Decluttering Your Home

by | Dec 3, 2020

Whether you’re selling or just want to breathe new life into your home, decluttering can make a world of difference. And I’m not just talking in your physical world, it also has a huge impact on your mental state of mind too.

clutter

It’s easy to let clutter and mess build up in your home. We all love to show off the things we’ve collected over the years that remind us of the people in our lives and the places we’ve visited. But over time, your home can get cluttered and become messy.

Every now and again, we need a good tidy up to get rid of those items that may no longer bring joy or serve us the way they once did. After all, living in a cluttered environment can make you overwhelmed and feel like your whole life is a mess. Decluttering and creating a calm environment to live in can benefit us in more ways than you may think.

Decluttering to reduce stress

The clutter in our homes provides extra stimuli for our brains to process and puts our senses into unnecessary overdrive. When we are stressed, regardless of whether it’s related to the mess, it’s harder to relax and enjoy our home. We all want our homes to be our sanctuary. If the mess is excessive, it’s hard to see how we can possibly tidy it all up, which adds to the stress.

In addition to this, a lot of us feel guilty that our homes are not more organised. While we shouldn’t expect our home to look like a show home, we feel embarrassed if guests drop by unexpectedly to see our home in a mess.

Finally, our productivity is affected. How many of you have spent precious time searching for something and wished you had a cleaner home so you could find the things you need? When we can’t find the things we need, it takes longer to complete tasks and often it makes us late for important meetings, which can be frustrating. It can also reflect badly on us if we are always late, and others may see us as unreliable and disorganised.

Where to start

books and rubish

Starting to declutter can be overwhelming. It’s best to start with one room, and then slowly work your way through the house.

Using buckets or bags that are labelled helps to segment a big pile into manageable chunks.

Separate your piles into

  1. Keep
  2. Throw away
  3. Put in storage
  4. Donate

For many, knowing that you can store things makes the process a whole lot easier. You may not be ready to let some things go forever, so this is a great first step to cleaning up your space.

However, there’s no point just moving all your things to storage as this won’t fully help to de-stress and reduce anxiety. Letting go of the physical items is what will free you mentally as well. Do you really need that sentimental item, or can you just take a photo of it to remember it by?

Handy tip: If you’re struggling with what to store and what to throw away, start with storing it. If in 6 months you haven’t missed it, it’s safe to say you can donate it or throw it away.

Decluttering 101

Starting is the hardest part, but once you get into the swing of things decluttering becomes easier. I love the Marie Kondo method, where she takes every item and asks if it truly brings her joy. If it doesn’t, then it has to go.

You might need to complete the decluttering over the course of a week or two. In addition to tackling one room at a time, you can also focus on one item/group at a time to make the process easier.

Item groups may include

  • Clothes
  • Books
  • Paperwork
  • Collectables/memorabilia
declutter

By tackling one item at a time, you can see how big the problem really is. Marie Kondo also recommends bringing all your items together into one room so you can see the magnitude of the problem you are tackling. You might be shocked by how much you have accumulated.

Remember, this may take more than one attempt to get through the accumulation of things. Do what you can, and then in a month or two, come back and do it all again. Decluttering gets easier each time you do.

Good luck, and happy cleaning!

After decluttering you may want to look into our home styling service. Our qualified interior designer will work with you to make your home look and feel stylish and comfortable.