Removing unwanted items from your house can be an arduous task. It can also be a massive stress relief and promote many different positive changes in your life. Some of the changes are issues you don’t realize until you understand the need to clear clutter. There are a lot of individuals who aren’t sure how to declutter their home and dispose of items like furniture and appliances for a clutter-free home. This is the ultimate guide to help any individual get rid of clutter. To get rid of clutter is to free up more than just space.

When Clutter Becomes A Problem

There are tell-tale signs that clutter is starting to become a problem. Day-to-day activities, over time, will begin to become more challenging to complete. For example, if you are beginning to misplace your items constantly. These items usually include belongings. Are you always looking for your car keys or your cell phone? Are you looking for the TV remote control every time you sit down and try to get your evening show in? Before you leave the house, you might find yourself perpetually looking for your wallet? This guide is designed to teach you how to get rid of clutter and improve your life. Here is the easiest formula for decluttering and the benefits of cleaner living.

The Benefits of Decluttering Your Life

Getting rid of clutter has a host of benefits. It is more than just being able to locate your belongings too quickly. Decluttering promotes a sense of accomplishment once you have it done and provides a cleaner living in relation to your health. Stress is minimized, and you find yourself more pointed and focused because of the lack of distractions. The benefits expound even further than this.

Improved Quality of Life

Clutter removal provides a general sense of cleanliness. There is also a lot more space for casual activities. This is a highly undervalued benefit. You are utilizing the area you have in your home. If you have children or a spouse, this is an added benefit. If you are alone, this is also convenient. There also become fewer obstructions or no obstructions in your walking space. This is a highly undervalued benefit.

Safety

Unwanted items and clutter can become dangerous scenarios over time. Hallway obstructions become a hazard, mainly if the system includes sharp or blunt objects. If clutter attracts pests or other kinds of animal infestations, this creates a whole new set of issues. Animal infestations and pests can carry sickness and disease and is a very unhygienic problem, and can be fiscally expensive to treat appropriately. Pest control can be costly and time-consuming.

Easier Time Cleaning Your House

Learning how to get rid of stuff can be difficult for some. Looking at it positively, in a positive manner, can help clear clutter from obstructed spaces on the floor. More importantly and more often, the issue is the closet. Clearing closet clutter is complex, but after it is accomplished, it makes cleaning your house easier overall. When you have to spend less time cleaning to achieve the same results, you can do more.

Embrace a Minimalist Mindset

Learning how to declutter your home provides a new ideology as a whole. The less is more ideology is a powerful way of thinking. You learn to appreciate what you do have, and it minimizes that feeling you need stuff you don’t need. You have more power over the temptation of consumerism. This is usually a United States-based issue. A lot of people overseas are seen as minimalists when compared to U.S citizens.

How to Get Rid of Unwanted Stuff

There are a number of individuals that have a difficult time getting rid of stuff. This guide is designed to help you go exactly. By providing examples of what to remove and helping you make a plan of action, any individual can reap the benefits of living like a minimalist. Living a cleaner and more stress-free lifestyle is obtainable, and it can help save money in the process.

Have an Action Plan Ready to Go

If you have a hard time getting rid of clutter, create a plan. Creating and executing that plan in a step-by-step process is a fantastic way of eliminating the stress during the process. Start by establishing how much cleaning needs to be done. Making a list of how many items to dispose of is an excellent way to help yourself prepare for the job. This will give you a general idea of how much work needs to be put into the project.

Look at the Bigger Picture

Start by looking at the bigger picture. When you have an overall sense of the project, it makes it much easier to organize that plan of action. It allows you to figure out where to start and create a step-by-step process. You will get a better sense of how much cleaning needs to happen and get rid of the clutter more effectively. Over analyzing can become an issue, which is the biggest reason to look at the whole case first.

Keep it Reasonable

After looking at the project as a whole, remember to keep your expectations at a reasonable level. Creating unrealistic expectations can be challenging to avoid, but try to eliminate this way of thinking. One of the most significant objectives of removing clutter from your life is to remove the unneeded stress that goes along with this issue. If you are creating a deadline that you cannot meet or stressing about every little detail, it defeats the project’s purpose. It is good to set achievable goals and not reach too high. You can always go back to something like this.

