As I am packing up my house to move, I am realizing we have way too much stuff…it’s time to declutter! Getting rid of your excess stuff not only clears your physical space, it can help clear your mental space as well.  So, since spring is upon us (finally) I thought I would share some fun, simple and creative ways to declutter your home.

8 Creative Ways To Declutter For Spring

1. The Minimalism Challenge

I am not a minimalist but I do love this challenge as a fun way to get rid of a lot of stuff – 465 items in 30 days to be exact. The idea came from a couple of guys who call themselves The Minimalists. On day 1, get rid of one thing. On day 2, get rid of 2 things. On day 3, get rid of 3 things and so on till you get to 30 days! I’ve done this Minimalism Game twice over the last year and I am always amazed at how relatively easy it is to find things that can be donated, sold or trashed.

2. The Joy Test

Remember that Marie Kondo book, “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”? If you aren’t familiar with this organization bible, it’s the one that tells you to only keep things that “spark joy”. I love this method as a way of examining what your things are doing for you. There are so many objects we have around our house that can drain our energy and generally cause unpleasant feelings – this is a great method to give yourself permission to get rid of them. 

3. A “Things To Remember” Digital Album

One of the big challenges to getting rid of some items is not the item itself but the sentimental value the item carries. To overcome this obstacle, create a digital “Things To Remember” album. Then take a photo of each item you want to remember before you sell, donate or trash. This way, you can remember the memories an item carries without the physical item taking up space. For more ideas, check out this post: Six Creative Ways to Treasure Your Child’s Artwork.

4. The Closet Hanger Experiment

If you are like me there are probably things in your closet that you don’t like and don’t wear. Here’s a trick to see what you are actually using. Hang everything in your closet with the hangers turned backwards.  As you wear things, return them to the closet with the hangers the correct way.  Then in 3 or 6 months, go back and take out everything that is still on backwards hangers! 

5. Replace Lots Of Old Items With One New One

Here’s a great way to get your kids involved in clearing out the clutter, because kids come with a lot of stuff, am I right? Challenge your child to collect toys and clothes they have outgrown then have them help to sell or donate the items. If you choose to sell, let them use some of the proceeds to buy a new toy or outfit or choose a specific dollar amount to award them with for donating. (Ok, ok, so this does involve bringing something new into the house, but sometimes kids need a little “encouragement”.)

6. 10/10 Game

Here’s another way to get the whole family involved.  Choose your number – 10, 20 or even 30. Have each member of your household go through their things to find 10 items (or 20, 30 etc) to donate and 10 items to trash. Then see who can come up with all of their items the fastest! This is a fun way to get everyone involved in clearing out the clutter. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to see a list of local places to donate your new or gently used items: Let It Go.)

7. Put Toys “On Vacation”

While this method doesn’t exactly get rid of clutter for good, it does cut down on the active clutter around your home. Grab a big plastic tub and fill it with your kids’ toys and activities that they don’t use much. Then put it “on vacation” in a closet or basement. In 3 months, bring these toys back out and put others away.  This keeps your child’s toy rotation fresh and gets some of the clutter out of their play area. Let’s face it, our kids generally have too many toys, so they probably won’t even notice things are gone. And they will have fun pulling out these “new” toys in a few months.

8. Digital Declutter

Don’t forget that these days, clutter can come digitally too!  You will be amazed at how much lighter you feel if you clean out your email inbox or purge your Facebook friends list.  It’s also a great idea to streamline the email lists you subscribe to or Facebook fan pages you like (be sure to keep liking the Columbus Moms Blog Facebook page, of course!)  Losing some of this unimportant digital junk clears your head and heart for the important stuff.

Do you have any other creative ways to declutter around your house?  Share your ideas in the comments below!

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