Should You Declutter One Room at a Time?

Now and then, it’s good to declutter your home. It’s incredible how easy it is to build up an array of unneeded items over a short period, so frequent decluttering is an excellent idea. So should you declutter one room at a time?

You should declutter one room at a time because it allows you to stay focused on the task. If you’re moving from room to room, you’re more likely to get distracted and not get as much work done. Decluttering one room at a time is more organized and allows you to clear each room thoroughly.

This article will discuss decluttering one room at a time in greater detail. It will discuss the best method and how to do it effectively.

Why You Should Declutter One Room at a Time

Decluttering one room at a time is almost always the brightest idea. It gives you the chance to do a more in-depth clearout and is much less overwhelming. If some of the rooms in your home are large, you may even need to divide the room into sections. 

Below, I’ll discuss why you should declutter one room at a time in greater detail.

You Can Do a Thorough Clearout

As I briefly mentioned earlier, decluttering one room at a time allows you to do a thorough clearout. Of course, you can do a thorough clearout if you declutter different rooms at once, but it could get messy and confusing if there are too many rooms.

If you dedicate a certain amount of time to each room, you can focus on each one individually without worrying about other rooms. Once you’re done with the first room, you can move on to the next.

You Can Organize Everything More Easily

When you declutter one room at a time, it’s easier to organize everything because you’ll be working in small sections. So, you can easily manage things in different categories, such as:

• Clothes you want to recycle
• Clothes you want to keep
• Items and clothes you want to donate
• Things you want to put straight into the trash

If you try to declutter multiple rooms at once, it will be more challenging to organize your things in designated categories because there will be too many things to keep track of!

You may even miss some things or accidentally put them in the wrong pile/box.

You Might Get Less Distracted

It’s normal to get distracted when you’re cleaning out a room. Usually, it happens when you find something you haven’t seen in a long time (like old photos or diaries).

If you focus on decluttering one room at a time, there’ll be fewer things for you to get distracted by. Anything that stands out in a room can easily distract you and grab your attention like a red apple in a green field (source). 

Getting distracted like this will increase the time it takes you to declutter your home. Although you may find things that stand out when decluttering one room at a time, it’ll be less likely to occur than if you declutter all rooms simultaneously.

It’s Not as Overwhelming as Other Methods

Decluttering different rooms at once can be extremely overwhelming, especially if there are many rooms to deal with. On top of that, each room likely has an entirely different array of belongings.

For example, a bedroom may have:

• Clothes
• Jewelry
• Books
• Shoes
• Electronic devices

On the other hand, a kitchen would have:

• Lots of dishes
• Cleaning agents
• Food
• Drinks
• Cupboards filled with many different things

Clearing out a bedroom and kitchen simultaneously would be overwhelming because the things you find in these rooms are completely different, making it harder to organize everything.

So to stay entirely in control and avoid being overwhelmed, it’s best to focus on one room (or even one area of a room) at a time.

How To Declutter One Room at a Time

You now know that decluttering one room at a time is the best way to declutter, but it’s essential to understand how to do it effectively. Once you make a plan and have everything you need, decluttering one room at a time should be straightforward.

Below, I’ll discuss how to declutter one room at a time in greater detail:

Choose a Room

Firstly, you want to choose a room to declutter. The room you choose will depend on how much time you currently have and what mood you’re in. If you’re feeling motivated and energetic, you may want to take on a bigger room that requires more decluttering.

However, if you don’t have much time in the day and feel unmotivated, you may want to go with a smaller room. However, you shouldn’t expect to finish decluttering a room by an exact time—often, it will take longer than you think!

Once you’ve chosen a room, you can move on to the next step.

Have Boxes or Bags Ready

You want to have boxes or bags ready so that you can separate your things. You may only want to separate your items into two categories: what you want and don’t want.

Or, you may want to separate your things into many sections. After deciding how you want to organize everything, you can choose how many boxes or bags you might need.

Declutter in Sections

You should start at one area of the room and work your way across. If it’s a bedroom, you could first start with the wardrobe and drawers. Make sure to declutter in sections, especially if the room is large; this will make the process more organized and less overwhelming.

Don’t Think Too Hard

As you’re decluttering, you may think too hard about whether or not to throw out certain items. Try not to do this because it will distract you and make the process much longer. You should only think about each item for a few seconds before discarding or keeping them.

Conclusion

You should declutter one room at a time because it’s convenient, organized, and the least overwhelming method of decluttering.

If you declutter multiple rooms at once, you may get distracted more easily. It will also be more difficult to organize everything because there’ll be too many things to go through at once.

It’s good to divide each room into sections when decluttering. For example, start with the wardrobe if you’re cleaning a bedroom. Then go from one end of the room to the other.