Decluttering your space to reclaim your peace

If you’re finding it hard to get motivated with your day-to-day living or if your home is no longer a calming space, a surprisingly easy booster is to declutter an area in your home. Don’t aim for the whole house; instead, start with the one area that bugs you the most. This might be your desk, one shelf in your closet, the entryway to your house, a kitchen or bathroom counter, a drawer, the top of your dresser, the fridge, etc. The key is to take baby steps. Aim for one area; after that, you can tackle one per week.

Follow these easy steps for tackling your first messy area:

1. Prepare 3 bags or boxes labeled “keep,” “donate” and “trash/recycle.” A 4th, and very useful category is “For deciding later” which you might also need. Also, keep some zipper bags and baskets handy for sorting small items later.

2. Clear the area. Remove all the items from the area you’re going to tackle by placing everything on your bed or on a separate surface. Wipe or vaccum the area.

3. As you put things back, discard any items that are expired, no longer useful or broken. Keep only what you love or what is useful. [insert photo - Declutter-3 neat iStock]

4. Use baskets, bags or envelopes to organize small items. Don’t waste time (or money) shopping for the perfect basket or desk set. Use what you have now; you can always switch out the baskets later.

Look around your home or work space and see if there are any areas that give you a feeling of stagnation. If you find one, follow the 4 easy steps above to start creating an oasis for your mind. Even if it’s a small achievement, such as an organized shelf or a cleaned out refrigerator door, that is enough to help you feel more at peace with your surroundings and motivated for other tasks.