Clutter can prevent you from really enjoying your home and being able to relax. It's stressful when you can't find things, and cleaning a cluttered house is time-consuming. Once clutter has built up, people often put off sorting through and organising the piles because they think it will take too long, but you don't have to give up lots of your precious free time at the weekend to turn your home into the minimalist haven you dream of. Here are three tips for reducing the clutter in your home:
Set Small Goals
Thinking about decluttering your entire house or even a room in your house can feel overwhelming, so set yourself up for success by creating a list of small, manageable goals you can achieve in around fifteen minutes. This will help keep the momentum going and allow you to complete a task or two every evening with time left over to do what you love. Walk through your home and write down every section of each room you want to declutter and allow yourself a small reward for each room you complete. Examples of small, easily achievable goals include cleaning out the cutlery drawer, sorting through the paperwork in your desk drawers and streamlining the products in your cleaning cupboard.
Utilise Unused Space
For many, achieving and maintaining a clutter-free living environment can feel like an impossible task because modern homes are built with little or no storage space. You can sidestep this problem by using dead space, such as the top half of your kitchen cupboards, which typically can't be used for anything else. Using this space will keep items tucked away but still easily accessible. Here are a few suggestions:
- If you have a storage cupboard, install shelves around the top of the cupboard to store items you don't use often, such as seasonal decorations.
- Use shelf inserts in kitchen cupboards to store pantry items and small appliances.
- Attach spice racks or hooks to the inside of cupboard doors.
- Hang a towel rail over the back of a cupboard door and hang spray bottles on the rail, or hang s-hooks on the towel rail and use to keep small pans and utensils off your countertops.
Consider A Storage Unit
When decluttering you have to be ruthless and you should get rid of anything you no longer use. Don't hang on to those DVDs you're never going to watch again, and never pay to store stuff as a way of avoiding the work involved in sorting through what you own. That said, if you have sentimental items that are taking up space you need, it could make your life easier to rent storage space for these items. Self-storage companies often offer flexible terms, so they can also be a good option when you need to temporarily move things out of your home.
Whether your family is growing or you're just tired of being surrounded by so much stuff, implementing these tips will help you simplify your home.
