There’s nothing worse than spending time in a home that’s full of clutter. Clutter can add up quickly in the home especially if you have kids. Besides causing stress, clutter ruins the appearance of the home and makes cleaning the home much more difficult.
Are you getting frustrated seeing a pile of clothes on the chair, toys on the floor, or unnecessary papers on the counter space? Then give your mind needed rest from unsightly clutter by using these effective tips.
Manage paperwork
Documents, bills, magazines, and any other papers usually add a lot of clutter in your space. Organizing piles of paperwork is the most difficult part of decluttering. Before it becomes out of control, manage paperwork coming into your home immediately.
For this, gather every piece of paper from different spots of your home. Go through it, decide what to keep and what can be recycled. Store important work-related paper in a file cabinet. And, get rid of outdated bills, invitation cards, receipts, coupons, and newspapers. This way you can reduce the amount of paper clutter in your home.
Minimize all the surface clutter
Generally, clutter accumulates more on open flat surfaces like a kitchen counter, coffee table, desk, nightstand, and dresser. This is because people have a habit of putting random things on them. Remember that these places are not displayed places. So, try to minimize what you leave out on flat surfaces. For example, you can keep essential things but items that are not used regularly should be stored out of sight.
Free up space in the wardrobe
Are you not happy with your overstuffed wardrobe? Then, it is time to free up space in your wardrobe. There is no meaning in keeping single socks, duplicate items, and clothes that don’t fit you. Put off-season items in a box and store them somewhere else. Even if you remove some items from your wardrobe, you’ll feel good by seeing how tidier it looks.
Review the drawer space often
Do not forget to periodically sort out your drawer space. Empty the drawer’s items on the floor. Remove dead batteries, old keys, dried-out pens, or anything else that is useless. After that put only necessary things back in it.
You can also have a look at How to Update your Rental Home without Damaging the Property?
Sort your items into three boxes
To make your decluttering process easier, you can sort items into different boxes. Take three boxes and label them: Remove, donate, and relocate. In each room, examine every item and think carefully about which box it should go to. Do not skip any item, even if it takes up less space. This may take time, but it will help you to know how much unnecessary clutter you have in your home. Try it!
- Remove: Get rid of unnecessary items that you know you don’t want in your home. For instance; broken pieces, expired medicines, cosmetics, and food packets.
- Donate: Items that are in good condition but you don’t need should go in this box. For example, books that you’ve read, toys, clothing that no longer fits you. Donate it to a needy person who may be able to use it.
- Relocate: If the item is meaningful and beneficial but doesn’t belong in that particular room, then put it in this box. Reorganize it in a different room where it belongs.
Remove sentimental items
Removal of things that someone gave to you is always hard. That’s why some people keep old things even if they don’t like them. But keep in mind that your home is not a museum and memories are not in physical objects. So remove them without feeling guilty.
Do not buy non-essential items
You can’t successfully declutter your space if you continue to bring non-essential items into your home. Don’t let in any items in your space without a clear purpose. Only buy items that you truly need. This is an important tip to make your home clutter-free.
Declutter one room at a time
If you live in a small apartment, then it is ok to declutter the space all at once. But for a bigger home, it’s better to do one room at a time so that you don’t feel stressed or completely overwhelmed. Start with a small room and do not move to other rooms until you’ve finished decluttering the first room. When you see progress, you will be motivated to declutter other harder rooms.
Put everything in the right place
This is the most effective tip you can follow for maintaining a clutter-free home. Make a habit of putting the thing back where it belongs when you’re done using it. For example, put a book in a bookcase, a fruit bowl in the kitchen, stationery in a drawer, and so on. Also, teach your kids where they should keep their things.
At last…
Not only decluttering lightens the load on your brain but also it makes your space appear organized. Keeping your home clutter-free is not an easy thing at all, but it’s not impossible either. You can do it; it just requires your time and effort to make a positive impact on your clutter issue. You will be amazed by what a difference these easy & effective tips can make in your home.
