Everybody likes a clean and tidy home. But over the years we all collect lots of stuff and we all probably have more things than we actually need or even use. Nobody likes drowning in a sea of stuff and the inflatable swim ring that has been sitting there for 10 years won’t help. How often have you picked something up and don’t even know what it is or does? So alongside your spring cleaning this year, why not take the time to declutter your home; throwing out broken and damaged items, regifting items that you no longer use, donating to charity shops or even using the power of social media groups to give away unwanted items to people that can make use of them. Or if you want to earn a bit of extra cash, sell them on eBay, Vinted or in social media marketplaces. So grab the bin bags for the rubbish, the cardboard boxes for to load up with items for charity and your phone to take pictures of stuff to give away or sell.
Cluttered, disorganised homes and storage spaces can leave you feeling overwhelmed by the clutter in your home? If you find yourself constantly searching for items you never seem to find, you are not alone. Many people struggle with keeping their living spaces organised and tidy. But fear not, decluttering your home can be a liberating and joyful experience, and I’m here to offer some small tips to guide you through it!
It can be hard to know where to start, but don’t get overwhelmed. Set clear goals, have a clear objective of what you are trying to achieve. Is it to gain more space? To be more organised so you spend less time looking for things? Having a plan is the first step so you know where you want to get to. Don’t go at it like a whirlwind – start with one room and don’t move on to the next room until finished. Trying to do too many rooms at once will just create a mess, get very frustrating and will probably resulting in you giving up. One room at time is much more manageable and less daunting of a task. Maybe start with that cupboard or drawer, we all have one, where stuff seems to go to die.
As you start your decluttering journey, organise as you go. Put items into organised piles of keep, donate, sell, and discard. Be honest with yourself about what you truly need and use. If you haven’t used an item in over a year, it might be time to let it go.
- Paperwork, we all have it. File away important documents that need to be kept using a file storage box or document storage box. Shred anything that is no longer needed (you don’t want to be putting documents with personal details straight into the bin). Check how your local council handles shredded paper before recycling it (it might need to go into bags rather than straight into the recycling bin).
- Excess electronics and cables. We all have old phones, cables from something or other that might (but not really) be useful at some point and other broken or faulty electronics. Don’t bin them! Places such as B&Q have recycling boxes for small electronic items, batteries and lightbulbs. Visit Recycle Your Electricals to find out more about recycling anything with a plug, battery or cable and do you bit for the environment and they can help you find your nearest electrical recycling location.
- Tidy up cables. Just because that nest of cables behind the television are hidden away doesn’t mean they don’t need sorting. Out of sight, out of mind shouldn’t apply here. Cables tend to get very messy (the cable fairy does an excellent job of knitting and twisting all those cables together). Use Velcro cable ties or cable tidy boxes to keep the cables neat and tidy (check for damaged or frayed cables whilst tiding and replace any that are damaged). It not only looks better, but if you need to get to a cable for any reason it is easy to get out without having to pull apart everything (and without them all coiled around each other, it is less of a fire hazard).
- Bin any torn or soiled towels, sheets and bedding (or if you have textile recycling bin near you make use of it). Or reuse them as cleaning cloths.
- We all have a cupboard or drawer filled with supermarket carrier bags, more than we can possibly even use. Keep some for your own use but don’t throw out the rest – some supermarkets have bag bins where you can put them or give them to your local charity shops, lots of them can always make use of them (although ask first).
- Go through your wardrobe and sell or donate old clothes that no longer fit. And check the pockets first, who knows, you might find the odd fiver or two!
- Check food cupboards for expired foods and throw it away. Donate any good unopened food to friends, neighbours or food banks / charities.
- Go through the Bermuda Triangle of your medicine cupboard and get rid of expired medications and suncreams – your local pharmacy can dispose of expired medications safely for you (you should never throw unused or expired medicines in the rubbish bin or flush them down the toilet).
- Throw away broken toys and games, putting recyclable pieces in the relevant recycling bins. Good toys and games can be donated to charity shops, nurseries, sold on your favourite marketplace or given away to people that can make use of them and extend their shelf life and usefulness.
- Pack away seasonal, spare or unused bedding in vacuum sealed bags. It will reduce space needed to store them in cupboards and drawers and also protect them from dirt and dust.
- Go through your kitchen cupboards and drawers. Do you really need seven spatulas, five bottle openers, and a gadget for every fruit known to humanity? I seem to have 3 toasters (to be fair, one was used for gluten free bread so there was no contamination but the third, I have no excuse).
Most of us are guilty of collecting and hoarding a huge amount of stuff that we don’t use anymore. We fill drawers and cupboards hoping that one day we might have a use for it but in reality most things never see the light of day again. All it is actually doing is taking up valuable storage space. So wouldn’t it be better to give away unwanted items to people that can make use of them or sell on to add a bit of extra cash to your holiday fund or emergency home repairs kitty? And all those broken and dead electronic devices and cables have lots of valuable precious metals that can be recycled rather than filling landfills and taking the strain off the world’s natural and precious resources.
When you have sold, regifted or donated everything that you no longer want or need, binned the or recycled the broken and unusable items, you can then start maximising your storage space.
- Use vacuum storage bags for seasonal bedding and clothes.
- Use zippered storage bags for spare bedding and clothes that you still need access to occasionally. These help keep everything neat and tidy and help reduce space.
- Add shelves or storage racks into storage cupboards. There can be a lot of dead space in hallway cupboards or under the stairs. Add racking or shelves and organise your now useful items so that they are tidy and not buried under a pile of junk so that you can actually get to things and use them.
- Add storage bins to your storage units.
- Invest in a label maker and label any storage bins or storage bags so that everything is organised better and quick to find what you need. A well-organised home is easier to maintain and more pleasant to live in.
Once you have decluttered and organised your belongings, that isn’t the end of it. Decluttering is not a one-time event; it’s a continuous process but if you stay on top of it doesn’t need to become a massive job in the future. When you go to put something that “might be useful” into the cupboard or drawer, assess if you really need to or if it can be rehomed or sold. Encourage all household members to participate in keeping the home clutter-free.
Decluttering is more than just a cleaning task or a one-off yearly event; it’s a way to reclaim your living space, be more organised and not need a GPS tracker to find things in your own house or need a tetanus shot before delving through the shed or garage. Roll up your sleeves, and embark on your decluttering adventure, you will feel great when finished! Happy organising!