Decluttering your home can do a world of good for both your mental and physical health, from reducing stress levels, to inviting a clean, tidy environment in which to live. But where to begin? It can feel overwhelming to say the least, considering the entire contents of your home and wondering where to even begin to declutter. Don’t worry! Here’s a helpful list of 7 ways to help your home organisation and get you decluttering:
Have a garage sale
You know what they say: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. You and your family may have grown out of those clothes, toys or books, but one of your neighbours may be in the market for just that. Having a garage sale is a great way of taking stock of what you’ve got in your home, and being honest about what you no longer need or use – with the added bonus of getting a little bit of cash in exchange! Put up posters around the neighbourhood and post on your local Facebook Buy & Sell page to let people know you’re holding a garage sale, so hopefully you’ll have a good turn out and be able to move some of the things taking up precious space in your home. For big items like furniture or high-value items like electronics, consider listing them on online selling platforms like Facebook marketplace.
Donate to Good Sammy’s
Once you’ve held your garage sale and you’ve got some things leftover, or if you don’t want the hassle of holding one, gather up all the other belongings you’re ready to part with, pop them into bags, and drop them off at your local op shop. Good Sammy’s, the Salvation Army and Vinnies accept donations year-round, and you can rest assured knowing your donations are going towards helping people in need. Load up the boot of the car with bags and as you drop them in the donation bins, you will feel lighter for removing all that unnecessary clutter from your life. Some op shops also offer collection for large items like furniture, so get in touch with your local to see if this is an option.
Tackle room by room
To keep from being overwhelmed at the beginning of your decluttering journey, consider tackling one room at a time.
A great place to start is with the bedroom, as this is where you spend a lot of your time – and stress in the bedroom can affect your quality of sleep. Decluttering your bedroom will not only improve your sleep, but your general mood and happiness, and after succeeding in this room you’ll have the motivation to keep going through the rest of the house. Consider what currently takes up room in the bedroom, and if it still needs to be there or not. Remove things that will mess with your sleep, like electronics that emit light or noise. Make sure bedside tables are clear of clutter, and any drawers are neat and tidy and not overflowing. The wardrobe is a common space for clutter, so spend time going through and getting rid of old clothes that you no longer wear, and carefully organising, hanging and folding all the clothes you want to keep.
The kitchen can be another dumping ground for clutter, so make this area a focus of its own. Spend time in your kitchen pantry, throwing out ingredients that are out of date, and making sure only kitchen-related items live in here. Clear, stackable containers can do wonders for helping organise a chaotic kitchen pantry, helping to neatly store ingredients in a uniform way and keeping your food fresher for longer, too.
Storage solutions
Whether you’ve got next to no storage space, or if you’ve got massive walk-in robes in every room of the house, we can all benefit from better storage solutions. It can be so easy to fall into the trap of just shoving things into the linen cupboard and forgetting about it, but some clever storage ideas will make you feel lighter and much more organised. Think about adding a shoe rack to your wardrobe to better organise your shoes, or a shower caddy in the bathroom to reduce the clutter of shampoo bottles littering the bottom of the shower.
Minimalism
As with many things in life, when it comes to decorating your home, less is more. Approach your decluttering with the end goal of minimalism in mind, which will help you determine what you want to keep, and what you can donate or sell. Move around your furniture to give you a new look at each room, and you’ll be able to see all the items and clutter you’ve grown immune to from living amongst it. Try taking all decorative items out of a room, and slowly adding them back in one at a time. You will probably find the room needs less than you imagined.
Get creative
Think outside the box! Don’t just take each room at face value – think about how you can better use all the available space. Can you use your wall space to mount your clothes airer or for adding extra shelving? Can you add dividers in your kitchen drawers to keep them better organised? Search online for inspo – Pinterest can be a valuable asset in finding creative ideas you might never have thought of yourself. Home organisation and decluttering for minimalism doesn’t have to be boring!
Before and after photos
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your hard work pay off. Make sure you take ‘before’ photos, and compare them with the finished product. Once you have finished your first room and appreciated the difference in photos, you will feel inspired to keep going until each room in the house is as thoughtfully organised and clear of clutter as that first one. This is also a great way to keep you accountable – keep that ‘after’ photo in easy reach, so that you can refer back to it if you start slipping backwards and allowing clutter to build up again.
Decluttering your home feels incredibly satisfying, and the end result will make you feel like a weight has been lifted. Spending some time on refining your organisation system and culling old items will lead to so many benefits – you’ll wonder why it took you so long to start!
