Clutter is more than an eyesore; it can be a serious mental and physical drain. In order to declutter your home like a pro, you need to develop good habits and stick to them. Here are some tips that will help:

1. Purge ruthlessly

Chances are that you don’t need, want or even use some of the things you’ve been keeping for years. Old clothes and shoes take up a lot of space in your closet. Gifts you don’t like or never wear can be given to people who would enjoy them. Those old toys from childhood are fun to look at, but they are just collecting dust.

You should take the time to reflect on what you consider essential and make your final cut there. After purging everything else – no matter how small – you will feel a lot better about the manageable pile of things that remain.

2. Plan eveything

Every successful endeavor requires a well-thought-out strategy. To avoid being offended or annoyed, devise a method that will signal each stage of the decluttering process. A detailed checklist can help you keep track of your work and make the cleaning process go more smoothly. Make a list of the things you have in duplicate or that you don’t use or need as you go through your house. Make sure you don’t leave any rooms unattended.

Give each room a rating or grade based on how cluttered it is. You’ll know where to begin and how to prioritize your time this way. Set completion dates for each stage of the decluttering process once you’ve finished listing the rooms. Choose realistic dates, because failing to meet the deadline will just add to your frustration.

3. Delegate and share

If you have a partner or kids, ask them to help you. A family effort will ensure that everybody is on board and accountable for maintaining a clutter-free home. It’s easier to get rid of things your children don’t play with anymore before they bring new toys into the house – no one wants to think about throwing away their child’s first teddy bear. And if they have grown up and moved out, you can still give them a call – kids love going through their old stuff as well!

4. Declutter daily

The best way to maintain your new sense of order is to declutter daily. If it’s not possible to keep things tidy every day, set aside some time once a week to quickly and efficiently sort through your things. This way, you will always know what is there and where it should be.

5. Pack your items

When you’re preparing to move, the last thing you want to worry about is packing. But if you want to make the process as smooth as possible, it’s important to take the time to pack properly. Packing does not have to be a stressful process, if you plan ahead and take a little time for preparation before your move. Before packing anything in the house, set up a “pack station.”

The pack station will be a central storage space where you’re going to pack all of your belongings. The pack station should be located somewhere near the middle of the house so it’s convenient for everyone to use.

After you have your pack station in one room, label the boxes that are going there according to what items need to go into them. For example, if you’re packing clothes, label a box “clothes.” If you’re packing kitchen supplies, label another box “kitchen stuff”.

Packing is hard as it is, but when you factor in the notoriously difficult items in your home, like furniture and breakables, it can seem impossible. Check out the infographic below for tips to pack the hard-to-pack items in your home.

Infographic provided by iHauliMove, a Colorado Springs moving services company

5. Prepare for movers

Prepare everything in your soon-to-be old home and check with your movers when they will arrive. It’s important to have everything prepared so that the movers can efficiently take care of your items.