Deciding to make a life change is a major milestone. For me, that means getting out of my sticks-and-bricks apartment and transitioning to full-time RV living. For you, there might not be an RV in your future, but maybe you want to simplify your life and live with less.

Intent is important, but you also need a plan. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but I’ve come up with a method that works for me. It’s my Home Decluttering Timeline, and it might work for you, too. Here it is at a glance:

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
2019	XXX	Bed	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->
2020	—->	—->	LR	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->
2021	—->	—->	—->	Kit	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->
2022	—->	—->	—->	—->	Bath	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—-X

This is my four-year plan to declutter my home so I can move into an RV. I started my project almost year ago. I follow each year from month to month, move down to the next year, and so on. I’m a linear thinker so this helps me visualize my progress. If you’re also a linear thinker, consider putting your Home Decluttering Timeline in motion with these no-fail steps.

1. Decide how long it will take.

There’s no perfect time frame; it’s totally up to you. I gave my timeline a maximum of four years. It fits into my four-year plan to transition into full-time RVing. It’s a time frame that seems reasonable, and it’s one that I can finish early. I recommend building in extra time; in the best circumstances you won’t need it.

Your decluttering project might take years . . .

2019

2020

2021

2022

. . . or just months, for example:

February

March

April

May

June

July

In either case, map out your years or months so you can see your Timeline.

2. Break your timeline down into smaller chunks.

A huge project always looks more manageable if you break it down into smaller chunks. In my plan, I took the years and broke them down into months. I could have gone down to weeks or days, but that’s a little too much for me. But do what works best to keep you on track.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
2019
2020
2021
2022

3. Decide which rooms or areas you’ll declutter.

Identify each space that you need to declutter. This might include areas outside your home. Do you have a storage unit across town that you don’t want to pay for anymore? Maybe you have a cubicle or office at work that needs some downsizing. Don’t forget your garage, backyard storage shed, or any other space you want to include.

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4. Assign an amount of time to each room.

Spend some time in each room and decide how much time you need to declutter it. Estimate how long each room will take compared to the others. For example, my dinky bathroom needs about half as much time as my other three rooms. I used this rough estimate to populate the months in my timeline, like so:

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
2019	XXX	Bed	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->
2020	—->	—->	LR	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->
2021	—->	—->	—->	Kit	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->
2022	—->	—->	—->	—->	Bath	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—->	—-X

To work the timeline, start in the upper-left cell and move through each month left-to-right across the first row (or year). (I skipped January because I began the project in February.) I started with the bedroom in February of 2019 and have been focusing on that room each month. When I hit March of 2020, I’ll start working on my living room.

5. Work the timeline!

The Home Decluttering Timeline could be your chance to make downsizing your living space a reality. However, in the course of decluttering, you might identify other rooms to include, or maybe you underestimated certain parts of your Timeline. That’s okay; you can make adjustments. Staying flexible will keep you from being frustrated.

I can say from experience that the Home Decluttering Timeline makes me feel empowered. I no longer feel overwhelmed by the thought of shrinking down my belongings for full-time RVing. All I have to do look at where I am on the Timeline and focus on one room only. One thing at a time.

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think of the Home Decluttering Timeline. Also follow me on Twitter @UnsettledE.