This is a collaborative post: Clutter is, simply put, a reality of life for a lot of people. If you have a big enough family, like to collect things, or simply have a hard time throwing stuff away, then it’s not going to be too long before you start running out of space for all of the little and large objects in the home. However, it doesn’t make for a great living experience.
Clutter is messy, it can be unhygienic, it makes you more stressed, and it can even be a fire hazard. For that reason, it’s time to take a stand, with the following strategies to help you declutter the home, once and for all.
Work out what’s staying and what’s going
Before you start moving anything, it’s a good idea to make your way through the home, making an inventory of all of the objects that might be going or getting shuffled around. Of course, things like your TV, the coffee table, and other daily essentials don’t need to be considered but, for anything that doesn’t have a clear permanent place in the home for the foreseeable, list it down and start thinking about whether you’re going to keep it, move it out of its current space, or get rid of it entirely.
Make the rounds with a bin
First of all, you should make sure that there’s nothing that is obviously destined for a landfill lying around. Make the rounds through the home and throw out anything that is clearly beyond having any sort of use for you. Look for recycling centres in your area to make sure that you’re getting rid of things in the most responsible manner you can. If you have old tech, be sure that you’re turning it in to those who can offer a little change for the exchange.
Find the right place to sell
Of course, there are going to be some items that aren’t likely to be sticking around for too much longer, but you don’t want to simply toss them out, not if they have some value. As such, you should start taking a look at where to sell your unwanted items. If you can find specialist stores for them, those may be your best bet for getting more money for them but general buy-sell-swap groups and other online marketplaces can still be very reliable for what you’re willing to part with cheaply.
Know when to use temporary storage
You might have some items that you’re trying to sell but are likely to be waiting for since they’re high-value items. You may have some things that you want to give to someone else when you’re able to. You might even have some furniture that you plan on using eventually, but can’t right now. Temporary storage solutions are out there and can help you keep your belongings safe and away from the home so that they’re not taking up unnecessary space. Look for a storage centre near you and think in the long term about how you’re eventually going to make use of what you keep in there.
Consider adding more space to the home
If you have cleared out everything that you’re getting rid of and you still have a lot that you want to not only keep around but keep in your home, have you considered that you don’t have the right space for it yet? Whether you invest in a home extension, finish your garage or basement, or build a new outbuilding for the home, you could create an office or storage space that’s a much more fitting place to keep some of the things that you’re holding onto.
Improving storage in your space
You could free up a lot more space in the home simply by improving what storage options are available within it. For instance, in the kitchen, using vertical space such as by installing shelves, hanging hooks, or magnetic strips can help you free up a lot of the counter space that’s currently being taken up. Even temporary storage options like wicker baskets around the house can make it easy to quickly tidy things away, and then you can go through those baskets later to return items to their rightful place.
How you declutter the home is a matter of strategic relevance. You might need more storage in the home, outside of it, or simply need a way to get rid of what you don’t have room in your life for. Hopefully, the tips above help you work out what’s what.