The Easiest Way To Declutter For The New Year (Without Getting Overwhelmed)

Like many people, you might write down "declutter my home" as your chosen New Year's resolution. Before you rush through the house trying to declutter everything in sight, though, take a beat and instead get ready for the new year by doing a decluttering countdown. This approach for organizing and taking back your home from piles of clutter relies on creating zones you can tackle one at a time during a certain time frame so you don't get overwhelmed by the scope of the entire house. As we turn the page to January, you might start envisioning your perfectly organized space, with everything folded, stored, and labeled. The only problem is, if your space is jammed with items in every nook and cranny, you might struggle to even think about practical strategies for decluttering your home. This is where the clutter-free countdown comes in handy. With a countdown going until New Year's Eve, you may even be able to comfortably control your home's clutter by January.

According to a 2024 survey by Talker Research (for The Container Store), many Americans view the new year as a chance for a fresh start, with seven in 10 participants expressing the wish for a clutter-free home. Using a declutter countdown makes the process easier because you work on a timeline of your choosing and have specific zones to tackle. Much like you may have a "countdown" to the New Year, you can identify and count down the clutter-filled spaces, or zones, in your home. This method of breaking large tasks into more manageable ones on a schedule will help you retain focus, track your progress, and resist procrastination. By giving yourself small and easily attainable goals, you'll enjoy a consistent feeling of accomplishment to motivate you to get started on the next task.

When you're creating a countdown to a clutter-free home, there's no set limits, though you may find lists of ideas online. You only need to focus on one zone or room at a time, following through until you're satisfied with your progress. Just decide on how long your countdown will be, whether it's several days or only a couple of hours. You may try to tackle the whole kitchen over a few days, for instance, scheduling small tasks for each day. Keep your projects clear and visible by writing them down and checking them off as you finish. You might also combine the countdown with techniques like the Pomodoro method for decluttering, working in one space for a set time, such as 25 minutes, to avoid burnout. 

Although setting your own clutter countdown and moving zone to zone and room to room is a smart decluttering trick to ensure you don't miss anything, it depends on you making reasonable and actionable goals to keep up your momentum as you get things done. Be specific about your plans, creating a list of areas and tasks within each of those spaces, such as drawers, surfaces, and shelving units, and setting a sensible countdown to get everything accomplished. As you complete each zone and declutter it, you can celebrate your "win" before moving on to the next area. You may have good intentions on cleaning it all, but if even your smaller tasks are too much, don't hesitate to make them even more granular, such as one shelf or pile of papers at a time. As you complete these smaller tasks, you're still reducing the overall clutter in your home in a way that works for you so you have a cleaner, more organized year ahead.