Last Updated on March 10, 2023 by Corynn
This blog post is all about decluttering tips for apartments and the steps you need take.
We all go through those moments where we need to declutter our apartment. This could be because we’re moving, or a little bundle of joy is on the way and you need more space. From this post I hope you can leave with knowing how to declutter your apartment without feeling overwhelmed.
How Long Does It Take To Declutter An Apartment?
With my one bedroom apartment it can take between one day to a whole week depending on the speed of how I go.
What usually takes me the longest is sorting through my clothes. Due to having to try them on and off. Plus folding them back into my dressers (not fun).
If you’re on a time limit or have a deadline to make, (Baby on the way, moving to a new place, having a new roommate come in, etc.) You’ll be finding yourself a bit overwhelmed with everything you have to do.
How Do You Declutter When You’re Overwhelmed?
One thing I have to say is DON’T PANIC! decluttering when being overwhelmed can lead to a burn out or wanting to throw away a lot of things you don’t mean to.
Remember to take a deep breath and declutter at a pace that only YOU can handle.
Now, here are ways on how you can declutter your apartment
Steps To Decluttering Your Apartment
1. Start by Sectioning Off Each Room.
Decluttering your apartment should not be done all at once. You have to break down your apartment into sections. Kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, and storage.
If you have more than a day to declutter your apartment, I highly suggest to break down each room per day.
For example, declutter the Kitchen on Tuesday, Bedroom on Thursday, or tackle the linen closet on Saturday.
This will help prevent a burnout. Although if you only have a weekend to declutter, just spilt the apartment in half and set a timer.
Estimate how long each room will be. Let’s say the kitchen will take 2 hours to be done.
Set a time on your phone for 2 hours and declutter the kitchen for 2 hours non stop. Then continue on with the next room and so forth.
2. Purge
Start by going through closets, drawers, shelves and begin to purge any garbage, items you haven’t touched, and more. Purging your apartment will help you see the sextra space you have.
Focus on putting everything in a pile or a large box.
3. Create Piles
Now that you have your large pile of all the things you purged, it’s time to section off three piles; donation, throw away and keep.
The donation pile is for belongings that you want to donate to a charity center like Goodwill. The throw away pile is for things that are broken or just needs to be thrown out in the garbage.
The keep pile is for the things you want to keep around. some of the items in your keep pile may not actually stay there (read more to find out why!).
4. See If It’s a Need or a Want
now that you have your keep pile, it’s time to go through it. Look at each item and see if you really need it or just want to hold onto it.
Sometimes we have a fear of giving something away thinking in a few months were going to need it again. Why not try the 6 month rule.
What is the 6 month rule? The 6 month rule is holding onto a item that you want for 6 months. If you use the item more than 3 times within the 6 months then it’s a need.
Although if you haven’t touched that item within the 6 month period then it’s time to let it go.
5. Find Furniture That Can be Storage
one of the best things I have ever done was purchase furniture that included storage space. for instance our couch comes with a section were we can store our throw pillows and blankets.
This helps so much with not having our couch so crowded with blankets and pillows.
Another furniture item we bought that has tons of storage is our TV stand, which comes with drawers, and shelving for storage.
This helps us to maximize the space we have in our living room.
6. Figure Out Where The Clutter is Coming From
As we’re going along our decluttering process, you want to try to find where the clutter is coming from and how to prevent it.
For example you may see tons of receipts everywhere, some belongings don’t have a home or you have a habit throwing your belongings everywhere.
Once you figured out what is causing all of this clutter, try to come up with strategies to limit the amount of clutter in the future.
7. Look for Organizers and Containers
Now that you have purged your apartment, it’s now time to see how you can organize your apartment. This could be getting organizers, dividers, and more.
Containers are great way to limit clutter and maximize your living space. You can find organization items for your kitchen all the way to the linen closet.
RELATED POST: Organization Ideas For Your Kitchen
RELATED POST: Amazon Organization Must-Haves
8. Utilize The Extra Space
With all the extra space you have, now you can figure out what to do with it. This could be rearranging your furniture, adding in anther furniture piece you have been wanting. Or even prepare to expand your family.
Decluttering Tips For Apartments
Now that we know the steps to decluttering our rental. Here are some decluttering tips for apartments you can follow:
1. Start in Small Steps
Decluttering your living space takes time. Decluttering can take days or even weeks. for some, it’s hard to let things go. Remember to take small steps and don’t apply so much pressure on yourselves.
2. Try The “Does This Bring Me Joy” Trick
We gotta give a little shoutout to Marie Kondo for this one. Ever since I heard her “does this bring me joy” strategy, I try it with any item that I am giving away.
If you’re having a difficulties deciding if you should keep that item or throw/give it way try this; Hold onto the item and ask yourself “does (name of item) bring me joy?“
If you find that this items brings you joy, then it goes in the stay pile. If the item does not bring you joy then it’s time to let it go.
3. Remove Paper Clutter
I am super guilty for doing this! I would have piles and piles of paper lingering around. I’ll always tell myself “Oh I’ll get around to it.”
In reality, I never do.
If you’re anything like me who just holds on to piles of paper then you better tackle it. You’ll soon realize how much paper clutter takes up so much space in your apartment.
4. Something That is Old For You is New For Someone Else
You have this large pile of things you want to donate. But did you know some of the items you have that are in mint condition can be resold? Facebook Marketplace is a great place for that.
You can resell; clothing, furniture, appliances, baby items, and so much more!
In addition, offer some of the things to your friends and family.
Remember your junk could be someone else’s treasure!
5. Minimize Your Belongings
Want another way to declutter your apartment become more minimalist! This means instead of having an abundance of the same item, try to limit the amount you have for extra space.
For example, instead of owning over 12 tea towels. Try to minimize your amount of tea towels to 7.
Living a minimalist lifestyle can allow you to have tons of space and appreciate the things you have.
When to Get Professional Help for Decluttering Your Apartment?
Sometimes decluttering can become very overwhelming. Previously in this blog post I mention ways how to not get overwhelmed with declutter.
Although there may be other factors that can come into play such as; finding it hard to let go of items, physically can’t (pregnancy or injury). or a time constraint (e.g moving within a certain time frame)
Remember to please don’t be ashamed for getting professional help. Professional declutterers are trained to maximize your living space.
Remember, going through the decluttering process is one step closer to your goals. That could be gaining more space or moving. Looking into moving out soon? Read my Apartment Moving Out Cleaning Checklist today!
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