Declutter Your To-Do List: A Guide to Simplifying Your Day

In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, to-do lists can quickly become overwhelming, leaving us feeling stressed and unproductive. However, by adopting a decluttering mindset, we can transform our to-do lists into powerful tools for efficiency and success. In this blog post, we’ll explore practical strategies to declutter your to-do list and create a more streamlined and manageable approach to your day. We’ll also help you declutter your home with to do lists for each room.

Welcome to my Year Long Thorough Declutter Series. We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Each day we do a daily task based on the room we are working on. Today, our task is to start decluttering your clutter in your living room. If you prefer watching videos, check out my youtube channel here. Today, we’ll look at some tips for decluttering any things that belong elsewhere from your living room.

The best way to develop a new habit is by slowly and daily application. We will begin a new daily declutter habit starting with the 2nd bathroom. In the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series, we will declutter 30 minutes a day, five days a week on weekdays. Sign up to receive daily encouragement and motivation.

Plus, you’ll learn your specific daily task to work toward completing the goal of a Year Long Thorough Declutter where you will declutter every space and learn how to start to purge your house. Are you ready to finally get organized? If so, will you join us? Leave a comment below to subscribe.

If you are new to the blog, welcome! I blog about cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. You can find my free printables to help you get organized in the drop down menu under the Printables category.

Currently we are working on how to unclutter the Living Room. The daily task for today, Dec. 28, 2023, is to begin to declutter any things that belong elsewhere from your living room. Remember, we are focusing on just the living room area, so don’t declutter your whole house. We will cover each room separately.

Declutter Your To-Do List: A Guide to Simplifying Your Day

Prioritize Your Priorities: To first to declutter your to-do list, begin by identifying your top priorities. What are the most important tasks that align with your long-term goals? By focusing on these key priorities, you can ensure that your time and energy are invested in activities that truly matter. You can find my free printable to do list here.
Break it Down: The second step to declutter your to-do list is to minimize it. Large tasks can be daunting and may contribute to the feeling of overwhelm. Break down your to-do list into smaller, more manageable tasks. This not only makes each item on your list more achievable but also provides a sense of accomplishment as you check off completed tasks.
Time Blocking: The third step to to declutter your to-do list is to schedule it out. Allocate specific time blocks for different types of tasks. By creating designated periods for focused work, you can prevent multitasking and increase your overall productivity. This technique helps in maintaining clarity and ensures that your to-do list doesn’t become an endless stream of unfinished tasks. I personally keep a weekly running to-do list for things that can be done any time during my week. Anything that doesn’t get checked off my list gets moved to the next day or time slot.
Eliminate the Unnecessary: Review your to-do list and identify tasks that are not essential or don’t contribute significantly to your goals. Move these unnecessary things to your “to don’t list”. Sometimes, we add items out of habit or obligation. Eliminate these non-essential tasks to free up mental space and streamline your list.
Use Technology Wisely:Leverage technology to your advantage. There are various productivity apps and tools designed to help organize and manage tasks. Find the ones that resonate with you and integrate them into your daily routine. These tools can help automate reminders, track progress, and provide a clear overview of your tasks.
Delegate When Possible: Another way to to declutter your to-do list is to delegate responsibilities. Can someone else do it? Recognize that you don’t have to do everything yourself. Delegate tasks that can be handled by others, whether it’s at work or home. Delegating not only lightens your load but also allows others to contribute their skills and strengths.
Regular Review and Adjustment:Regularly review and update your to-do list. Priorities and circumstances change, and it’s essential to adapt your list accordingly. By consistently evaluating and adjusting, you can ensure that your to-do list remains a dynamic and effective tool.

In conclusion, a decluttered to-do list is a key element of a balanced and fulfilling life. By prioritizing, breaking down tasks, time blocking, eliminating the unnecessary, leveraging technology, delegating when possible, and conducting regular reviews, you can transform your to-do list into a powerful ally. Remember, the goal is not just to be busy, but to be productive and purposeful in your pursuits. Declutter your to-do list and pave the way for a more focused, organized, and successful life. Read on for more ways to declutter your home and life with my lists below.

Guide to Decluttering

1.Only spend time on your specific daily task.

2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted.

3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina. This is one of the most useful declutter motivation tips. Listen to your body and work at decluttering when you feel the most alert and energized.

4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. This is one specific way for How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering.

5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. The goal is to purge the dead weight. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later. Read on for more declutter motivation tips and my room specific deep clean checklist, though, as you will begin cleaning after your declutter.

Hacks for Decluttering

Supplies Needed:

1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)

2. sturdy trash bags

3. marker/pen to label boxes

Decluttering Tip: Avoid using storage bins to declutter. Storage bins tend to tell your brain to “store” the items for later. That is just delaying decisions. If you aren’t getting rid of items when you declutter, you are not truly decluttering. This is why I recommend a trash bag, also. A trash bag tells your brain to “trash” the item.

Obviously, recycle if you have that option. The boxes you use should be ones you are willing to part with, so I recommend sturdy cardboard boxes. As to donations, there are many charities that will come pick up your items for you at your home.

I use one in particular where you can book an appointment for pick-up online. This is so convenient, as it saves you the hassle of hauling stuff away yourself. Scheduling that pick-up also motivates you to declutter by a certain date.

Steps for Decluttering

1. Start by eliminating trash first- use a sturdy trash bag

2. Sort items by category if needed so you can see what you have

3.Get rid of items that don’t work or that work poorly, expired items, anything you don’t love, anything that you’ll never use again

4. Box up the donations and trash/recycle the rest

5.Select a charity to donate your items and schedule the pick-up if that is an option

How Do You Declutter Your Entire House (and get it deep clean?): Need to deep clean?

First, My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

Second, My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

Third, My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

Fourth, My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

Fifth, My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Check out the link above to see a sample page of what you’ll get in my printable set designed to help you create your personal Homemaking Checklist.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3: How do you remove clutter? How Do You Declutter Your Home?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.