In just 12 days we will be celebrating Chinese New Year and stuffing our faces all over again, not you of course, just me! And in the lead up to it, cleaning companies and cleaning aunties are fully booked! The annual Spring Cleaning exercise is running at full throttle. Are you also caught up with decluttering and Spring Cleaning?
Decluttering Regularly
While I don’t deliberately declutter for Chinese New Year, I do declutter regularly. My decluttering habit grew as the family grew. Every time God added a blessing to the family, I would declutter and re-organise the limited space we had to fit us comfortably. Six of us used to live in a 2-bedroom apartment.
By God’s grace, we are now nine people in a 4-bedroom HDB maisonette. But with seven of them growing rapidly (thank God for that!), space is a premium here. So I declutter ruthlessly. Besides, clutter makes cleaning the flat more difficult – more things have to be moved around to clean thoroughly.
I Love Decluttering!
Yes, I know, I know. I am weird. Same like how I prefer to iron and wash the toilet than cook. So I don’t really understand the paralysis some people feel at the thought of having to throw things out.
While I am not a naturally tidy or organised person, managing a large family has taught me the necessity of both. Plus, having allergies mean that a dust free house (as much as possible without killing myself over it) is better for us. Therefore, having as few things lying about collecting dust as possible is best. Therefore, every item is assessed to see if it collects dust or is hard to clean before it enters the house, and every shelf needs doors!
And since space is a premium, having clear empty spaces help convey airiness and well, space. So that I don’t feel hemmed in. I am apparently so ruthless about decluttering that my husband says that if he is not careful, he will get decluttered one day too!
How to Declutter?
There are heaps of books, blogs, and Youtube videos on how to declutter. Besides Plan with Me Youtube videos I mentioned in my Recording memories and milestones post, I found out that there are Clean with Me videos too! Yes, you watch someone clean her house! Weird? Maybe but in these days of reality TV, not so much. Besides, for those of us who grew up with mothers who cleaned the house while we were at school or had maids, these videos are helpful. In the days before Youtube, I learnt the better and more efficient methods of housecleaning from Flylady. She’s my virtual housekeeping mentor!
Do You KonMari?
When one talks about decluttering, one cannot not mention the famous KonMari method. I have not read her books but have watched her in action on Youtube. It is…… too out there for me! I will stick with Flylady!
Questions to Ask
Anyway, these are the questions that go through MY mind when I declutter. Here is my simple Decluttering Questions PDF download for easy reference, asking :
- Do I like it?
- Is it useful?
- Will I use it on a regular basis, even if it is once a year?
- If I am not going to use it now, do I see myself using it in the next 2-3 months?
- Do I have space for it?
Bit-by-bit
Flylady recommends doing it for just 15 minutes per day so that you won’t feel overwhelmed by the task at hand. Choose a room or an area that is giving you the most stress. Declutter it just 15 minutes a day, every day. The pile will slowly but surely be reduced or even eliminated.
All-or-Nothing
I am an all-or-nothing person plus I am sensitive to dust. So I prefer to grit my teeth and push through in one or maybe two days rather than do it bit-by-bit. But I get that this is a personality thing. You do your thing.
This is my modus operandi – I make sure all the meals are planned/ordered in/cooked. Then I pop an antihistamine that works for me (not all do), plug in my earphones and just start. The children are allowed to play anywhere (unless the area is super dusty), as long as they heed my instructions not to touch anything.
Decluttering with Babies and Toddlers Underfoot
When I had babies and toddlers, major decluttering was done during their nap times and after they were put to bed. Since I had only nap and bedtimes to work with, I worked really fast. And if I really need to work on something between nap times, I would put the TV on for them.
It would be ideal if someone would take the children out the whole day while I worked, uninterrupted. But this is real life. I didn’t get and still don’t get this luxury so I work in the pockets of time I have and learnt to work fast.
Bedrooms First
I almost always start with the bedrooms because they have the least clutter. When the children were very much younger, I learnt from experienced mothers to limit the areas the children can eat and play in. That was a life saver! No more toys or food crumbs all over the house.
Bedrooms are only for sleeping and reading. No toys are allowed in there. So I only declutter the wardrobe. Clothes are sorted into don’t like, don’t want and plain tatty. The older children do their own while I do the younger kids’. I go through everyone’s piles and then decide if they are to be thrown away, donated* or passed on to a sibling who likes it. I do not keep clothes for longer than 3 years unless they hold sentimental value.
