Believe it or not, clutter is not the first C in my 4 C’s of decluttering. Clutter is certainly the thing you want to get rid of, but there are places that tend to get cluttered up faster than we can say, “Holy, that’s a lot of clutter!”

The 4 C’s of decluttering are Clothes, Closets, Counters, and Cupboards! All of these places are so easy to stash anything in a hurry, and they are sometimes hidden places where guests who are popping by won’t even notice the clutter within them.

Clothes

We start with clothes because it is a super easy place to start. Usually, it is straightforward to sort through your clothes. There’s less emotional attachment, and if it doesn’t fit – out it goes! So the first of the C’s is clothes. To really go through your clothes and make a big impact, you will benefit from pulling EVERY piece out of your closet! It may start to feel overwhelming as you pile them all up on the bed but you will be able to pick and choose what clothes you want to keep much easier than if you left them in the closet and just skimmed them over. The same can happen for any clothes you have in the house. Kid’s clothes can be sorted, rain gear, even winter gear or coats.

Closets

The next stop on the C’s of decluttering are the closets. This comes right after going through your clothes because you have just spent a bunch of time on sorting your clothing closets, so it’s easier to see what non-clothing items are left over. Things like shoes, jewellery, hats, belts, or ties. You may also have other closets in the house, like linen closets, cleaning supply closets, or even gift and gift wrapping closets. Whatever closets you have, sort through them all in full detail. Again, start by removing everything! There is no point going through the stuff at the surface of what you can see and not digging deep into the closet. Digging deep is where I am certain you could find stuff to get rid of that you likely don’t even remember is there!

Cupboards

Now that all of the closets are tidy, organized, and contain only useful, purposeful items, you can focus on other hiding places in the house. All the cupboards! This isn’t just limited to kitchen cupboards, though that is definitely a great place to start. After you’re done in the kitchen, check out all of the bathroom cupboards. Then, hit up the laundry room if you have cupboards there. Another place that might have cupboards is your garage or the basement. Think workshop or entertainment cupboards. Any place in your house with a small door or drawer is worth sorting. If you’re diligent and thorough, you might find that you have too much space to store the things you actually want to keep!

Counters

Lastly, we focus on the counters. Nothing is better than an empty counter. Again, it doesn’t just have to be the kitchen counter. Bathroom counters also benefit from being empty or at least having very minimal things displayed on the counter. Less germs are spread when there are fewer things on the counter because less items are getting splashed as you wash your hands – it also becomes a 5 minute or less job to wipe the counters when they are empty! If you stretch your idea of what a counter is, then you could apply this to any kind of open surface. Think dressers, night stands, entryway table tops, coffee tables, even the mantle above the fireplace. All of these places find their fair share of clutter, and when these spaces are not cluttered, you will have less stress in your body!

A month to tackle the C’s

If you can manage it, use any spare time during the course of one month to tackle all four of the C’s. Start with your clothes for week 1, like I detailed above, sort through ALL of the clothes. Week 2 will be the closets. Week 3 is the cupboards. Finally, week 4 is the counters. During the course of one single month you will completely alter the feel of your house! You gotta work hard each day to get it all done in a month, especially juggling multiple commitments and schedules, but depending on the size of your house and the amount of stuff you have, it can be done. It may be ambitious, but it certainly can be done!

Change your home in a single month by just sticking to the plan!

Thanks for coming home!