There’s a different and rewarding feeling when you clean and organise your home after a long time of leaving it as it is. Many people say that when you declutter your home, your mood changes because your environment influences your feelings. Also, isn’t it good to finally let go of the things you no longer need and make room for new and better things in your life?
It’s one thing to say that you’ll declutter your home and another to do it. It’s no secret that cleaning our homes and decluttering our spaces is one of the most demanding house chores to start. But once you’re doing it, it becomes easier and more manageable. Also, doing it allows you to beautify and improve the aesthetic of your personal space.
But sometimes, decluttering your home becomes a treasure-hunt journey that drives your attention away from cleaning and throwing things you no longer need. If you relate to this, that’s okay because it happens to all of us. After all, isn’t it exciting to find something you’ve been looking for for months or discover a memento you forgot you even had?
In this post, let’s look at some tips to declutter your home productively and practically.
1 – Remove and put away any furniture or home ornaments that could distract you from decluttering your home
When doing a house chore, we often distract ourselves to avoid starting our tasks. But sometimes, even though we try to fight the distractions around us, we tend to find joy and distraction from simple things in our homes just to delay doing our chores. Even the design of your home carpets is enough to distract and stop you from successfully decluttering your home.
With that, before you start bringing out your decluttering and cleaning tools, remove and put away any furniture or home ornaments that could distract you from completing your task. Giving ample space to clean and dust off your shelves and drawers will make it easier to organise your home. Also, it’s easier because you’re free from any other furniture that could delay your task.
2 – Start with the room that needs the most cleaning and decluttering
Another thing that makes it challenging to start decluttering and cleaning your home is the thought of “where to start?” If you live in a studio apartment, this is not a question for you to solve. But if you have more than one room at home, this often leads you not to start your chore and reschedule it for another day.
With that, consider starting with the room you believe needs the most cleaning and decluttering. Others love to begin with bedrooms so that their tools are still clean. Also, isn’t it exciting to declutter your bedroom first? Usually, it is also the room that would take most of your time since we store many memorable and sentimental items in our bedrooms. So it’s best to allot more time to declutter a room that would need tremendous work done before working on other areas in the house.
3 – Have labelled boxes for the things you’re giving away, selling, and keeping
It’s never easy to let go of material possessions, especially if they have value to you. It’s even more challenging to sell and give away items you bought with your hard-earned money. But at some point, you’ll need to let go of your possessions, mainly if they no longer provide value and use to your daily life.
To make it easier for you to separate and acknowledge the things you like, start labelling boxes for the things you’re giving away, selling, and keeping. Categorising and segregating your items would help you recognise the items you enjoy the most and wish to keep.
4 – Check the expiration and manufactured date of your items
This fourth tip applies more to your toiletry and personal products such as make-up, lotion, food, condiments, and other personal care items. There are many cases when we hoard personal care items without thinking about the expiration dates of the ones we still have at home. As a result, we often collect–and store expired personal care items we can no longer use.
The same applies to the food and condiments we have. Sometimes, we forget to check and keep track of their shelf life and are unaware that we’re using expired items already. As you declutter these items, check their expiration and manufactured dates so you won’t have to use and store products you can no longer use.
5 – Know the difference between the items that need repairing or replacing
Sometimes, we think that our items only need a repair and refuse to replace them to save money. It often happens to home furniture and equipment that can be costly to replace. But often, the line between needing to repair or replace an item can be blurry, especially if you’re convincing yourself to avoid spending money.
It’s best to set criteria you can rely on when you’re undecided between repairing or replacing an item in your home to ensure you’ll declutter practically. It can be as simple as its quality, user experience, and importance. If the quality is no longer presentable, it can indicate that you need to replace it already. User experience refers to the experience you have when using the item. And lastly, importance pertains to its relevance to your daily activities and needs.
6 – Digitalise sentimental items so that you can let go of the physical things you no longer need
Another item category that many find difficult to let go of is physical documents and mementoes from their travels, childhood, and first-time experiences. Frankly, it’s fun to keep those, especially if you’re a sentimental person. However, if your pile of paper mementoes takes up your living space, it could be time to let them go.
The great news is we now live in a modern world where you can digitalise and make copies of your documents. You can scan or take pictures of your mementoes and save them on a hard drive to look back on whenever you wish. If you plan to preserve some, you can also laminate and keep them in a clear folder.
7 – Store your items categorically, so it’ll be easier to clean, locate, and rearrange them in the future
Lastly, store your items categorically so it’ll be easier to locate and rearrange them in the future. After you finish decluttering your home, it’s time to arrange your items categorically. Avoid putting different things together so it’ll be easier for you to track their shelf life and locate them when needed.
Store all your equipment and tools in one drawer or organiser, and avoid keeping them in your personal space. Keep all kitchen-related items in one section, and never store them with your stationery or personal belongings. It is helpful, especially if you live in a studio apartment or condominium with limited space.
A clutter-free home is a place you’ll surely enjoy going home to
Starting to declutter and organise your home can be challenging. And even though you’re not a minimalist person, having a place free from unnecessary clutter will help you give more space to the things you need in your daily routine. You can start by trying these seven simple tips. Hopefully, your home will soon be a clutter-free space you enjoy.
