Don't start decluttering without doing this one important task first, says a professional organiser

Taking on most decluttering jobs can feel daunting, especially when you're unsure where to start. Luckily, professional organiser Dilly Carter has shared her game-changing trick for starting on the right foot – especially when it comes to tackling a large-scale declutter.

Whether you're trying out the snowball decluttering method to keep your home tidier or getting set to declutter before downsizing, knowing the best way to organise your home can feel like a real challenge. Especially when you already feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things spread across your home. All the more reason it's so important to know where to start.

Thanks to Dilly's 'space audit' decluttering tip, you'll never dread a spring clean again.

Dilly Carter's genius 'space audit' step to do before organising your home

When it comes to decluttering your home, it can be all too easy to get distracted by the mess when you're meant to be downsizing. That's why it caught our eye when organising expert Dilly Carter shared her advice on This Morning for keeping on track and being efficient with what tasks you start with.

"Before we start even doing any of this, I’m going to show you and talk to you about something called a space audit, which is so important," says Dilly.

"So we know what a financial audit is, none of us like that, but a space audit is when we literally go through our houses, starting at the front door with a notepad and pen, and we write our likes, our dislikes and the things we’d change," she adds.

Not only is this a great way to find motivation to declutter, but it will streamline your method so it doesn't take longer than needed.

"So we split the piece of paper into three, and we have those three columns, and we go through our house, and we work out where we need to start," explains Dilly.

She uses the example of organising a small hallway, or even just a hallway in general, if yours is particularly well-used. As you walk in your hallway, take a look around and note what's working, what's not, and what needs to change.

"The things that we like might be like this piece of furniture in our hallway, but what we don’t like is that there are coats everywhere. So, therefore, we need to get a coat rack," she says.

"So you’re going through your house, and you’re writing an audit, because organising is great, but first of all, we need to know where to start and where needs the most attention. So the likes, the dislikes, what we would change. So a space audit, number one, before you do any of this," finishes Dilly.

You can still use your favourite professional decluttering methods, follow your same decluttering checklist and work through your home in the same order as you always do. Just make sure you start with your space audit so you can keep track of where needs decluttering first and ensure your messier areas are top priority.

While decluttering your home is somewhat straightforward, there are still many decluttering mistakes which are all too easy to make. Exploring expert-backed tips for getting the job done can prevent you from running into common mistakes and make the task that much easier.

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