Where To START When Your House Is SO Cluttered -10 Step Cleaning Plan

VERY Messy House? Feeling OVERWHELMED By Clutter? Where To START Decluttering, Cleaning and Organizing When Your House is a Disaster.

If you’re tired of thinking:

“My House Is SO CLUTTERED…
and I Don’t Know Where To START!”

You NEED to try my simple 10-Step Quick Start Decluttering Plan to get started cleaning a messy, neglected disaster house.

If you feel paralyzed and overwhelmed by clutter and mess – and can’t seem to find a starting point – keep reading…

If you’ve got 10 MINUTES, this will help you start, see progress – and keep going.

Popular Resources To Get Started

A very messy cluttered house is nothing short of overwhelming – where in the WORLD would you even START to get it together?

Plus, all that clutter might make you feel guilty… anxious… overwhelmed… heck, you might even discover you feel depressed about the mess, too.

Above all, there are so many reasons why a messy house can make you feel like a FAILURE too (that’s what happened to me).

Odds are good, one of those feelings (or many) are the reason YOU are here right now –

and that makes me so proud of you!

It’s the first step towards cleaning that house up and feeling better.

Now, this post is LONG with lots of help and an Action Plan and Checklists etc to help YOU get started.

But I also realize your time is valuable and there are a few things on this post that you came here to see specifically.

Because of that, I will link you to the most popular resources on this page:

(1) – Very Simple House Cleaning Routine Checklist

(2) – Do You Have Piles Of Clutter Everywhere? Try This

(3) – Decluttering? Do NOT use These! Here’s WHY

(4) – Room By Room Declutter Checklist

Ok, let’s jump in and get to work!

Feel Paralyzed?

The best way to overcome your paralyzed by messy house situation is to start with the RIGHT plan of action (see below) that will NOT overwhelm you.

Feeling paralyzed means you are STUCK-the 10 Minute Action Plan below will help you get UNstuck so you can SEE progress and start sorting out that messy house without losing your mind.

I know many tell you that you need to START organizing a messy house by getting motivated, but that is NOT realistic – you need to start by DOING small things that motivate you to keep going room by room.

Sounds easy enough, right? Just get motivated and do it….

BUT…

HOW to get motivated to clean when overwhelmed by mess and clutter and STUFF is the bigger question, isn’t it?

When you’re paralyzed by a messy, cluttered house, you might have the mental motivation and feelings of “I WANT to do it“, but you can’t seem to move or DO anything – every room is out of control, right?

Bottom line on motivation: The best motivator is progress.

That’s why I created this “Where To Start” Decluttering Action Plan.

This plan is only 10 simple steps and all 10 steps can be done in 10 minutes so you SEE progress FAST..

(yep, it’s another 10 minute decluttering challenge of sorts)

If you can see decluttering progress in 10 minutes from right now, wouldn’t that be motivating to keep doing it?

YES!

So give me 10 minutes and let’s get you on your way to decluttering, cleaning and organizing your house.

Where To Start

Where To Start When Your House is a DISASTER-10 Step Plan:

These are the super quick steps you are going to take to get started cleaning, decluttering and organizing a VERY cluttered house – each step is detailed out below the list.

✅  Tips For Success

For this Quick Start Decluttering Plan to work best, here are some tips for success-

9 Tips To Start Decluttering When You Don’t Know WHERE To Start:

1. START with cluttered areas, not ROOMS.
2. Do not think “declutter EVERYTHING“; instead, think “declutter SOMETHING“.
3. Clutter is OVERWHELMING – Be kind to yourself.
4. Do NOT declutter with boxes (it’s one of these mistakes people make when decluttering a home).
5. Do not move to another cluttered area until the area you’re working on is totally decluttered.
6. Use a Decluttering Worksheet to stay on track.
7. Do not organize clutter.
8. Do NOT overthink or over-complicate this simple Quick Start process below – just do it and let it work for you.
9. Be sure you start in the RIGHT room.

Regarding tip #3 – for many of us, myself included, our homes get SO cluttered due to outside factors – for example, ADHD.

