Have you accumulated large amounts of things over the years? Are your possessions jostling for space in drawers, cupboards, and even corners of your home? Do you feel swamped by your belongings? If the answers are 'Yes' it may be time to declutter and give your home some organisation it needs.
Here are some easy and creative declutter tips I use that may help. Plus decluttering may help to ease any tension and give a more relaxed feel to your home.
- Start small, so you do not get overwhelmed by the task ahead. For example, take a single drawer, empty it and clear out anything you don't want, need, or have not used in years. Place the items you are keeping, in an organised way, back into the drawer if you feel they belong there, with things you regularly used at the front, plus grouping similar items.
- For storage, think about using baskets for organising towels, bedding, kitchen items, bathroom items etc. enabling you to keep similar items neatly together, allowing you to find things quickly. I keep all my dried pasta in a basket in my store cupboard, so it is easy to find and to keep tidy, using bag ties once opened.
- To declutter under the kitchen sink and stop several bottles of the same cleaner being open, I use magazine holders each one for a room or task, so when it's time to clean the bathroom everything you need is together in one place. Place all new bottles behind the appropriate holder.
- For your wardrobe, to identify the clothes you wear, place them at one end of the closet after wearing. After a few months, you can then look through the items not worn and discard the ones you dislike, will not fit or can not see yourself wearing in the future. I find doing it this way relieves the pressure of doing a full wardrobe clearout.
- Do the 15 item challenge, take 15 items out of your wardrobe or cupboard, throw five things away, put five items in the charity bag and place five items you want to keep back. It is hard, but it works for me.
- For the kitchen declutter drawers and cupboards by using wall space, use S-hooks on a suspended pot rack to hang pans, utensils, colanders, sieves, can openers and other often-used items.
- When cleaning the bathroom cabinet toss any expired products, such as suncream, old make-up tubes and items that have been there for months but never used. It is so easy to keep out of date stuff.
- Add a hook to the back of the bathroom door for bathrobes. When replacing your bathrobe remember to toss the old one in the charity bag rather than keeping it for a rainy day.
- If you have a medicine cabinet keep up to date with items you use, remove out of date items, creams you are allergic to, open bandages, ointments that don't work for you etc. and keep regularly used or essential items in date. If you do not have a single spot for medicine, it is something worth having.
- Do a 10 minute a day declutter routine, take several items and review them: Do I use this? Will I use this again? When did I last use this? Is it worth taking up space in my cupboard? Remember this is a decluttering exercise, so be honest and so don't invent reasons to keep it. You will be surprised how many items you don't need.
Every item in your home should have its place, so if it doesn't have a place, you do not need it. Plus once removed you do not need to go out and replace it with more stuff.
The less clutter, the easier your life will be!