Tips for Cleaning Out and Decluttering Your Attic

Tips for Cleaning Out and Decluttering Your Attic

For a lot of homeowners, the attic isn’t a place they think about very often. This space is useful to have, but it might not be a part of the home we maintain very often. However, the attic can be extremely useful, so it’s a great time to finally start cleaning that attic, so you can use it more effectively. If it’s been a long time since you’ve cleared out the attic, there are a few things you may want to keep in mind. Use these tips for cleaning out and decluttering your attic, so you can get it done as efficiently as possible.

Fully Empty the Attic

It’s a bad idea to start trying to clean before you fully remove everything from your attic. There’s likely a ton of dust and debris all over everything up there, and you don’t want to start cleaning only to have it ruined when you move more stuff. Also, fully emptying out the attic will give you a better look at everything you keep up there. This is the perfect opportunity to examine what is worth keeping and what is just junk that you should probably throw away.

Take Proper Precautions When Cleaning

Cleaning your attic can be quite the process, especially if it’s been a while since it saw a duster or a vacuum. Your attic might even have harmful building components that you don’t want to inhale or ingest accidentally; for instance, large amounts of simple dust can seriously affect your health. You may want to start your cleaning while wearing a mask, so you can protect yourself from anything that might be floating around up there that you don’t want in your lungs.

Don’t Attempt Everything in One Day

Even smaller homes can have quite a lot of space in their attics. If you really want to get things done and get your attic fully cleaned out and organized, don’t try to do it all in one day. All this will do is burn you out sooner, and you might end up leaving the job half finished. One of the best tips for cleaning out and decluttering your attic is to plan for it to take up a smaller portion of multiple days, rather than the entirety of one or two days. You’ll thank yourself later when you aren’t as exhausted after you finish up for the day.

Define Zones for Storing Items

After you clean everything, you’ll have quite a large and wide-open space to work with. To make your attic a little more functional, don’t just put stuff randomly back in the attic, or you’ll end up in a similar situation a few months later. Instead, cordon off certain areas of the attic for specific kinds of storage. Holidays items, clothes you plan to donate, heirlooms you don’t want to get rid of—all of these zones will keep your attic from getting too chaotic again.