Create Small Goals

Clearing clutter by keeping your expectations reasonable goes hand in hand. This is why you want to set small goals for yourself. Creating milestones will help you achieve this project’s ultimate end goal much quicker. If you do small tasks, they will compound as you work through the job in front of you. This is a manner of achieving success in many aspects of life, and getting rid of the clutter and unwanted items in your house should be treated no differently. This operation has a lot of benefits, and creating small goals is the best method to achieve success.

4 Steps to Get Everything Sorted out

There is a good possibility you have a lot of things to get rid of. Clearing clutter can sometimes even be a psychological issue. The problem with “hoarding” is a lot more common than one might think. The first step is deciding which items are being removed based on how important something is. If you can’t decide which things to hold onto, you probably haven’t determined the value of something appropriately. If you feel you have and still can’t let it go, it might be significant enough to keep. This will help you determine how important something really is, and then you can separate items from small to heavy. Last, figure out an effective disposal method.

1: Decide Which Items Should Go

When you have a lot of things to get rid of, you have to take note of what you need. What is relevant in your life? Many individuals keep stuff because sometimes it takes a little bit of planning and effort to get rid of something. The next thing they tell themselves is they might use it one day. This becomes a dangerous pitfall, and that is how you end up with a house full of clutter. Try to eliminate this method of thinking, and it will prepare you to decide which items to let go of.

2: Determine How Important It Really Is

This concept borrows from eliminating that pitfall way of thinking. Determining how important something is becoming much easier for someone who has difficulty predetermining the item’s value. If it is valuable financially, spiritually, or has a sentimental value, it is acceptable to hang onto. If the article doesn’t check any of these boxes, it is a safe bet to consider it clutter and remove it from your home. Determine a TRUE value of whatever you are considering, and don’t negotiate with yourself. Avoid pitfall thinking and learn to let go sometimes.

3: Separate Your Items From Small to Heavy

If you have determined which items to remove from your house and your life, they will not all be the same size. Create an inventory list or an itemized list and separate them into small and heavy categories. This will help create a plan when removing them from the house. It causes a greater sense of organization to the project and makes the process that much smoother. Frequently you can remove bulk items together or conglomerate a lot of more minor things and remove them in one go.

4: Determine How to Dispose of Your Unwanted Items

This is why you create an itemized list and organize them into heavy and minor categories. There will be different methods of disposal at your choice. When you have everything categorized, it is easier to determine the best way to get rid of clutter, appliances, old furniture, and various items creating waste in your home. Sometimes disposal can be pricey, and this will help organize how to make it more cost-effective as well. If you have a lot to throw away or live in town, this can be particularly helpful. It will help alleviate a lot of stress.

11 Tips on How to Get Rid of Stuff Around the House

For those of you who still struggle with the concept of eliminating clutter from your house, here is the section you are looking for. We have compiled an additional list of tips to help you get rid of stuff around your home. We have a list of 11 creative decluttering tips to teach you how to get rid of stuff you don’t need. You will learn where to start if something needs to be thrown away or donated. You will learn how to throw things away room-by-room, which is an effective manner of making progress, making and using a checklist, and the 12-12-12 rule.

1: Start With Small Projects That Feel Big

There are a lot of tasks in general that feel bigger than they are. A lot of the time, a task can seem daunting because it is just something you are willing to do for one reason or another. You might have even put it off for a while and don’t want to return to the task—whatever the reason, attempt to tackle these problems first. When the boring issues and the mentally challenging issues are completed first, it makes the rest of the projects or overall operation run much smoother.

2: Create a Cleaning Checklist

Setting up a roadmap or a guide to cleaning while removing the junk from your house also makes the project run much more efficiently. Getting rid of old appliances and furniture should be a part of this checklist. This isn’t always easy, so it needs to be itemized because creating a cleaning checklist and doing it properly is difficult with large bulk items around the house. To get rid of clutter and keep a clean space to live in, the big and the small items need to be removed, and a cleaning checklist needs to be put into motion.

