How To Help a Friend Declutter Their Home

Everyone needs a little help once in a while, especially when things start to pile up and life gets more stressful. A common stressor that many people deal with is taking care of their homes—a task that can fall by the wayside when other matters come up. If you decide to help a good friend or family member clean up their home, you certainly understand the meaning of kindness. Whether it’s a small amount of help or you need to step in for someone struggling with hoarding tendencies, here’s how to best help a friend declutter their home.

Ask the Right Questions

It’s important to remember that you are there to help your friend, not dictate what they need to do. Asking the right questions can help you understand what your friend’s goals are for decluttering. The right questions can also help them see that they don’t need to keep everything. Here are a few questions to keep in mind:

• When was the last time you used this?
• Do you need more than one of these?
• Does this have special significance to you?
• Would you really miss this item if it were gone?

Present Multiple Options

Everyone works differently, especially when it comes to maintaining their own house. Again, if you want to help a friend declutter their home, it’s best to do it in the method they would prefer. Maybe they want to get everything out in the open before they start going through everything. Maybe they would prefer to go section by section. Tell them you’re ready for however they would prefer to declutter and that you’ll be there no matter what.

Have Disposal Plans

Knowing what to do with all the extra junk is half the battle. You can toss items in the trash if they are broken, not useful in any way and only take up space. However, don’t discount everything right away. You might find a valuable they would wish to sell rather than throw away. A lot of things that people want to get rid of, especially things like clothes or household items, make great donations for others to use.

Don’t Push Past Too Many Limits

Decluttering can be both physically and mentally draining. Especially if your friend has a serious problem with clutter, they may not be able to start right away. There’s nothing wrong with pushing them to go a little further than they want to initially, but they might be flat out uncomfortable with going past a certain point. Make sure to understand these boundaries as you help clean up. Keep in mind that although it may be stressful at first, they will feel so much better after they get their home in order.

You helped out a friend with decluttering and now you have lots of stuff for donations, the thrift stores in Santa Rosa Beach, FL will gladly accept the gently used items to help those in need and to benefit their charity partners. You can improve your friend’s life by decluttering and help someone else with your donation in the process.