While I am not an expert on this topic as a professional, I sure know what it’s like to LIVE with it.

This video below REALLY helped me understand WHY my house gets SO cluttered and I have no idea where or HOW to start.

That all made perfect sense to me and helped me get a grip on my clutter situation (here’s the worksheet she mentioned).

Ok, let’s get started!

10-Step Quick Start Plan

If your house is a disaster and you don’t know where to start, this is what you need to do – and yes, it works!

Cleaning a neglected kitchen or VERY messy house might FEEL un-doable, but you CAN do it and I’ll show you how you can start RIGHT NOW.

Step 1: The BEST Place To Start

When you’re drowning in clutter, now is not the time to over-complicate the “where to start” question nor is it the time to totally overwhelm yourself with the thought of everything you need to do.

So, you know where you’re gonna START when your house is so cluttered and messy?

Right where you are at this exact moment.

Seriously – stop reading for one second and look around your immediate area.

Let’s declutter that space right now.

Step 2: Snap The Clutter

Before you do anything, pick up your phone and snap a quick picture of the immediate area around you.

Yes, I know, it’s embarrassing and you do NOT want anyone to see your cluttered mess around you.

This picture is not for anyone to see but YOU.

So take a picture and let’s move on.

Step 3: Trash The Mess

Now, grab a trash bag or a grocery bag and throw away any and all obvious garbage.

Don’t overthink it – you know trash when you see it.

You have to clear the trash before you can clear the clutter.

And don’t forget the floor!

Here’s some additional help:

Step 4: Clear It

Now, let’s move on to the other stuff in the area you’re working on.

How many items are in this area that do NOT belong there?

Put anything that does not belong in this area in a basket or box to be put where they belong (but don’t take them there right now – let’s FINISH this area first).

Step 5: Declutter It

Now you should only have items in this area that DO belong, but are cluttering up your space.

If you do not truly need those items directly in your reach from where you sit, put them where they belong.

As an example, as I sit here are my desk, I absolutely DO need my reading glasses within close reach… BUT I do NOT need this pack of extra notepads right next to me so they need to be put away where they belong.

I DO need my phone charger in close reach, but I do NOT need yesterday’s coffee mug. That coffee mug goes in the kitchen.

Got it?

Ok, go ahead and clear the clutter in that area now.

Again, don’t overthink it and do NOT go wandering off to another area.

Finish this area first.

Step 6: Clean It

Alrighty, you’ve cleared the trash and cleared the clutter – good job!

Now, you should have a clear space that only contains what you truly NEED there.

So, let’s clean that area.

Move all your needed items to the side and clean the surface.

Don’t get lost and distracted trying to organize your cleaning supplies, just grab a spray cleaner and some paper towels and come right back to this area you are working on.

If that area really needs to be vacuumed or swept, go ahead and do that area ONLY.

Step 7: Organize It

Now your area is trash-free, clutter-free and CLEAN – awesome!!!

This is the fun part – neatly place and organize your needed items in your fresh and clean area.

Step 8: Finish It

Now is the time to quickly take all those clutter items that did not belong in your area to the room or area where they DO belong (or SHOULD belong).

This is the important part of this step – just take those items and PLACE them in the room or the area where they belong.

Do NOT get distracted and overwhelmed by how cluttered and messy those other areas and rooms are – you’ll get there.

Also go ahead and throw your bag of trash away. I don’t care if your trash bag is full or not, get it OUT of your house and in the trash can.

Step 9: Evaluate

Now come back to the area you just decluttered, cleaned and organized.

Take another picture and compare your before and after.

Admire the great job you did!

Motivating, isn’t it?

Step 10: Repeat

Now pick another small area, and repeat this process.

You did it!

That was easy, wasn’t it?

There are MANY decluttering strategies that work, but for those that feel paralyzed by the mess and clutter, this 10-minute 10 Step Plan works best.

Keep going… you’ve got this!

More Help Getting Started

Another Way To Get Started

How to start organizing your home

How to simplify life and get rid of stuff

How to purge your house

I am a hoarder-where do I start?

Miss Anything?

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