End of Summer: A Great Time to Declutter

The end of the season offers a golden opportunity to tidy up before school and the holidays

Decluttering will clear your mind as well help you enjoy your living space. (Kostikova Natalia/Shutterstock)

As summertime comes to a close and the fall and eventual holiday season looms on the horizon, an opportune time to declutter the home presents itself. Taking advantage of the remaining, more laid-back summer days to tackle the overabundance filling the homefront is a project that will reap dividends through the end of the calendar year and beyond.

Before the kids go back to school or your family embarks on a new homeschool year; before the family holiday gatherings ramp up; before the Christmas decor comes out; before the inevitable influx of stuff arrives—now is the time to assess your space, rid your home of the items that no longer serve you, and reset your environment for the fourth quarter.

Here are seven tips to guide you through a simple but effective decluttering endeavor before summer’s last hurrah.

Gather the Tools

Before getting started, gather garbage bags, donation bags, storage bins, and labeling tools like a label maker or stickers and markers. You might want to keep a duster or cleaning supplies handy as you go.

It’s also helpful to have a pen and paper or your phone on hand for note-taking. There’s something about going through your home in this way that will jog your memory of items you need or things you want to do.

One Room at a Time

The idea of decluttering your home can be overwhelming. Break it down into more manageable pieces by first going room by room. As you begin a room, you may want to further break down the project into smaller chunks—for example, focusing on just a closet or drawer to begin with—depending on the time you have available to work. The more days you can dedicate to the task, the smaller the chunks you can break it into.

Of course, some people prefer to go at it in one marathon decluttering spree. If that’s you, go for it, but add a few more hours than you think it’s going to take.

Start Early

Speaking of time, no matter whether you’re employing the marathon method or doing this a little at a time, begin the task of decluttering each day as early as possible. Decluttering can, at times, invite us down rabbit holes. You may come across treasured memories or parts of a project you’ve been meaning to get back on your priorities list.

Going through your stuff can evoke emotional responses and inspiration alike. While staying focused and not distracted throughout the process will definitely increase your pace, some preoccupation is bound to occur.

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To mitigate this becoming a problem, start early, define a clear stopping point, and be wary of biting off more than you can chew each time you declutter.

Keep, Toss, Give

The process of decluttering can be kept simple by limiting your decisions to only three possibilities: keep, toss, or give. As you go through your belongings, refrain from expanding the scope of your efforts to rearranging the furniture, redecorating, repairing things, etc.

Your focus is only on what items you’re keeping and managing in your home and whether or not you wish to continue to do so. If you don’t, they can be put in the garbage bag or the donation bag. The items you choose to keep can be put away neatly, but don’t spend too much time reorganizing and rethinking where and how things should be placed in your home.

Immediate Removal

At the conclusion of each decluttering session, be sure to remove the trash and donation bags from your home. If you can get to your donation location immediately, do so. Otherwise, at least get them in the trunk of the car and out of your space.

This will allow you to fully enjoy the progress you’re making in clearing the clutter and refreshing your environment.

Progress Over Perfection

Keep your spirits up as you go by focusing on progress, not perfection. Some of us tend to envision in our minds Instagram-perfect spaces or catalog images when we take on home projects. The reality as you go about decluttering may not necessarily match such high ideals, at least not at first. Further, the impossible standard of perfection leads some people to feel overwhelmed or hopeless and refrain from even getting started.

Rather than aiming for perfection, celebrate each bit of progress. Sure, it’s good to envision a beautiful space, but understand as you go that any bit of progress is a step in the right direction and an improvement worth celebrating. You’ll see small wins all along the way with this perspective, and you may even enjoy the process so much that you keep it up long past summer.

The End in Mind

Finally, keep your end goal in mind as you declutter your home. Envision how it’ll feel to keep only those items you love and use. Picture how great it’ll be to begin the school year fresh or invite family and friends for holiday festivities. Imagine how much easier navigating the upcoming busy season will be when you’re not bogged down with unnecessary clutter.

See clearly in your mind’s eye the fruits of this effort, and keep going until it’s done.