Hey earth muffins! I hope everyone is getting ready for some fun Easter celebrations this weekend – I know I am! Easter always puts me right into the spring spirit… And springtime often means deep cleaning my home. Last year I even participated in the Less is More Challenge where I decluttered an item every single day of Lent. Is it possible to stay sustainable during the season of tidying up?? Of course it is! 😁 Today I will be sharing my top tips on eco-friendly decluttering – let’s hop right into the post.
The Best Tips for Earth-Friendly Decluttering
To ensure you make the least impact on Mother Earth, it is super important to come up with a decluttering plan. This doesn’t have to be written down (while I would encourage that!); but, it is crucial to know exactly what you want to tackle. Deciding to organize your whole house is extremely overwhelming, so don’t fall into that trap. Pick a couple rooms, a few closets, or even the garage! I like to break my house up into sections: basement, first floor, second floor, and the outdoors. It is more rewarding to me when I can visually see that a whole floor has been completed!
Before you finalize your plan, it is important to also think about your time frame. Do you have only a few days to do the eco-friendly decluttering? Or maybe you have a few weeks for the task. Regardless of the time constraints you have, it is very important to align the amount of decluttering with the time allotted. Rome wasn’t built in a day; your house can’t be cleaned in 24 hours either.
Time to Get Decluttering!
Once you know the scope of your cleaning and the time frame, it is time to start eco-friendly decluttering! 🎉 My biggest tip to deep cleaning in a sustainable manner is to avoid throwing out as much as you can. We all know that landfills are yucky, which means creating extra trash should be avoided at all costs.
As you start this process, make sure you keep this central tenet in mind: don’t just declutter to declutter. It seems that spring cleaning is all the rage, but that doesn’t mean you need to get rid of a bunch of stuff that you will end up needing later. This will force you to buy similar (or even the same) items in the future, which obviously isn’t good for the planet.
Instead, really think about each item you organize. Do you still use it? Can it be used for an alternative use? If you ultimately decide that it has no more purpose in your household, think about the item’s next home. Check out my full guide on where to donate after decluttering – the key is to pick a place where it can still live a full life. Obviously you will find some things that need to get recycled or go to the landfill… But at least the majority of your items are heading to a new home!
Final Thoughts
Decluttering in an earth-friendly way is actually really simple – just make sure the items you get rid of don’t end up in the trash! Take time to evaluate each thing before deciding that it no longer has a place in your home. Who knows what you might find and repurpose this spring! Will you be doing any spring cleaning this year? Comment below and let me know your favorite decluttering tips!
Love,
Jenna ♥
Such a helpful and perfectly timed post! I am just starting the spring cleaning/organizing process in my home, so I am definitely going to be keeping these suggestions in mind <3