Tired of the constant battle against clutter while trying to manage the chaos of homeschool life? I get it. In this Homeschool with Moxie Podcast episode, we’re cutting through the fluff and diving into some practical decluttering tips for those of us who are knee-deep in the daily grind.
No frills, just straightforward advice to help you reclaim your space and sanity. Let’s get real about decluttering in the midst of homeschool mom life – because who has time for anything else?
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Even more important than learning some simple decluttering tips for busy homeschool moms is taking action! We want to have quick wins here so you have some motivation to keep going. In order to help you stay on track, download this FREE checklist of your action steps and tips.
Decluttering tips for homeschool moms
Homeschool moms need a simple plan with quick wins – because we’re very busy! It may seem like you don’t have time to declutter, but if you do take the time to declutter, you’ll gain in productivity, peace, increased efficiency and more time.
Step 1: Pick a hot spot
First, you need to figure out where to start. You cannot say you’re going to declutter the entire house! If you do, you’ll quit before you barely get started. It’s just way too overwhelming.
So figure out a small not spot for a quick win.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- kitchen spices
- utensil drawer
- one closet
- bathroom
- DVDs
- board games
- make-up drawer
- tupperware
- one shelf
- kitchen counter
- freezer
- medicine cabinet
- wrapping paper
Step 2: Create a declutter plan
The two best ways to get decluttering done is to use seasonal energy to your advantage and to use time blocking to actually get it on your schedule. You’ll be more likely to declutter your hot spot if you go with the seasonal energy of the new year, spring, the end of the homeschool year (or prepping for the new school year). When are those times that you naturally want to declutter? Go with that.
So as a quick win for this week, choose one hot spot and schedule it in. Moving forward, make a hot spot list in your bullet journal and time block it into your week.
Remember that success will keep you going, so aim for small wins. And if you find yourself procrastinating, plan a little reward for yourself!
How to Declutter
When most people begin to get their space “organized” they usually forget (or miss!) the decluttering step. But if all you do is shuffle your clutter around to newer or fancier storage bins and baskets, then you’re not really helping yourself.
You really need to declutter first – that is, get rid of a good chunk of stuff that you’re not using anymore. The best way to do this is to take everything out of the space and only put back in what you’re keeping. This is way easier if you’re decluttering a small hot spot rather than an entire room!
The 3 bin technique works well – keep, donate, trash.
Now once you’ve decluttered, you can shop for pretty bins if you’d like.
Decluttering Tips
My favorite question to ask when decluttering is this: “If I was moving tomorrow, would I take this item?”
In fact, we did an entire episode on that question, which you can find in episode 119 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast.
Here are some additional tips:
- Aim for practical organization, not “Pinterest perfect”
- Try to keep countertops clean
- Impose space limits – how much room do you have for this category?
- Create systems to curb future hot spots (especially paper clutter)
Decluttering Made Simple – HWM episode 251
Listen to episode 251 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast.
Physical clutter in our homes leads to more stress in our daily lives, not to mention a loss of time as we have to constantly clean, organize, or sort through that clutter to find things. Want to start taking your house back? Then join us in this episode as we simplify the decluttering process and make measurable progress in one area this week. This episode is all about quick wins.
Watch this episode
Final Decluttering Tips for Homeschool Moms
Remember, head knowledge only goes so far – you have to implement! So go ahead and download the notes from this episode so you have a place to keep track of your progress. Go tackle one small hot spot in the next week. You’ll be glad you did.