Your home is your safe space, your sanctuary. When you return home after a long day of work, it’s nice to be in a familiar place and know where everything is. If you’re at home all day, it’s all the more necessary that this space is comfortable and functional.
But what if you can never find what you need at home? What if there’s so much stuff in every corner, nook, and cranny that it becomes impossible to navigate your way through? Well, when the cluttered state of your home starts getting in the way (literally!), it’s time to take action. Set aside some time, look around, and start sorting. A clean, aesthetically pleasing home awaits you if you begin decluttering now!
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Why Should You Declutter?
We all accumulate a lot of junk during our lifetime. And before you know it, piles of unused stuff are taking up your space.
Why exactly should you consider decluttering? Here are just a few advantages:
- It’s easier and less stressful to clean your home
- It’ll become easier to organize items and find what you need
- You enjoy the space more (those hardwood floors look much better without the clutter)
- You might break the habit of overspending on things you don’t really need
- Selling off some unwanted items can give you a little extra cash for emergencies
But cleaning up can get overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to start. The tips below can jumpstart the organizing and decluttering process of your home:
1. Take Out The Unused Stuff
Do you have a lot of precious belongings that you have no use for but don’t want to part with yet for sentimental purposes? Choose a reliable storage and moving company like 495 Movers Inc. and select a storage option to safely store your valuables. Storage units help you:
- Keep cherished possessions in a safe space without having them clutter your home
- Store items you want to sell (without having to keep them all at home)
- Store seasonal or bulkier items or family heirlooms until you upsize to a larger home
- Hold on to certain expensive furniture that might come in handy later on
Decluttering Before Moving
Using a storage space is also immensely helpful when you’re planning to move. You may need to leave some items behind to make packing easier. You may need time to settle in if you’ve just moved in. In both cases, storing certain belongings can provide some much-needed breathing space. With the right company, your moving process will be much simpler and clutter-free.
2. Take Out The Trash
First order of business: empty the trash bins around your home. It will automatically give the place a fresher, cleaner look.
Next, think about what constitutes ‘trash’ and how to remove it. Some folks find getting a large trash bag and filling it with unwanted items is useful. Once you start, that trash bag can fill up pretty quickly. Throw in those empty shampoo bottles, expired products, and whatever else is cluttering up your space. You’d be amazed at how light you feel after getting that full trash bag out of the house.
3. Try The 12-12-12 Challenge
Adapting to the minimalist lifestyle is hard, but knowing how to declutter will help you get started. One of the most well-known techniques for decluttering is the 12-12-12 challenge. Try this daily or as often as you can:
- Find 12 items in your home that you can throw away. These may include the candy wrappers in your drawer, pencil stubs, non-working pens, expired items, etc.
- Find another 12 items to donate to an organization, charity, or individual. These may include cans of food that you won’t use anytime soon. Clothing and shoes make great donations as well.
- Find yet another 12 items that aren’t in their proper space and give them a home. For instance, collect all the pens around your home and place them in a designated stationery drawer.
This practice serves a twofold aim; to declutter and to organize. You get a significant amount of items out of your home, and several items get allotted a designated place. Keep at it for a few days, and you might get addicted to the 12-12-12!
4. The Marie Kondo Method
A little book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up led to a full-blown TV series that changed people’s lives. The author, Marie Kondo, is now known for her KonMari method for decluttering spaces.
While the method consists of several ways to organize a home, its decluttering aspect focuses on one main rule: remove anything that doesn’t spark joy. Kondo also brings in this thought about sparking joy during the pandemic, but let’s stick to decluttering here.
The first step is to pull out all the contents of each drawer, closet, and other storage space in any room. According to Marie Kondo, it’s best to work room by room.
The next step is decluttering, which includes sorting the stuff into piles. If that old sweatshirt still brings you joy, keep it. If that bright yellow dress is too tacky for your taste, out it goes. Having a hard time letting something go? Thank the item for the joy it brought you and put it in the donation pile so it can bring someone else joy.
You can also use this method to clear your workspace when working from home. Many people have found such techniques therapeutic, despite the emotional rollercoaster.
5. View From An Outsider’s Perspective
Step out of your home, wait a few minutes, and then come back inside. Imagine you’re seeing this home for the first time.
What impression does it make on you? Write down how you feel about the place, how it can be better, and what you like or dislike most about the sight.
This practice can help you see how your place looks to an outsider. When you invite a friend over, you want to make a good impression. Once you see it from another viewpoint, you can start changing and uplifting its overall appearance.
Conclusion
You may claim that everything in your home is useful, but a little sorting and organizing can prove you wrong. Start with one of the tips above and see what a difference it makes. If one hack doesn’t work out for some reason, try another. Don’t give up! The pile of trash might be high, but so are our hopes! Let the decluttering begin!
