Clutter is your enemy. When you view it from that stand point, it won’t be so difficult to get rid of the clutter. The clutter in your home is taking up valuable space that you could better utilize as a space for you and your family to gather, a space for relaxing or a space to work on your hobbies. Here are 5 easy steps to get rid of clutter and clean house.

1-Get motivated. Why are you hanging onto the clutter? Do you really think all that mess is valuable? Seriously? Then choose 5 items and take a peak at what they are selling for on eBay. The items might not be as valuable as you think they are, and if they are, why not sell them and use the profit for house upgrades after the clutter is gone?

2-Get committed. Commit to getting rid of the clutter. If you have not used something or worn something within the past 12 months, chances are you’re not going to use it or wear it.

3-Get a plan. Plan to start in one room and set aside time every day to work in that one room. Stick with that one room until it is finished, then move on to the another room. You will see progress as you work and it will keep you motivated. Get boxes and label them ‘Trash‘, ‘Keep’, ‘Sell’, ‘Donate’ ‘Someone Else’s’. Place the clutter items in the appropriate boxes and when a room is completely de-cluttered, follow through with the box’s labels. The clutter that has made it’s way into ‘Someone else’s’ box-give that person a call, tell them you have their stuff and set a time limit for them to come and retrieve their belongings or you will donate it.

4-Get started and start small. The clutter is often so overwhelming we don’t know where to start, so we never get started. Start small. Start by throwing away that junk mail and those 2 year old magazines that you planned to read but never did (you won’t read them now either, so trash them). Clear off the top of one surface, a coffee table or dining table, and you will be amazed at the sense of accomplishment and motivation you get from doing that small de-cluttering project.

5-Keep it up everyday. Set aside time everyday for getting rid of clutter, even if it only 15 minutes. Once you have a clean house and the clutter is gone, you don’t want to clutter up you space again. You have to keep it up and work on it everyday.

Getting started is the hardest part of getting rid of the clutter, but you can accomplish it and clean house step by step.