Need a guide on how to declutter your home? If you’re not so sure where to start, here’s a guide on how you can start and get your home organized in no time!
Ultimate Guide to Declutter Your Home
Is clutter a problem in your home? We all try to make sure that everything is organized and spotless, but there will always be one point where everything looks like a mess. I almost always have this dilemma and when I’m at this point, I just want to cry. But why do that right? It’s not going to accomplish anything.
So if you want a little nudge to help you start, here’s your ultimate guide on how to declutter your home. From deciding what goes and what stays to where all the clutter’s going to go. We have it here and I’m sharing this to you so you can start living in a clutter-free home in no time!
You can thank LoftBlinds for this guide on helping you how to start!
The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering Your Home
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
—William Morris
Did You Know?
- 80% of what we own, we very rarely use.
- 3 million suffer from compulsive hoarding in the UK.
- People spend 55 minutes a day looking for things. That’s 2 weeks a year!
- Decluttering your house can reduce housework by up to 40%.
First Things First
You need to make a choice between one and two: keep it, or bin it. Here are some questions you can answer to help you decide!
Dating Game
- Put anything you’re not sure about throwing away into a box.
- Write a date on the box that’s exactly one year from now.
- Don’t write what’s inside the box.
- If you use any items from the box before the date comes, find a place to keep it.
- If you haven’t used anything in the box after the date has passed, throw the box away.
- Don’t look inside the box when throwing it away.
Don’t Look Back!
Where’s It Going?
Getting rid of clutter is much easier when it has a surefire home to go to. For items you’re not throwing away, consider your options:
- Sell It for Cash
- Sell your stuff on eBay or Gumtree.
- If you prefer offline—get down to a car boot sale!
- Music Magpie and CeX will take your old CDs and games.
- Envirophone will accept your old brick mobiles.
- Charity is a Virtue
- For a bigger item, like furniture, list it on Freecycle. Someone else will collect it.
- Your local charity shop will be delighted to take your unwanted stuff.
- Put out a Tweet or Facebook message to your thrifty friends.
- ‘REMEMBER’ Family and Friends
- If all else fails…BIN IT
- Hire an all inclusive house clearance service.
- Hire a skip if you want to remove lots of waste yourself. This costs from £120, and usually requires a skip permit or off-road skip storage.
Typical Clutter Items: How to Get Rid
- Go Paperless! Bills, bank statements and tax returns can all be dealt with online. No need for piles and piles of paper—no matter how neatly it’s stored!
- CDs and DVDs are so yesteryear! With an abundance of different services, your prized movie, music, and video game collections can all be stored on hard drives. No need for cases cluttering up the place!
- Scan in any paperwork you think you might need and convert it to PDF format. Bulk digital archiving companies can handle thousands of documents. No excuses!
- There’s no need for massively bulky A3 sized road maps thanks to Google Maps and Apple Maps. For emergency flat batteries, just keep one pocket-sized A-Z.
- Periodically deep-clean your fridge, freezer and cupboards. It’s not uncommon to find tinned food or freezer items way past their sell-by date!
- Search for phone numbers online instead of storing a bulky copy of the Yellow Pages or Thomson Local.
- Replace your toothbrush every three months. Actually replace it—throw the old one out!
- If that foreign currency is out of commission, you’ll never spend it. Chuck it!
- Did your ex buy you that? Why are you holding on to it?
- Don’t know what that cable’s for? Have you seen it in years? Get rid.
And finally…Keep the Clutter Minimal!
When buying new things, use the Triage Method:
- Will you use it enough to warrant buying it?
- Are you being impulsive?
- Do you already own something that can do a similar job?
Also…
- Buy One Get One Free deals only save you money if you use the free item too!
- Have a quick tidy every week on a lazy day. A regular 30-minute clean is far better than a several hour blitz any day!
Don’t Look Back!
Do you think you’ll get started on decluttering your home today? Let us know below in the comments! 🙂
Having trouble letting go? Check out more decluttering advice from a homesteader here.
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