There might be days when your lovely home can become cluttered with unnecessary belongings. This leads to chaos and stress. So how to declutter your home and where to start?
The accumulation of things creates a mess. You should declutter things regularly. A busy lifestyle leads to accumulations of things that are not of much use.
There might be no time to rationalize and reorganize the over-stuffed rooms. But, with a minimal amount of effort, your home can become a peaceful liveable space.
Benefits of decluttering
The benefit of decluttering and having fewer possessions is that there is less amount of work of cleaning. Also, it is easy to locate anything in a well-organized home.
Along with that, there will be enough area to move around and enjoy the space.
Since your home will not be filled with unwanted luxury items, it will lead to saving money or unnecessary spending. A neatly organized home presents a decent look that reduces stress.
Here are some useful tips on how to declutter your home and make it a neat, comfortable, and beautiful dwelling:
1. Decide and Plan
The first step of decluttering is to decide what is to be decluttered and make a plan for that.
First, identify the problematic area by moving around the room. Make a checklist of those areas which need to be decluttered.
The visual representation helps make a plan for where to start and how much time is required for that.
Also, identify the individual areas that need special attention. Handle step by step, the drawers, shelves, wardrobes, and nooks of the rooms that are overstuffed or need cleaning.
The neglected areas during winter months need special attention. Make a plan for where to start and how much time to allocate for that. Choose the decluttering on weekdays and handle the big projects on weekends.
2. Sort the Things
Generally, people tend to have an emotional attachment to their collections. But over time they are not of that much use. You keep on adding new things and the previously bought things become an extra.
Remove those things that are unused or anything that has become old or out of fashion.
Also, a convenient way is to sort the items into categories. This category like keep, repair, donate, recycle, and toss makes the job easy to decide.
Classify the items in separate bins. Many things might have crept away from their designated place.
Some items may need repairs. And some items can go for recycling. nate the items in good condition to the needy. Remove the things of no use in the trash.
3. Declutter by Area
It is a big inspiration when one area gets cleaned. It can motivate you to clean the other parts also.
For instance, clean the drawers first, then proceed to the shelves and cupboards.
Continue this process in one room, then move to the next only after completely decluttering it.
This approach eliminates confusion about completed and remaining tasks.
Not only is this strategy methodical, it consumes less time, and is a perfect solution for how to declutter your home. The decluttering is less tiresome and well organized with a smile on the face.
4. Big Projects on Weekends
Plan to declutter larger areas or tackle big assignments on the weekend. There will be sufficient time to accomplish your task on a holiday. Accomplished work gives relief and satisfaction.
There can be several issues in the garden, and patio in the backyard that require more time.
You can declutter on a large scale during your free time. This provides mental peace and you will not be mentally and physically occupied in a single area.
5. Use Unutilized Areas
Many unutilized areas in the home can store several things. This is an effective way to declutter and remain clean.
You can also use pegboards on any empty wall for storing tiny things. These pegboards are very useful in the backsplash area of the kitchen. Therefore, this keeps the working place decluttered in a big way.
Storing under the bed in boxes with lids or pull-over drawers, or using the storage bed keeps the room decluttered.
You can also utilize closets, hidden storage spaces, or the back of doors to store many things.
There is also enough space to store things under the sink in the bathroom and the kitchen. The main area of the house will thus be free from many things and save the floor space. This makes the room decluttered and clean.
6. Buy Less
The practical way to stay decluttered is to only purchase items that are needed.
Also, excessive buying can make the home a storage unit. It becomes difficult to know what we have already. Less buying can prevent you from duplicate shopping.
It is better to use those things which are already there in the cupboard rather than shopping for a new one.
7. Practice One-in, One-out
Practice the one-in and one-out rule when acquiring new items. This can be anything like garments, furniture, or decor. This also helps in decluttering the home by applying less effort. Investing in quality is better than acquiring in quantity. This gradually leads to clutter-free living.
It should be the habit that every single thing that comes in the house to stay, get rid of one other thing. Therefore, keeping a designated outbox for the convenience of removal of these things is a good idea.
8. Designate the Right Place
This is good practice to keep the items at their designated places. Every item has a specified place where it is useful and convenient to locate them.
The items which are to be stored in the closet and storage they should be kept there only. The items used in the kitchen or bedrooms should remain in that location.
The bathroom-related things should be kept in the bathroom only. The items in the living area or office should be kept in that area only. The garden or backyard items should be kept in their proper location.
This practice makes the entire home well-organized and decluttered. There are good chances that some items get mixed up in other areas.
Placing them in their designated places makes them organized properly.
9. Use Vertical Storage
The utilization of vertical space in the home is a good idea for decluttering the floor space. A hanging bar installed on the side wall of the kitchen is suitable for hanging kitchen utensils.
These hanging rails with hooks or wall-mounted utensil holders can keep several items. The backsplash of the kitchen can also be used for storing many things.
This provides a large working space keeping the floor area decluttered.
The vertical shelves in a living room or bedroom can store several items. Tall cabinets and bookshelves can store many items keeping the room decluttered.
The thin open shelves occupy less area and many things can be stored vertically. There is enough vertical space under the stairs. Hanging racks can be installed in a house with a high ceiling. This saves a lot of space in the main area and keeps it decluttered.
10. Declutter Regularly
There is no hurry, hence do not try to do everything at one time. Removing clutter from the home need not be rushed. Remember, decluttering is not a one-time thing. This can be done even ten minutes each day.
Schedule a limited amount of time to work on decluttering and organizing regularly. This also keeps the clutter manageable with the investment of a little time regularly and excellent storage ideas.
11. Do Not Procrastinate
One of the reasons our home is cluttered is that we keep procrastinating. The delay in cleaning leads to the accumulation of things in an unorganized manner.
It becomes difficult to locate any time when we are in a hurry.
The best solution to overcome the problem is not to procrastinate. Along with a clear plan and a goal start the work regularly.
Decluttering is not time-consuming when done with a proper strategy.
Final Thoughts
Implementing these ideas about how to declutter your home extends far beyond a tidier environment. A neat environment reduces stress, creates a sense of peace, and increases productivity. An organized and decluttered home is a journey toward a more balanced and happy life. Decluttering is a regular practice and we should take our time with it.
