Let’s be honest, we all have to go through a decluttering period at some point in our lives. It starts when you suddenly realise that you’re surrounded by stuff that you don’t necessarily need, and that you don’t particularly want, either. That drawer is overflowing with batteries, wires, and just about everything else. You need Marie Kondo, and some professional help, if you’re going to deal with this.
Let’s be honest, we all have to go through a decluttering period at some point in our lives. It starts when you suddenly realise that you’re surrounded by stuff that you don’t necessarily need, and that you don’t particularly want, either. However, you don’t have to go all out Marie Kondo if you don’t want to jump right into the deep end. In fact, remembering these simple tips will help you to keep your home clutter-free, for months (and years) to come! And you may even manage to make a little extra money along the way
Be less sentimental
OK, so it’s easier said than done to be less sentimental. However, you may be holding onto things because they remind you of that time that you and your best friend went to a gig, or they just make you think about your partner. Whilst this is, admittedly, a nice thing, it can also go overboard very quickly. You don’t need to keep your ex-boyfriend’s entire record collection just because it’s a throwback.
Work on keeping the most important items, and letting go of some of the rest. Having a memory box, where you can only keep a certain amount of things like this, is a pretty good idea if you want to get your clutter under control. Remember: the memories will be in your mind forever (hopefully), and you don’t need physical items to ensure that this is the case. Let go of some of them if you can!
Take a room at a time
When you first start to declutter, you can feel totally overwhelmed. Let’s be honest, if you’re going around your home just throwing things out left, right and centre, and there’s no method to the madness at all, then it kinda makes sense, you know? However, you don’t need to throw yourself headfirst into decluttering, and you certainly don’t need to get it all done within a matter of hours.
Go room by room, and take it slowly. If you feel like you’ve thrown something out that you actually want because you’ve been going pretty crazy with your decluttering, then you’re going to put yourself off the idea of a spring clean for the foreseeable future, so don’t do that. If you’re not sure whether to get rid of an item, then just mull it over for a while. There is no rush to get things completed straight away.
Donate your unwanted items
One of the saddest things about decluttering is that you feel like your items are nearing the end of their lives. Surely, nobody is going to want these things, especially when you’ve been dragging them around for years? However, there are sure to be people out there who want them; in fact, there is probably somebody who will enjoy it more than you did: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
Take your items to a charity if you can, whether it’s an actual charity or simply a shop that raises funds for one. Not only will this help you to make a difference, but it will also allow you to feel like your decluttering is doing some good, which is a win-win. If some of your items are at the end of their lives, then contact somebody like Mr Cheap Rubbish Removal to do the job, and don’t (of course) donate them.
Think wisely about storage
Sure, some people have made every attempt to declutter, and it just doesn’t seem to be working out for them. We feel you, girl. However, it may just be that your home isn’t great when it comes to storage, and you just need to work on finding where to put stuff. This can give your home that feeling of being a lot less cluttered, just because you’re putting items in the right places to create that look.
For example, get some hooks put into the kitchen walls, and hang your pots and pans up there. Use a shelf to elevate your cookbooks away from the work surfaces, so that it looks like you’ve got more room. Add lamps that are attached to the walls, rather than those that take up floor space. Whilst these all sound like silly things, sorting out your storage options could be helpful in the decluttering process.
Be a wardrobe warrior
We all have those items of clothing, that we never wear but keep in our wardrobes anyway. We just can’t let them go, because what if one day, our significantly chubbier bodies now fit into those 90s jeans again? It’s simply not worth the risk, and remember, those are the jeans that you wore to that Westlife concert a decade or two ago. It’s totally understandable why you’re holding onto half of your old wardrobe.
However, try this challenge. Turn all of your hangers the wrong way around, and every time that you wear something, turn the hanger back the right way. After a few months, see what you’ve not worn in your wardrobe, and give it to a charity or sell it. If you’re not wearing it on a regular basis, and you’re saving it for that ‘special occasion’ that doesn’t exist, then you’re holding onto way more clutter than you need to.
Extra tip: let’s be honest here, anything that you get rid of that gives you some of those post-decluttering regrets, you can pretty easily get back. Buying back your own jumper from a charity shop does look a bit suspect, but who is actually going to know? Also, you’re totally not going to feel this way. We promise you that you’ll be glad to see this stuff go.
So…
If the prospect of decluttering gives you a fear that you just can’t control, then chill out, and remember these simple tips. It’s not actually as bad as you think, and when you’ve got all of that space for gymnastics, or skidding on the floor in your socks… you’ll be glad that you said goodbye to some of your old stuff. Good luck!