*Items for donation
Please do not donate stained, dirty and spoilt items. You are not being kind or generous. It is disrespectful to the recipient. 🙁
But … What if I Have Another Baby?
When I had 2 girls in a row, I passed on all our baby boy clothes to a friend. She asked, “What if you have a baby boy?” I replied that if God really blessed us with another boy, I am sure He will provide clothes for him! I am glad I did not hang on to the clothes because I had another 2 girls after that!
Living Room Next
The two mammoth things to attack in my living room are toys and books.
(a) Books
I have a soft spot for books, so it is hard. Twaddle is donated. Classics and favourites are kept, of course. When the children were younger, I decide what to keep/throw/sell/donate. Now, they give their input. Although I do not have any more babies, I still keep books by Sandra Boynton, Eric Carle, and books listed in the Before Five in a Row curriculum. They hold fond memories and don’t take up much space.
Homeschool curriculum gets passed on or sold. A note : homeschool curricula get updated regularly so if you want a decent amount of money for them, you need to sell them as soon as possible. Otherwise it becomes outdated and no one will even take them for free.
(b) Toys
Every time I think about throwing out a toy, someone will decide to play with it in the next few days. What gives? But I am still ruthless. Because they may only play with that toy on that day. The next day, it is back to being ignored. It is a shiny object syndrome (SOS). SOS toys get passed on. Broken toys or toys with missing parts are thrown out. SOS is also why I declutter toys when the children are asleep. Less drama.
Legos, Megabloks and Magformers are kept, although I did pass on a huge collection of MegaBloks a few years ago. They were taking up too much space and were not played with often. My youngest is 7 now, so only a basket of masak-masak* toys are kept. I often observe what they play with so I know which toys are regularly played with.
*masak-masak is a Malay word referring to make-believe play usually involving kitchen and home-making toys for girls.
Kitchen is Last
The kitchen is my last stop. I do not need to declutter the dining room as all we have there is the dining table.
Kitchen cabinets are organised in a like-with-like manner. All baking stuff in one drawer. All containers in one cupboard and, so on and so forth. Containers must have matching lids or they are thrown out. With kitchen equipment, I try not to buy items that are single use or items that are hard to clean because I know I will end up not using them.
And that’s it.
Once the house is decluttered, the next step is critical if you want the next decluttering exercise and regular cleaning to be faster.
Maintenance
In my opinion, decluttering is easier than maintenance. Kinda like losing weight! But the main thing to remember: the less clutter you have, the faster you can clean up and the easier it is to maintain it.
When I was transitioning out of using part-time help, I learnt from Flylady that you cannot organise clutter. So, decide and decide quickly whether each item in your house should or should not stay on a regular basis and you will have an easier time containing the mess.
But what if I need it?
What is the real possibility of needing it? How much will it cost to replace it? Think these questions through. I have not needed anything I decluttered all these years.
But I did accidentally donate away 2 outfits I meant to keep. It was the year 2012 and we were finally getting our house renovated. I needed to declutter and pack.
When it came to sorting out bags of baby/toddler clothes (1st photo), I hesitated. I had miscarried a baby only a few months ago. I just couldn’t do it. So I just took the bags, without sorting, and donated them all to the Salvation Army! It did not dawn on me what I had done until a few years later when I was looking for the outfits to photograph. It hurts even now to look at these romper dresses which had specially embroidered words on them to commemorate our only home birth baby. She also happens to be our longest nursing baby (almost 3 years!).
Teach Your Children to Declutter
Some children are neat freaks, others don’t care. But we need to teach them to care and be considerate. I know we all have a different tolerance for mess (my decluttered house could very well be your nightmare!) but there is a basic level of tidiness that everyone can agree on. Agree on that with your children and keep to it.
My children know that if they don’t declutter, I will “help” them declutter which strikes terror in their hearts because they know I am ruthless. In the beginning, sit with, and teach them to ask those basic questions I listed above. (Download Decluttering Questions PDF for them.)
Each child has shelves above his desk to keep his personal things. Once that is full, he has to declutter it. More space will not be given. Hoarding is a disease. Seriously. Don’t let them start. Give your child a reasonably-sized box if you have no shelf or cupboard to dedicate to him.
Everything Has a Home
A place for everything and everything in its place. This is the key to maintenance. And if there is no place for it, you either carve out space for it or give it up. Take advantage of the season to declutter and contain the mess. An uncluttered and organised home is more pleasant to live in.
Any other decluttering tips to share? Do share!
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