3: Try the 12-12-12 Rule

This is something not a lot of individuals are aware of and makes a fantastic guideline. It is beneficial for the individual who isn’t sure of where to discard his unwanted and unneeded clutter. The 12-12-12 rule is quite simple. Try and throw away 12 items. Choose 12 items to donate. The remaining 12 items that you cannot seem to categorize into these two sections can be put back in their place at a time to ensure progress. You can always come back to a problem. Also, when you donate, it gives a sense that you aren’t wasting something.

4: Ask Yourself if You Really Need It

When you want to know how to get rid of clutter, and you are struggling with the concept, sentimentality is usually the culprit. We all have sentimental belongings, and taking this out of the equation can be difficult, but if you can remove this barrier, there will be a lot to gain, mainly space and peace of mind.

5: Declutter Your House Room-By-Room

This is a slightly more straightforward method of action. When you are cleaning and removing unwanted items from your house, we here at Jiffy Junk understand the importance of tackling a single room in your home at a time. This minimizes the entire task and gives you a sense of accomplishment when you get one room done at a time. If you have to get rid of an old mattress or something equally significant, doing a room-by-room decluttering becomes much more manageable. It also is much easier to organize your operation when you have a cleaning list that pairs with the room-to-room method.

6: Utilize Storage Bins for Important Items

Storage bins are your friend! The best way to get rid of your smaller items is through using boxes, storage bins, and heavy trash bags. They are an excellent method for collecting the minor household goods or items you no longer need. If you box or bag these items up, you can even take them to donate at a furniture bank. They accept more than just furniture at these places. Not to mention they are redistributed to people who need them, which always makes it easier to get rid of your old things.

7: Select Which Heavy Appliance Should Go

Heavy appliances free up a lot of space. For example, when you are looking to get rid of an old fridge, there are many ways to do this. You can call your appliance dealer, donate the fridge if it still works, a recycling center or scrap yard, and lastly, you can always call your trash service to see if they take large items. You can do the same thing when you get rid of the old television, microwave, and stove. Your trash service can typically remove these items for you, and if they still work, Jiffy Junk suggests donating to someone who might need it.

8: Select Which Furniture Should Go

Jiffy Junk uses the same method when removing old furniture. If you are unsure what to do with unwanted furniture or how to get rid of furniture, think about the suggestions we used for appliance removal. Determine which old furniture you want to remove, whether a sofa, old cabinets, or even an end table, and check to see if it can be reused and donated. If you need to know how to dispose of used furniture and not donate it, call your trash service and see if they can remove it for you.

9: Separate Smaller Unwanted Items Into A Single Container

Much like utilizing storage bins or boxes, separating your smaller-sized unwanted items into a single container is an effective method to being efficient during this whole process. Add all your unwanted small items into a single unit and discard them for more straightforward disposal. This is an effective method of making the task go quicker, can save money on removal, and overall relieve stress during the whole ordeal.

10: Get Help From Some Friends

There are a lot of occasions where you might need an extra hand. We think it is okay to ask. So will most of your friends and family members. Don’t be shy to ask and bring the help of family members or some friends to help with the process. You can always show appreciation by providing a cookout, donating some of those furniture pieces or unwanted appliances their way. This does not have to feel like charity, and you can often make a fun day out of it. It often makes the process less stressful too.

11: Hire Professionals to Deal With All of the Heavy Junk

Sometimes you have a schedule and so do your friends and family. If you cannot pair those schedules and still need an extra hand, don’t be afraid to hire professionals to deal with the heavy lifting. They are professional for a reason and can help alleviate one of the most significant resources for yourself, and that is your time. Their pricing is usually worth their efficiency, and it can make the whole job much more manageable, especially when you have to get rid of old furniture and heavy appliances.

Selling vs Donating: Which One Should You Choose

Selling vs. donating can be a point of contention when deciding what to do with your old stuff. When you are ready to get rid of clutter, and you aren’t sure what to do with unwanted furniture or various other bulk items, this topic usually arises. We at Jiffy Junk think it is primarily up to you. If you want to sell something and make a few extra dollars, there shouldn’t be any guilt in that. If you are donating, we only suggest the quality be at least high enough to be reused. Donated furniture should still be usable, so it can be reused.

