Home decluttering has many amazing benefits, such as improved mental clarity and productivity, reduction of stress and anxiety, and overall better health and well-being. It’s something that makes sense to incorporate into everyone’s home cleaning routine. Unfortunately, decluttering has gotten quite a bad rap. The thought of tackling every single item you own, deciding whether it’s worth keeping or letting go of, is an emotionally charged and exhausting process that might send even the most home-cleaning-savvy person you know running for the hills. At least that’s how they present decluttering in books, magazines, television shows, and even on Tiktok!
But the truth is, as with all things in life, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to decluttering your home. In this article, we’ll share two different types of decluttering and help you find the best one that suits your personality, lifestyle, or season in your life.
Are you up for it? Let’s delve right in!
What Does Light Decluttering Mean?
Light decluttering involves small-scale cleaning and organizing sessions. It focuses on one specific area for a given time, such as decluttering a single drawer, a shelf, or a small corner of a room for as little as 15 minutes or one afternoon. The beauty of light decluttering is anyone can do it. It’s perfect for beginners, people with a super busy schedule, or those who honestly hate cleaning and struggle to motivate themselves to organize. This builds confidence and momentum and makes the process less daunting.
Scope:
- Small, manageable areas: You can start decluttering your pantry, fridge, or sock drawer.
- One identified category: Expired food, broken items, or obvious duplicates. Decluttering before or after the holidays is an example of this.
Time Commitment:
- Short bursts: 15-30 minutes per session.
- Can be done regularly: 15 minutes each day or a few times a week.
Benefits:
- An effective “slowly but surely” strategy if you want to organize your home but get overwhelmed easily by big projects.
- Reduces visual clutter immediately since it targets very specific areas, such as a messy kitchen counter or coffee table.
- Get a dopamine boost with quick wins. Achieving small victories and ticking off small tasks in your checklists gives you a sense of accomplishment and a dopamine release.
- Light decluttering done regularly is also an excellent way to maintain your home and prevent unnecessary clutter from creeping back into your space.
What Is Major Decluttering?
Contrary to the light decluttering method, this approach is more intensive and exhaustive. Major decluttering projects often require a dedicated weekend and longer, more focused effort. For example, organizing your entire wardrobe or your whole house.
Embarking on a massive project like this session serves several key purposes, often driven by significant life changes, such as:
- Downsizing because you’re moving to a smaller place or retirement home is a common reason for seniors.
- Moving abroad or somewhere far away where taking your stuff would be impractical.
- Major life events like marriage, divorce, retirement, or the loss of a loved one, where it can have a healing effect.
- Financial constraints, where you must sell or donate possessions to generate income or reduce expenses.
- Potential health and safety concerns. For example, allergies and asthma from dust, fire hazards, or pest issues from accumulated clutter.
- Taking control of your mental and emotional well-being by reducing clutter that can trigger stress and anxiety.
Major decluttering is a more fitting method for anyone who:
- Has a lot of disposable time
- Is moving to a new and unfurnished place
- Is decisive and determined to finish the task
Scope:
- Entire rooms or even the whole house
- Tackling larger categories: Wardrobe, books, paperwork, sentimental items.
Time Commitment:
- Requires significant time and energy investments.
- Longer time blocks.
- Depending on the scale, it can take days, weeks, or even months.
Benefits:
- Major decluttering can let you achieve more dramatic results.
- It allows you to start on a clean slate immediately afterward.
- It’s a healing process that can help address deeper emotional attachments as you confront more sentimental items that require difficult decisions.
How Can We Help Your Decluttering Journey?
Whichever decluttering method you go for, FreshSpace Cleaning Service is always ready to make things easier for you. Book us for a standard cleaning or professional deep cleaning after decluttering your home to emphasize its aesthetic and healing benefits. See every inch of your freshly decluttered space shine naturally with the help of our amazing cleaning experts.
Kickstart your decluttering journey. Book a clean with us now.
