I have been in my Camden apartment home for over 8 years and I have amassed a ton of junk throughout the years. I have things such as old lotion bottles, clothes that no longer fit and kitchen utensils that I have never used. One of my new year’s resolutions is to declutter and organize my life and my home.

Does this sound like you, too? Well, here are five tips that I have put together to help make this process easy for you!

Write down your goals:

Make a list of everything you want to declutter. Go room by room and list every drawer, cabinet, closet, nook and cranny that you need to cover. Once you have completed a task, cross it off and look back at what you have accomplished. This will make sure you have tackled every part of your apartment. Also, crossing off items on a list makes you feel good!

Set an attainable goal:

Rome wasn’t built in a day and your apartment won’t be decluttered in a day either! Give yourself a longer and attainable goal. You will wear yourself out if you try to tackle everything in 8 hours. Take baby steps and try to do a few drawers or one closet a day. Being a busy parent on the go, I have given myself a four month time frame to do everything on my list. It eliminates the stress and pressure to get everything done in one weekend.

Don’t buy containers right away:

While I am the first person to run to The Container Store for cute containers for storage, please hold off.  You may come across containers that you have cleaned out while decluttering. You can reuse and repurpose the storage items that you already have without spending a dime.

Donate, Sell and Trash:

To help you stay organized throughout the decluttering process, separate the items you wish to donate, sell, and toss out.  Do not let your piles linger in your apartment. Take the trash out immediately. List your items for sell on Facebook, and put your donations in your car to drop off the next day. A local animal shelter will love to have any blankets, towels or sheets that you may have. See if you have any local homeless shelters that could use your beautiful clothes. MyCamden is a perfect place to sell items to your neighbors.  Facebook and apps like LetGo and OfferUp are also good selling options

Reward Yourself:

Once you have crossed everything off of your list; reward yourself! Go to the spa, buy yourself a cute new outfit or get a fun new gadget. I can't wait to hire a maid to deep clean my apartment  from top to bottom as my reward!

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

Decluttering is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Allow yourself time and be patient. Following these tips will help make you successful!

Now that you’re done decluttering, read on how to clean your apartment with essential oils from our Simply Camden blog.