Start Implementing your Clutter-Free Home: 8 Practical Tips

Start Implementing your Clutter-Free Home: 8 Practical Tips

Do you crave a clutter-free home? Decluttering may seem to be the antithesis of a storage company. Yes, we believe you can keep your possessions but we also think that everything you hang onto should have a place, if not in your home, then definitely in your heart.

We have provided the following tips to guide your decluttering mind set in the hope that, by identifying the things you truly want in your life, you will be calmer and happier for it.

  1. Buy less to gain a clutter-free home

The first process to decluttering starts with a philosophy of buying less. If you have a sort out once a year but keep on accumulating goods for the rest of the year, you will find the cycle continues.

Decluttering is about low key maintenance little and often, and this starts in the shop. That’s not to say don’t buy anything. Just make sure what you do buy is either useful or loved. Preferably both!

Why not try this test? Whenever you see something you are itching to buy, wait a few days. If after this time, you still love it as much as you thought you did, then buy it. More often than not, you will forget all about it and save a few pounds as well as the cupboard space.

  1. Put aside time

Set aside a few hours to make sense of your chaotic surroundings. If it’s a large project, like an entire house, break it down into rooms or furniture items such as the wardrobe or a bookcase. Block out pockets of time in your calendar at regular intervals and plan project milestones. Reward yourself whenever you achieve a milestone with something you love, like drinks with friends or a takeaway (not more things to clutter up your house!).

  1. Have a box, crate, shelf or drawer for everything

Give everything you own a home. Not only does this save you time in the long run, preventing you from turning the house upside down looking for the Wi-Fi code, but you will also be able to see at a glance where you have duplicates. No-one needs two staplers.

  1. Accept miscellany

Once everything else has a home, there will be random objects that don’t belong anywhere. You can still keep them tidy! Dedicate a drawer or crate for these things and store them away in a cupboard. That way you know where to find them but they needn’t clutter up your living space.

  1. Find a decluttering buddy

Making the decision to keep or get rid is an emotional one: things you paid for with your hard-earned wages, sentimental items that remind you of school days or happier times and treasured collections you believed would be worth something one day. Decluttering also means having to face some of the memories you would rather not. Enlist the help of a friend who is pragmatic and empathic, ready with tissues and chocolates and who can also administer a dose of tough love where necessary.

  1. Put items away for “time out”

When you hit a decluttering “sore spot”, put the item into time out.

Place the contentious object into a bin bag that goes in the loft or somewhere out of site for a determined period. After this time has gone by, revisit the article in question. Are you ready to make a decision yet? Did you miss it, or did it slip your mind?

  1. Adopt a “one in, one out” policy

When you’re out shopping and you see that “must have” dress or gadget, think about what it’s going to replace. Be strict with yourself: once one new thing enters your bookcase or your wardrobe, something else needs to go to the charity shop.

  1. Only keep current projects at home.

We don’t mean renovating the house or installing a new kitchen. We are talking about mini projects you set yourself; books you are going to read or the hobbies you are going to take up.

Good Housekeeping describes them as a ‘constant physical “to-do list.”’

Instead of storing everything in your line of sight, keep this month’s projects at home – Choose a small pile of books, and send the rest away. A loft or a self-storage unit can house these additional projects while you deal with the ones in front of you. The advantages of working this way include:

  • A kick-start to your project progress;
  • Staying motivated with regular challenges;
  • An extra dose of retail therapy from items you didn’t have to buy (again) once you get them out of storage.

 

Decluttering is a process, not an overnight change. Start by implementing one tip at a time, and over the course of six months to a year you will develop the living space that facilitates your lifestyle.

We can help you with the transition by looking after your mini projects and loved items here at Rent-A-Space. Contact us today to find out more.

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