I Think February is Actually the Best Month to Declutter—For 2 Good Reasons

Like many people immersed in the homekeeping world, I love to ride that cleaning wave that crests in January . But I actually find that February is the very best month for me to get my biggest-impact, deepest-level decluttering accomplished.

January decluttering, for me, tends to be the fill-a-bag type , which doesn’t always leave me satisfied. Sometime after the winter holidays, once I feel the squished-out feeling that comes from introducing new things (from gifts and sales) into our home, I get the urge to fill donation bags with hot chocolate trays and twinkle lights and the other non-essentials that I’ve decided I can live without. So I go around with the determined fervor of someone who’s had enough , collecting things like neglected toys and gifts of the those “it’s-the-thought-that-counts” variety.

By the end of January, I’ve scooted all the obvious excess from the house. To any outsider, it looks just about as decluttered and clean as it will ever look throughout the year. But this is when my real work of decluttering begins.

1. February Decluttering Lets You Hone In on the Most Important Spaces

Right about the time February rolls around, once all the steady influx of things is long over and the big push for outflow has settled down, I can focus on the smaller areas, the ones that actually affect the day-to-day of our lives. These areas include the inside of the pantry, our closets and clothes , the junk drawer, the craft/game/art closet—all the spaces that seem ridiculous to focus on while my whole house feels like a Christmas-hangover disaster. But those spaces feel just right to tackle when everything outward at home is in a relative state of calm and order.

Decluttering these spaces, which inevitably leads to organizing them, is the kind of decluttering that—for real—makes me go ahhh . I derive so much pleasure not only from getting to spend time making my micro-spaces functional, but from using them and even just looking at them.

2. Spring Cleaning is Easier After a Round of February Decluttering

Clearing things out in February is also a brilliant way to set myself up for success when spring cleaning rolls around. Encountering messy spaces when I’m cleaning quickly saps my morale. What actually inspires me to clean is seeing a sharply ordered space—one filled with things I love and use that need just a little shine and personal attention.

The act of decluttering also gives me a very good, up-to-date picture of which spaces in my home need deep cleaning the most.

When it’s time to actually begin cleaning, my edited spaces are so much easier to work a duster or a vacuum cleaner around. Just like I wouldn’t pack stuff I don’t want anymore if I were moving, it’s a waste of time and energy to clean things that will get culled down the road.

Because I’m cleaning the best version of my home, it’s so much easier to do it not from a mindset of obligation and drudgery but from a from a place of gratitude and as an act of care for something I love.