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Half-term is a great time to declutter; you've got a week of free time with no need to run the kids to school, go to lessons or go to lectures.

Unfortunately, it's difficult to motivate yourself to clean when the alternative is sitting around watching TV all day.

We sympathise completely: if we were given a week off from work, we wouldn't want to spend it doing something that feels like work either!

But decluttering doesn't have to feel like hard work. Here are a few ways to motivate yourself to clean up; they should make you more productive too, giving you more time to do fun stuff!

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In this blog:

• Enlist help (but offer incentives)
• Declutter in shifts
• One area a day
• Invite people over
• Don't aim for perfection
• Think of the cash

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Enlist help (but offer incentives)

The beauty of decluttering during the half-term holiday (if you have kids) is that you have extra hands to help you out.

Of course, getting kids to do anything remotely resembling work during the half-term holiday is nigh-on impossible so you'll have to offer them something to help you out (i.e. take them out for tea if they help you tidy up for an hour).

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Declutter in shifts

The biggest mistake people make when decluttering is trying to tackle all of their mess at once. No one, not even the most dedicated of declutters, has the energy to clean up all day!

Instead, set aside an hour or so every day to tidy up a certain section of your house. Get as much done as you can in that hour, then take a break for an hour, then return to decluttering.

Don't fret too much if you don't feel like decluttering again after your break, though, because an hour of decluttering is still better than no decluttering at all.

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One area a day

The half-term holiday gives you 9 potential days of decluttering, so there's no need to try and get everything sorted in a short space of time. Assign each area of your home a day on which you'll tackle it. You should find that this means you're decluttering for a couple of hours per day at most, rather than spending 8 hours trying to tidy everything at once.

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Invite people over

If you're struggling to find the motivation to declutter, try inviting some particularly judgemental friends around for dinner. The fear of being judged for your slightly untidy home should provide enough incentive to start clearing that clutter!

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Don't aim for perfection

The kinds of clutter-free houses you see in catalogues and on TV are sadly unattainable in real life (especially if you have kids). Don't beat yourself up if your home doesn't look pristine after a decluttering session; if you've got less clutter than you had before, you've done a good job!

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Think of the cash

If all else fails, think of all the ways you'll spend the cash you'll make from selling your CDs, DVDs and Games with musicMagpie!

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