If there is one problem that seems to have a habit of spiralling out of control in the home, it is most definitely clutter. One magazine that has been thrown into the corner of the room suddenly turns into no clear surfaces in sight. It can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you feel like you only de-cluttered your home a couple of weeks ago. So, how do you get rid of clutter and make sure that it actually stays away. Read on for some suggestions that will help you to banish clutter once and for all and organise your home.
1) DE-CLUTTER AND ORGANISE YOUR HOME – QUICK TIPS
Before we take a look at some tips and useful information on how to de-clutter and organise your home, we are going to provide you with a simple list of tips that you can refer to in order to make to make de-cluttering as easy as possible:
- Start with one room, working in that room until you are finished
- Place any items that don’t belong into a laundry basket, carrying them with you from room to room
- Keep a damp rag and some multi-purpose cleaner on you to deal with any dirt or dust
- Put items you don’t need into the bin or recycling
- Keep seasonal items all in one location
- Use a labeller so that you can organise items properly
- Use versatile space, hooks, and over-the-door storage so you can really maximise the space available to you, vac-packing everything you don’t need for a while and storing it away.
- Once you have finished getting rid of the clutter, go through your basket and decide where items belong in your home (we have some strategies to help with this below)
2) ONCE SOMETHING HAS BEEN USED, PUT IT AWAY
There is only one place to begin, and this is by getting into the habit of putting something away as soon as it has been used. Of course, this is not an easy habit to get into. Once you start throwing something on the coffee table to deal with later, it is one of those habits that you don’t break easily. You might need to be strict with yourself, but if you build good habits slowly, they’ll be more likely to last.
3) MAKE A LIST OF EVERYTHING YOU OWN
One of the best things to do is make a list of everything you own. This can be somewhat difficult if you have a few too many items, but it’ll be worth it. Ask yourself the following question: If all of these items were damaged, what would be the things that you replace? It’s time to get real about what you really need and what you are simply holding onto in case it may come in handy in the future (but if you’re honest, it probably won’t).
4) CREATE THREE LISTS WHEN GOING THROUGH YOUR BELONGINGS
You should then make three lists – must-haves, things that you can do without, and things you could replace. Must-haves are those items that you use regularly. Things you can live without you could get rid of; you should consider donating them if they are still in good condition. Finally, ‘things you could replace’ are items you might like but don’t necessarily need. You can sell these and use the money to save for something you really want or need.
5) SET ASIDE ENOUGH TIME TO DE-CLUTTER
You’ll also need to give yourself plenty of time to sort everything. Many people end up amazed by how long this can take. If you only give yourself a day to go through your things, there is only one thing that will happen – you will start off with good intentions, being somewhat ruthless, but after a while, you will get fed up and the house will look like it has been turned upside down. Some people have more success with de-cluttering room by room, setting aside some time each weekend to tackle a different room.
6) DIGITISE WHATEVER YOU CAN
Finally, you should digitise whatever you can. Do you have endless boxes of photographs or perhaps a huge box of financial documents? You can easily put these onto a CD or a USB or into cloud storage and take them with you that way. Simply keep hard copies of the important documents, such as your birth certificate, and store the rest electronically.
7) MAKE SURE EVERYTHING HAS A PLACE
If you have things in your house that does not have a specified place, for example, they are just thrown on the kitchen table, you haven’t truly de-cluttered. To get rid of clutter and make sure that it actually stays away, you are going to need to de-clutter. If you can’t bring yourself to get rid of certain items, make the most of local self-storage services, Make sure to use nifty storage hacks such as VacPack bags and maximise the space you hire and you’ll be able to get more in for your money.
8) FOLLOW THE ONE IN, ONE OUT RULE
This is one of the most effective approaches for keeping clutter under control in your home. By following the one in, one out rule, this means that you only ever allow yourself to buy something new for your property if you get rid of something in it already. This means you are making space for anything new you buy for your home. This also has a number of add-on benefits. It stops you from impulse buying and spending your money on things you don’t really need.
9) TRY THE ONE-YEAR RULE IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING
Being ruthless is the key to success, but knowing when to be ruthless and when to hold onto something can be difficult. One of the best ways to approach this is with the one-year rule. If you have not used something within the past year, it is unlikely that you are going to use it in the year ahead. Of course, if something has sentimental value, this will be different.
FINAL WORDS ON DECLUTTERING AND ORGANISING YOUR HOME
Now we’ve given you some suggestions that can help you to get rid of the clutter once and for all and organise your home, you might be raring to go. If you follow the suggestions that have been presented above, you can make sure that your home stays clutter-free for good.
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