping with the theme of trying to Declutter for a Cause, you could have a yard sale and donate the proceeds to a great charitable organization or pocket the money and do random acts of kindness for people or use the money to buy food for a food bank.
4. You will feel good about yourself after donating your things.
Who doesn’t feel great after donating to a worthy cause? By trying to keep in the spirit of Declutter for a Cause, you will most likely be giving back to your local community or to a global charitable organization. Don’t you get the warm fuzzies when you do something great like this? Boost your mood by donating your unwanted, unused clutter.
5. You will have less worrying, maintenance, and cleaning to do.
Less stuff means fewer items you have to clean, maintain, mend or fix, and worry about. Think about it; you won’t have to think about fixing those loose buttons if you get rid of the shirt altogether. You also won’t have to worry about that, having it looming over your head because it’s an outstanding item on your to-do list.
How to Find the Motivation to Declutter (Top 10 Unique Ways)
1. Dance to Your Favorite Music.
Jamming out to your favorite tunes is one of the greatest ways to find the motivation to declutter. You can dance and clean at the same time; make it a fun event, and you’ll be excited to do more! As you dance or move to the music, your adrenaline and endorphins will be on fire because you’re exercising; this will make you happy!
2. Have a Cleaning Party.
So, this is something my mother used to do for my siblings and me. She called it “a picking up party” and always said that “everyone is invited.” That meant that we all needed to work on decluttering/tidying up our bedrooms for a set amount of time. Telling us that we were invited really meant we were supposed to do it now.
It totally worked, as silly as the idea sounds. She got the whole family to have a great deal of motivation to declutter with her. She’d even come to each of our rooms to help out with any “problem areas,” which only made us more motivated to make our space look great!
It was always an exciting feeling when mom inspected our neat and tidy rooms!
3. Use the Pomodoro Method.
The Pomodoro method is a way to accomplish projects like decluttering your entire home. This technique involves a 25-minute focus session with a 5-minute break after that. You repeat this four times and then take a 30-minute break before attempting another round of the Pomodoro technique.
This is a great method if you are feeling overwhelmed because the Pomodoro technique gets you moving! You may not be feeling motivated, but once you set that first timer for 25 minutes, you’ll stay motivated as long as that timer is ticking. Plus, while it’s going off, you will know you only have to declutter for a short period of time.
Personally, I recommend purchasing a square timer like this one that you can flip over when you need to. I have several different timers like this that I use for various tasks.
I find the square timers to be very helpful and motivating. You know that when you flip that box around, you are ready to get moving! No more worrying about having a lack of motivation.
4. Create a Rewards System.
Of course, creating a reward or award system is an excellent way to get motivated. Give yourself that cappuccino or an extra glass of wine after having a strong decluttering session.
There’s no need to withhold anything from reach because you didn’t finish a decluttering project, but you should give yourself a little something extra when you do finish a big task!
Consider getting your kids involved. Maybe give them a great incentive but don’t buy them anything or give them money for their efforts. Instead, you can encourage them by giving them a chance to spend quality time with you, doing something they would enjoy doing. You could write down a list of ideas and let them draw one out of a hat!
Here are a few ideas you could use to motivate your kids to help you clean, declutter, and organize. These are ways you can spend more quality time with your children!
- Have a pillow fight.
- Build a fort together.
- Go on a scavenger hunt.
- Play dress up.
- Let them paint your nails.
- Play a board game.
- Hit the coloring books together.
- Fly a kite in the park.
- Bake homemade bread together.
- Go to a bowling alley as a family.
5. Invite a Friend Over to Help.
Sometimes, turning to your best friend is the best thing to do. Explain to your friend that you are trying to declutter but don’t have the motivation to do it. Ask if she wouldn’t mind coming over to help motivate you.
She might be the best person to determine what to keep and what to get rid of. It never hurts to have an extra set of eyes on the situation (and an extra set of hands)!
6. Create a New Decluttering Habit.
It takes 21 days to form a habit, so if you choose the right task to do for that period of time, you can develop it into a habit. Think about what kinds of tasks you could do each day to develop habits that will help you achieve the goal of a clutter-free home. Here I’ve listed a few suggestions of ideas you could incorporate. You can choose one if you want.
