Sometimes in life, it’s best to take the easy road. Fear of failure, guilt or shame at where we are, depression, anxiety and a whole host of other emotions can leave us feeling stuck. We aren’t sure of how or where to start and so we don’t. We keep feeling awful about our situation, stressed by the mountains before us, and yet we remain in the dark shadow’s of our mountain trapped in the valley. 

When it comes to your clutter, sometimes it’s best to just take the easy road to begin putting your life back in order. “Baby steps,” if you will. Similar to weight loss, where you begin to move a little more each day and eat a little less, decluttering means you bring in a little less each time you shop and remove a little more from your home. Bit by bit, you’ll start seeing a change around you.  You’ll gain inches on your countertops, you’ll lighten the load on your shelving and will find extra space in your cupboards, cabinets and closets. 

Yes, there may be times where you fall back into an old habit and bring home oodles of unnecessary knicknacks from a shopping spree, but you just begin again by removing some items to even out the score from your purchases. 

Take the easy road and declutter what’s easiest for you. Take the pressure off of yourself and just begin with removing one thing. Easy does it at the start of any project.  Instead of trying to tackle a large room at first, begin with a drawer, a shelf, a cabinet or closet. Feel good about the little things you’re doing to declutter that will all add up to a cleaner room in the future. 

How do we take the easy road in decluttering? Here are a few ideas for you to try out… 

As you wait in the kitchen for the water to boil, the microwave bell to ring out or your food to simmer, you can quickly pull a few items that you no longer use off of the counter or out of a drawer or cupboard. What outdated paperwork is still hanging on your refrigerator? How many souvenir plastic cups or mugs do you need from gas stations, coffee shops or sporting events? Take a few minutes while you wait to cut back on the items stored in the back of your cupboards that you haven’t used in years.

Try decluttering during the commercial breaks or while your spouse scrolls through all the movies and shows trying to find what to watch next. You can quickly dust the tv room or den or shred paperwork during a break. While watching tv or a movie you can sort through stacks of mail or paperwork or organize your photos. If you’re on your phone during a commercial or movie break, you can declutter your photo app, remove unused apps, clean out your email inbox or unsubscribe from annoying ads. 

If something needs to be on a different level of your house, take the time to bring something downstairs or take something upstairs when you travel throughout your home. Don't waste a trip up or down with empty hands! 

Take your egg timer, alarm clock or cell phone and set an alarm.  Then jump into dusting, cleaning, folding laundry, or decluttering everything you can grab that belongs in another room in the few minutes you have. We once did this type of “cleaning game” in preschool at the end of the day before being picked up by our parents. Let’s do it again and turn decluttering into a game. Imagine what prize Bob Barker or Drew Carey from The Price Is Right would award you after the bell rings and they see how much you got done in such a short time! This type of cleaning works for your kids and their toys, why not let it work for you? You can test it out on your spouse. The next time they run an errand, jump up and clean as much as you can before they get home and see if they notice! It may even be easier to clean when they aren’t home to distract or hinder you. 

If you’re a list person, make a list and have fun crossing things off as you do them. Break up your list by area or room.  Just start small and don’t try to do everything on your list at once so that you become overwhelmed and quit. Stay on your small task and do one thing a day to start off. Similar to a day at work, you can’t get it all done in a day and that’s ok. Feel proud of what you do accomplish and don’t beat yourself up for what is still left to do. 

Make decluttering a game and guess which rooms have the most items you want to donate, give away or trash. Keep a scorecard. Place bets on which child still has the most stuff at your house or how long it will take your children to return home for their items, once you tell them your plan to downsize. Ask them to help you declutter at the holidays by taking some of their belongings along with them when they return home.

What easy ways can you think of to make decluttering work for you? How will you start small? What’s worked for you in the past? Share your comments and inspire others to find their new happy place with less clutter!