Extra Recommendations

We at Jiffy Junk always like being thorough. We know every case is different, even if the project is the same and you’re getting rid of furniture or something previously mentioned; here, we have compiled and created an additional list of 6 crafty tips to get rid of unwanted stuff, just in case we missed something that didn’t cover your exact situation. We want to cover all bases and think it is essential to mention the finer points to conclude our guide.

Have Your Broom and Vacuum Cleaners Ready

First and foremost, from experience, we know that there will be a lot of sweeping and brooming when going through this process. Whenever dealing with a project of this magnitude, there will be a lot of dust and dirt that gets kicked up, and it is best to keep these tools ready at arm’s length. This expedites the process of cleaning clutter. With a project of this length, anything to save time is beneficial.

Boxes, Boxes and More Boxes

Before starting, when you are creating your cleaning checklist and preparing a room-by-room plan, it is always a good thing to accumulate as many boxes as you can. If you run out of spare boxes, places like Home Depot and Menards sell cardboard boxes of various sizes. These actually have to be paid for, but it isn’t an expensive investment, and the amount of headache it can save you is well worth it. You will be happier to have a few leftovers instead of having to stop midway through the process.

Prepare Plenty of Trash Bags

Having plenty of trash bags on hand is conceptually the same as having an excess of boxes handy. Depending on what you are removing, it is sometimes more useful to have trash bags instead of boxes. This is usually the case when you have an excess of unwanted items in your home that will just be going to the dump. There will probably be a lot of garbage, and this is the most convenient method of removal. This is also very cost-effective, and contractor bags can fit quite a lot of trash inside them.

Use Gloves

Using gloves is kind of a no-brainer. When dealing with clutter removal, it is best to use some form of protective gear to safeguard yourself from an excess of dirt and debris. Gloves are a great way to keep yourself from getting hurt if you remove old furniture and appliances. If you have any that are heavy duty and are removing these bulky items without the use of professionals, it can often make heavy lifting items easier if they have any kind of padding or grip. We recommend getting a pair of gloves that fits the job.

Take Your Pets and Kids Out of the Room

This is not only a safety precaution; it is a way of removing unwanted items from your house, a much quicker and more organized experience. Kids and pets tend to get in the way. Be sure to remove any children from the area as well as pets. Again, there tends to be a lot of dirt and debris, and this can also assure you don’t get anyone sick while removing clutter and cleaning up your home. If you are removing large items, it brings peace of mind that they won’t get hurt.

Sort Through All of Your Paper

This is an excellent added detail. Be sure not to skip over this step. While cleaning and removing unnecessary stuff from your house, there tends to be a lot of papers. Old mail, documents, newspapers, and old bills end up being found and usually thrown out. There usually is some important stuff that is mismanaged over the years of accumulating this clutter, and creating an organized storage system for all your paperwork is the recommended method. We don’t want to see anything of importance thrown out, so be sure to go through the paperwork that gets drugged up.

FAQs

How to Dispose of Unwanted Household Items?

If you wonder how to dispose of unwanted household items, there are a few methods available to almost anybody. There are various shelters and support agencies that you can search through local directories. A simple phone call can help you determine what you can take to any shelter or support agency.

What to Do With Your Unwanted Furniture?

Not sure what to do with your unwanted furniture? There are furniture banks that will accept unwanted furniture as long as it is lightly used and can be redistributed. If it is in poor condition, call your local trash service and see if they can discard a large item. Most services will do one large item a month. Some will even pick up one large item a week.

Who Will Pick up Furniture for Donation?

There is an abundance of charities that will pick up furniture for donation. Green drop, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and Goodwill are some of the major charities that usually can be found in all major locations. They do an excellent job of making the pick-up drop-off process easy. Pick Up Place, and Furniture Bank are also good choices. They provide quality service as well and have quite a few locations.

Where Can I Sell My Unwanted Items?

If you do not know where to sell unwanted items, this isn’t a tricky situation either. There are a number of good sources. eBay, Poshmark, and Facebook marketplace are the best sources. There is also a service similar to Craigslist but safer called 5Miles. OfferUp and LetGo are also free and available but do not have the amount of traffic as the major contenders do. They are worth checking out, nonetheless.