Declutter for 15 minutes a day. That’s not a long time to set a timer to declutter, and the long-term results will be well worth it. You may even get the motivation to declutter your home entirely after you start decluttering with just 15 minutes a day. You won’t know unless you give it a shot; you may be busy, but you probably have that much time to declutter a day.
Never leave a room empty-handed. Each day, go around the house, getting your steps in by organizing and cleaning the house. Just make sure your hands are always full of stuff that goes from one room to another.
Clean, declutter, and organize 5 things per room each day. Find a way to work on one decluttering project in each room every day, but you only have to do 5 things. If you just put away 5 things, that counts! This will lead to some great motivation as you travel on your decluttering journey.
7. Find Products that Inspire You.
Buying new cleaning products or other inspirational items can motivate you to want to clean and organize your house. Just having these items can motivate you to declutter your entire house. Don’t get burned out if you buy so much that you are completely inspired to do everything.
Here are a few inspirational products you might want to purchase to motivate yourself to declutter your entire home. You may know of other things that motivate you to do things; get creative because you know yourself better than anyone else!
- Candles or new wax bars for wax burners
- Air fresheners or scented plug-in products
- Drawer and/or cabinet lining contact paper
- New broom, mop, or combination tool
- Organizers for your home (boxes, bins, baskets, totes, etc.)
- Fresh floral arrangements, flowers, or plants
- New cleaning products or a new apron
8. Start with the Best.
So, my motto is usually to save the best for last, especially when I’m eating a meal, but when it comes to something I’m not motivated to do, I like to be inspired before I do anything else. Start decluttering in your favorite room, with your favorite things, or in the easiest area to begin.
You will know, once you get started, that decluttering can be quite a rewarding thing to do. Look at an area you have cleaned, decluttered, and organized, and you will see a job well done and be very proud of yourself! Plus, once you get an easy area done, you will be motivated to continue with the rest of the house!
9. Plan to Have Guests Over.
When you know you are having company over, you usually feel like your home is on display and must look its best for the guests. This is a great way to get motivated to declutter and clean your home. Throw a party in the future, so you have plenty of time to get things in order before then! You don’t want to overwhelm yourself!
Give yourself at least a month to declutter before having people over and showing them how organized your home is! Have a small gathering for your best friends and tell them what you have been up to. Then, you can show off all of the wonderful decluttering projects you have done and watch them be amazed!
Take some decluttering before and after pictures so that you can see what a difference you truly made! You might surprise yourself with your efforts! If you have a true clutter problem, you may find the motivation to clean, organize, and declutter by looking at pictures of your clutter. Think about what bothers you when you need inspiration.
10. Create a Vision Board.
A vision board is an excellent way to view your goals in real form. According to Oprah Daily, Oprah is a big fan of vision boards; she finds them inspirational. A vision board won’t make your dreams turn into reality, but you can visualize your expectations and wishes in a way that inspires you!
To create an effective vision board, you’ll need some poster board, magazines, books, newspapers, images from the internet, pictures, or other inspirational sources. You can use words, images, drawings, and anything else that inspires you to achieve what you are hoping to! I would recommend some home magazines with minimalist images.
Incorporate images of how you want your home to look in each decluttered room on your vision board. You can use colors, numbers, definitions, statistics, or anything else that makes you see what you are hoping to see at the end of your decluttering project. Check out a Pinterest board on Decluttering, Home Decor, or Minimalism for inspiration!
Conclusion
We’ve now covered the top benefits of decluttering and the many ways that you can find inspiration – how to find the motivation to declutter! I hope you’ve learned a lot from the decluttering tips in this article and are now very excited to declutter your home!
If you are inspired and properly motivated to declutter your home from this article, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment! Also, please share this article on social media, so other people can enjoy the benefits!
Don’t forget to grab your free copy of my Decluttering Your Home Checklist, which may help you out as you declutter your home! Here’s wishing you all the best as you move forward in your decluttering journey!
