“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” – William Morris
We all know that the environment we live in has a direct effect and impact on our wellbeing and the way we feel. An untidy desk can have a negative effect on our productivity, while an untidy bedroom can even disrupt sleep. When our kitchens and hallways become dumping grounds, we spend more time trying to find things, life begins to feel more stressful. But not only this, extra clutter prevents easy cleaning of surfaces, dust and allergens build up and can affect our health. So, with the days getting longer and Spring finally in the air, I thought I’d give us some Top Tips for decluttering…
Girl surrounded by clutter
Bite sized chunks
- To start, break your declutter task into achievable chunks. Set a window of time, between 30mins – 2 hours. Focus on a contained space like a single drawer or your bathroom cabinet. As your confidence and decision making improves, you can build up to larger areas.
- Declutter categories, not whole rooms ie, clothes, books, kitchen equipment.
- Be firm with yourself, if you decide you have one drawer for t-shirts, stick to it!
- Keep what you need and what makes YOU happy.
- Let things go (like Elsa!) sometimes its ok to know you might need to buy it again.
- For post and admin – use the ‘Touch it Once’ technique. Deal with it as it comes in the house. Add dates to calendar or diary, keep important stuff in a designated place, shred or bin the rest
- Ask yourself is it ‘The Best, the Favourite, or Necessary’?
- Use the Marie Kondo rule of ‘Does it Spark Joy?’
- Sentimental stuff is more complicated to declutter! Marie Kondo suggests photographing, and then throwing the item. (Slightly brutal solution in my opinion! But my other half might disagree!) If you have the time or inclination, turning sentimental items into a piece of art is another solution. Stick your festival bands, tickets and memorabilia into a box frame. If you’ve got a bunch of old photos you can’t bear to part with – create a collage and hang it on your wall. For all other things – designate yourself a box and pop in all your things you aren’t ready to part with yet.
Tips for Kitchens
- Free up cupboard space by using hooks to hang pots and pans.
- Stick your spices in a rack on the wall.
- Wrap tape around the handles of utensils, set a time frame – if you use one, remove tape, get rid of utensils you haven’t used within timeframe.
Tips for good practice
- In bedrooms – have a box at the bottom of your wardrobe. Chuck anything in it that doesn’t feel great when you try it. When it’s full – donate!
- Have a bag hanging on a specific door and nominate it the ‘On its Way Out Bag’ – let the whole household know its where stuff goes that needs to leave the house. A painless way of decluttering as you go along.
- Make it part of your regular routine – make it a daily habit to tidy up at the end of the day and pop everything back in its designated place, just 10-15 mins a day that will help to keep your home clutter-free.
And if you realise you need some extra space to keep some of that clutter (but not in your home!) come and see us at MyStore! With small rooms from just over £10 per week, keeping your home free from clutter is easy and doesn’t need to break the bank. Give the friendly and award-winning team a call on 01993 224422
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