With the seasons changing, many of us will be making little tweaks to our homes to get set for the cooler months. With this in mind, we have been thinking about the best decluttering tips to help get your home organised and set for the changeover.
As we live in a small home, we simply do not have the space to hang on to things that we don’t need, so we follow the tips below to make sure we keep the clutter under control.
Be ruthless – Do you really need it?
When you are starting to declutter, the most important tip to start with is you need to be ruthless.
So many of us fall into the trap that we don’t want to let go of things as you never know when you might need them when in reality you are probably going to need them in future. This is not to say things need to be thrown away, make the most of selling the items, donating to charity or recycling them.
Tackle the visible spaces first
Sometimes, you need to see a small victory to make you feel like you are actually progressing through the task at hand and as simple as this may seem, starting with the area you can see will make all the difference.
Clear down your sides and keep them clear as you work through the room and before you know it you will have so much more space!
Give everything a home
For all the bits you are keeping, make sure you find somewhere for them to live. Without this, you are just going to find them making their way out onto the sides again.
Don’t clear the space to hide some other things, make sure the items you are keeping have a reason to be held on to. Giving them a home to go to, will ensure you have no excuse not to put them away.
Invest in storage solutions
Sometimes you end up with just too many little bits that need a home and end up just sitting on shelves and in cupboards. It is worth investing in some little storage boxes or trays to hold these bits in so they don’t become random items around the house. This is key for things such as hairbands, coins, pens etc that just seem to find themselves all over the house.
Declutter an area at a time
Trying to go through everything at once will feel very overwhelming, so break it down.
Start with decluttering an area at the time, for example, if your first place to tackle is the living room, start with the sides that you have and then work your way through the draws and cupboards that you may have in your room.
Take before and after pictures
You might not feel like you are achieving anything as you start this but stick with it and you will notice the difference.
Take some pictures from the area you are working on before you get started and then again at the end and just see how much difference you have made.
5 Minute declutter daily
If you feel like the task is a little overwhelming, start small. Just taking 5 minutes a day to declutter will still be effective and you will notice the difference quickly.
Breaking it down will make it just a little less daunting and allow you to feel like you are achieving without being overwhelming.
Hopefully, some of these tips will help get you started on your decluttering journey and you never know, you may find yourself some treasures that you have completely forgotten about or ones that might even make yourself a little cash at the same time!
