Survivalist Pro
Photo by Karolina Grabowska Pexels Logo Photo: Karolina Grabowska

Do you clean or declutter first?

Decluttering must come first before organizing and cleaning. Whether you've set yourself into an everyday declutter challenge, or you declutter just when you are about to clean a particular area in your home, you will find that organizing and cleaning becomes a lot easier when you have decluttered first.

Who would win in a fight between Superman and the Flash?
Who would win in a fight between Superman and the Flash?

Superman can run and think fast, he just doesn't come close to The Flash's top speed. In all instances of racing The Flash, Superman has never...

Read More »
What are the Big 4 awards?
What are the Big 4 awards?

EGOT, an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards, is the designation given to people who have won all four of those awards....

Read More »

Declutter first before you organize and clean your home, and the process becomes much much easier! I wrote this article around the time when our kitchen counter had become a dumping ground, that we could no longer use it for preparing meals. I had to do some real cleaning in the kitchen then. This experience reminded me of an important lesson we all must learn if we want an easier way to maintain a tidy home.

Decluttering must come first before organizing and cleaning.

Whether you’ve set yourself into an everyday declutter challenge, or you declutter just when you are about to clean a particular area in your home, you will find that organizing and cleaning becomes a lot easier when you have decluttered first.

Let me show you why.

1. You don’t have to organize or clean what’s not needed.

Why waste time organizing and cleaning what you don’t need? And yet, this happens many times. Decluttering compels you to sort things out into what’s needed and what’s not, what’s being used and what’s not. When you remove stuff that you don’t need anymore, all that is left is just what you need. Then you will only have to focus your organizing and cleaning efforts on those stuff that you really need.

2. It’s easier to move things around.

When you’re decluttering an area, say a kitchen counter, you usually remove everything on it to clean the space, then put things back when you’re done. When there’s less stuff, of course it’s easier to move them around than when you have to move a lot of stuff (some of which you don’t even need anymore).

3. You’ll spend less time in organizing and cleaning.

Less things means less to organize and clean. Consequently, this also means less time to spend in organizing and cleaning. The time that’s supposedly for cleaning, you can now use for something else! Yay!

4. It’s easier to maintain a space with just a few things.

Maintaining an already clean space is so much easier than when you have to clean it like it’s the first time you cleaned it. Yup. I know. Life happens! So there are times (can even be many times) when those maintenance efforts really have to take the back seat.

And this makes decluttering even more important!

Again because it will always be easier to organize and clean a space with just a few things than a place with lots of stuff.

Do yourself a favor.

Before you begin organizing and cleaning, declutter first.

It doesn’t matter whether you embark on a declutter marathon for thirty days in your entire home, or you randomly pick a place to clean, then declutter that before cleaning.

It’s all up to what works for you.

What’s important is… you declutter first, so organizing and cleaning won’t be that much of a burden anymore. Need help decluttering your home? Download our Mini Declutter Workbook to help you have an easy start!

Here are more decluttering posts that you may find useful.

Liked this post? Take a second to PIN it and share the love!

What kind of beans burn belly fat?
What kind of beans burn belly fat?

Cannellini beans, also known as white kidney beans, can be a great addition to your diet because they are high in soluble fiber. “Among many other...

Read More »
Can I fight back to defend myself?
Can I fight back to defend myself?

California is both a “Stand Your Ground” and “Castle Doctrine” state. “Stand Your Ground” means that if someone is threatening you or someone else,...

Read More »

What was the minimalist mantra?

Buy Less, Choose Well, Make It Last. Less - but better - is more.

Simplifying our lives isn’t always easy. There is a lot of day-to-day stress, noise, and anxiety that can cause us to struggle with leading a minimalist inspired lifestyle. Bear in mind the following three mantras when looking for guidance in making decisions when striving to simplify your life.

Simplify.

Whether it’s simplifying our homes through decluttering, our digital lives online, the clothes we wear, our workload, habits and daily routine, or even our friendships; simplifying by eliminating the unnecessary and omitting the needless means we're focused on our lives and dedicated to improving them. When we simplify we can have less, do more, and be more.

Buy Less, Choose Well, Make It Last.

Less - but better - is more. Although we should all be aiming to consume less and only what we need, buying things is inevitable. When we choose to buy we should make sure we buy less, choose well, and make it last. We should adopt the shopping habits of a minimalist and always be asking ourselves these important questions, especially: “does this add value to my life?”

Everything I need, I have. Everything I have, I need.

The minimalist lifestyle is not about how few items we own, it’s about how valuable and useful the items we choose to keep are. Our belongings should enrich our lives, provide a use or a purpose, and bring us joy. We should enjoy and put to use the things we own (inside of keeping them "just in case" or for special occasions) and remove everything else.

Does PrEP work after 72 hours?
Does PrEP work after 72 hours?

You must start it within 72 hours (3 days) after a possible exposure to HIV, or it won't work. Apr 28, 2021

Read More »
What is America's #1 sport?
What is America's #1 sport?

Sports are an important part of culture in the United States. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades,...

Read More »
What are the 4 weird signs that you will live past 100?
What are the 4 weird signs that you will live past 100?

12 surprising signs you'll live to 100 You're the life of the party. ... You run for 40 minutes a day. ... 10 symptoms you shouldn't ignore. ......

Read More »
Was Black Bess a real tank?
Was Black Bess a real tank?

The Black Bess was a Mark IV Female that served at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917. The fate of the tank is largely unknown — it was either destroyed...

Read More »