8 Projects to Declutter Your Home This Weekend

A great way to freshen up your home without making drastic changes is to complete some decluttering projects, which opens up your space while also giving you peace of mind while at home. Here are some projects that you can tackle this weekend to help declutter your living spaces. 

Declutter the Entryway

It is very easy for the entryway of a home to become cluttered especially with shoes, coats, umbrellas, etc. Use a large shoe organizer to stash all of your shoes and consider installing hooks for hanging coats, keys, dog leashes, and more. 

Make a Coffee Station
Do you find that the cabinets or drawers surrounding your coffee maker become messy quickly? A great way to combat this is to design a coffee/tea station that is set up for ease of use. Consider including coffee pods, tea bags, mugs, sugar packets, spoons, and any other necessities in the station. 

Fill a Donation Box With Old Stuff

One great way to declutter is to sort through your things and donate stuff that you no longer find useful. This not only removes the item from your home but does so in a way that is environmentally friendly and assists a charity. If you haven’t worn or used an item in a year and it does not have sentimental value, consider donating it. One trick to do this throughout the year is to keep a donation box or bag somewhere easily accessible in the home to place items that are no longer useful on a continual basis.  Not sure where to donate your stuff? Take a look at this list of local thrift shops that accept donations. 

Organize Your Bookshelves

Go through the books and decor on your bookshelves. Take everything off of the bookcase and put each book or item back one by one to make sure that it is something that you would like to keep. Local libraries or shelters will often take book donations. Use your bookcase for DVDs or records? Apply the same strategy. 

Sort Through Your Attic and/or Basement

Many times, out of sight, out of mind storage areas accumulate a fair amount of clutter, as we often place things there quickly and without carefully organizing the entire space. Take some time to organize the storage areas. For example, if you are storing holiday decorations in the attic, you may want to group the items from each holiday together in a place that is easy to find but may be placed out of the way of items that are more frequently pulled in and out of storage. 

Clean Out the Medicine Cabinet

Expired medications and cosmetics can take up quite a bit of space. For medications, check to see if they can be flushed down the toilet, and if not, research how to properly dispose of the old medications for both environmental and public safety. This includes over-the-counter medicine, such as painkillers and cough syrup. Old cosmetics can cause negative skin reactions, so it is important to dispose of anything that is out of date. Mascara is good for about three months, while most foundations last about a year. Blush and eyeshadow should be replaced every two years. Throw away any lotions that are over a year old. 

Clean Out Your Kitchen Pantry

Pantries are often spots that collect unused food that may or may not be expired, especially in terms of spices and baking ingredients that are used sparingly throughout the year. Do one shelf at a time and check each item for an expiration date. Don’t forget to check your spices, which are good for usually anywhere between two to four years. Consider purchasing airtight containers for dry goods such as cereal and flour to avoid future spills and an overall cluttered appearance in the pantry. 

Sort and Reduce Paper Clutter

Mail and paper-based documents such as monthly bills can easily create a massive pile of clutter. Gather all of your papers together and sort them into piles: ACTION REQUIRED, SHRED, FILE, and RECYCLE. Take the appropriate action with each pile and find a secure spot in your home out of plain sight for papers that need to be saved. 

Taking time over a weekend to declutter can create a massive change in your living space without much more than a little bit of time and effort. These projects can not only create spaces that are more organized but also create a more calm feeling in each room.

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