What a better way to start the new year than by decluttering our homes and looking for ingenious design solutions. All homes, whatever their size, have to satisfy a number of basic needs. But how much space you give to different activities depends very much on your lifestyle and preferences.
In your first home, you probably start with a decent space as you only have a few belongings with you but before you know it, lots of stuff creeping in seems to take over your space. In modern life, the majority of people then will say, “we need more space”, “we need a bigger home” etc and many find it difficult to let things go.
Clutter can be a “spiritual” burden for the people and clutter can also mean additional expense. Our belongings that are not kept in proper conditions will deteriorate and will require replacement sooner rather than later.
Over-stuffed drawers and clothes rails invite moths to decimate your wardrobe. When every nook and cranny is full to bursting, you will also find it hard to keep your home clean. Then there is the psychological impact to consider. When clutter is obscuring the picture, you lose focus and concentration and everything then seems to become an uphill struggle.
Adopting good storage systems is not about imposing a strange discipline on your lifestyle but about making the most of your space with what you’ve got. Hanging onto a lot of redundant clutter is a direct of waste of money. Which is worth more: the space itself or the clothes that you never wear? People sometimes feel that they need a bigger wardrobe, a bigger kitchen or a bigger home, when what they really need is get rid of all those things that they are keeping for no good reason.
Here are some great tips for de-cluttering your home:
1. Takes a few minutes to go through each room in your home and work out what percentage of each area is filled with disorganised piles of things that really don’t have a home. This should inspire you to begin to let things go.
2. Get three boxes. Name them KEEP IT, BIN—IT, and DONATE IT. Fill “Keep it” only with things that you really need and contribute to the joy in your life – be tough with yourself. Fill “Bin-it” with anything that is past its sell by date, broken. or can’t be use anymore. And “Charity/ Donate it” with all your stuff that still is in reasonable good condition, that you don’t use anymore and yet will be useful to other people. Remember, knowing that somebody else in a third world country using your stuff will give you a great feeling, instead of just sitting in the corner of your home collecting dust.
3. Start small – perhaps with a kitchen or chest of drawers? It can be quite overwhelming to tackle emptying something large, whereas if you start with a small space or area, you will see results quickly.
4. Get rid of any possessions that you do not use anymore or anything that you don’t like. Be ruthless with yourself – guilt often stands in the way of letting things go. What is the point having that sports equipment that you never or rarely use? It’s just collecting dust.
5. Invite a friend to help you. Choose someone who understands the concept of space, so that they can be honest and easily say “ that never suited you even though it cost a fortune” or “ that is old and it’s time to bin-it” and help you to make space.
6. Throughly declutter one room at a time, so that you see the results more rapidly. And take your time.
7. Use a small wardrobe: the more space you have the more you fill it.
8. Throw away anything that is cracked or broken, duplicate items, damaged and beyond repair, past its sell-by-date or in any sense unusable. This applies as much to basic supplies as it does to equipment and books.
9. Make spring cleaning become a habit.
10. Most people only wear about 20% of the clothes that they own. Pare down your wardrobe to the items of clothing that you actually wear on regular basis. If there are clothes that you don’t wear in one year, its unlikely they will be worn again, so let them go. Be really strict with this rule “Something in, something out” – means if you buy a new item of clothing, an old one must go.
11. “Less is always more” – let the space breath and you (not your belongings) enjoy the space in your home.
12. Review your archives and get rid of any documents, old bills and instruction manuals that are no longer relevant.
Check our next blog when we will be talking about “Storage smart ideas” for your home.