Declutter 1 Small Area a Week Will Equal Large Results

When you are raising children and caring for elderly parents your home can become very disorganized. You are going in so many directions and do not have time to organize, separate and see what should be kept or donate. You have the best intentions but everything just gets put in a drawer, a closet, the basement or the attic.

Just get everything away so when family birthdays, anniversary, holidays are at your house everything is picked up. But do not open that closet door.  😬😬

It becomes so overwhelming you just do not know where to start. You do not have to do it all, just start with 1 small area of your home at a time.

Just one small area a week, a month, a day, will add up so fast you will not believe how quickly you will feel the momentum of organization and decluttering your home.

I have a fun pastel design that has a blank 52-week chart so you can sit down and plan your goals or mark your progress.  Remember there is no pressure, you have enough of that with all your responsibilities. Just start somewhere and make a plan.

Grab Your Free Printable Here

We have raised three children and cared for two sets of elderly parents and decluttering our house this year,  1 small step a week is our goal for organizing our house.  

When I was in high school I asked my best friend’s mother how she keeps her house so clean.  She told me that she organized one small area each week.  

She helped me to understand that if you try to tackle the whole house you become overwhelmed.  However, one small area each week we’ll keep your house clutter-free and organized before you know it.

Overcoming Overwhelm

As we are slowly becoming empty-nesters and close to retirement, my goal this year is to Declutter the house of all the areas we have ignored while caring for others. As I look at all the closets and drawers in our home it is so overwhelming.

It seems like a daunting task however, I keep hearing Inga’s voice (my friend’s mother) as I  was standing in her well-organized kitchen, encouraging me to take one small step at a time.

My task is so large, as we have been in her home for 30 years, that even one small step seems stressful as I try to determine where to start.  But I have a do-able plan to declutter.

I decided to start with the printable.  I designed two bright and beautiful forms to help you clear your mind before you cleared the house. Take a good look at what you need to organize and divide it into small steps.

Your first step, if you would like to join me in the 1 Small Step Plan, is to go to the Printable Library and print off the free printable forms.  Do not have access to the Printable Library,  do not worry it is free.  Click Here or on the image and when I receive your email address, I will send you the Password.

Once you confirm your email address you will receive an instant download of the Free Declutter Printable Worksheets!

Prioritize in your mind what areas would make your life more convenient if they were cleaned out and picked up. In order to make this easier, you need a printable to brainstorm.  After brainstorming you need a printable to set up priorities. 

Setting these small goals will take the worry out of your mind and put it on paper.  Having it listed out also allows you to check off each week’s task and encourage yourself as I go forward with a few weeks of progress.

How to Get Started Decluttering & Organizing

• Give yourself the weekend as a buffer, use  Monday as a start day for this great big plan. Each week pick one small area to clean out. These are the areas that will make your day to day spaces more useful.
• Print out the Brainstorm printable, and the Each Week Printable.  Clear out your mind and Brainstorm tasks and then set a small area each week.  Just start writing down the areas that need to be to clean and you will feel the release of stress. 
• Next, I look at the family’s calendar and filled in on the second Printable where is time to tackle the small areas.
• Do not be worried if you do not get the task done on the day assigned.  Just try to get one small area done by Sunday night.
• Can not start the first week of the year? Do not worry.  Just start at any point in the year and you will be making progress.

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Supplies Needed:

• Cute Colorful Pens & Paper
• Quiet time to brainstorm
• Trash bags to toss unwanted useless items
• Box for giveaway items.
• Baskets for items that need to go to another place.

I keep reminding myself that overwhelming tasks usually are simpler than you think once you just get started.  Getting started for me is the hard part.

You will find that having a plan written out enables you to put the whole task out of your mind.  You will also find that when you have 20 minutes to do some organizing you can just pull out your list and tackle one small area.

I hope these printables are as helpful to you as they have been for me, leave a comment and let me know how you are doing.

Want To Remember This? Save The 1 Small Step a Week Declutter To Your Favorite Pinterest Board!