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Over the past several years, many people have developed a new zeal for home improvement.
After all, we all want our homes to be a reflection of ourselves. But before we start overhauling pieces of furniture, we should toss out any items that don’t add value.
With that in mind, we wanted to suggest some decluttering tips that work even in the messiest homes.
Believe it or not, being surrounded by all kinds of mess can negatively impact both our physical and mental health. It becomes a vicious cycle.
The growing mess can increase our feelings of anxiety while decreasing our ability to visually process our surroundings. That, in turn, makes us less efficient in our daily lives.
Mind-Blowing Decluttering Tips You Should Try Right Now!
1. Break it Down
The best thing you can do to keep your home neat is incorporate decluttering into your everyday routine.
Breaking down your decluttering sessions into smaller chunks will take the pressure off and make the goal of having a clean house feel more attainable.
To that end, it’s best to keep a running list of very specific tasks you can do. Rather than vaguely state that you need to declutter your walk-in closet, start with a single shelf or a drawer.
You should be able to achieve each item on your list in under fifteen minutes. Then, just keep crossing off one or two per week until your home is picture-perfect.
2. Keep Flat Surfaces Clear of Clutter
Many people get into the habit of dropping various items on any flat surface in their homes.
So make it a point to keep the mess to a minimum. Whenever you stand up, take those mugs, plates, and keys to their proper places.
You’ll be surprised at the impact that has on your mental health!
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3. Deal with Paper Clutter
There’s no excuse for holding on to paper clutter when everything has gone digital. If you have physical receipts you have to keep, find a place for them.
And the same goes for paperwork and mail. Go through these items as soon as they get to your home, and put them in a designated place.
If you can get rid of physical copies — do so.
Take a picture of any receipts and letters you feel like you’ll need and upload them to the cloud with detailed tags.
Then, simply recycle the excess — or have a junk pick-up service take it off your hands.
4. Resell or Donate Books and Magazines You’re Not Using
While we’re on the subject of the paper, you should consider reselling or donating any books or magazines you don’t find yourself rereading.
If you end up having to move, those items will just take up space on the moving van and in your new home. So hang onto the sentimental or valuable copies and toss the rest.
5. Incorporate Smart and Practical Storage Solutions
As you declutter, you’ll find important items that don’t yet have a place in your home. In the interest of keeping your space organized, you should consider incorporating smart storage solutions into your surroundings.
Now, that can be as simple as putting baskets on your shelves to make things easy to get to.
However, it may even require you to install some hooks, shelves, and pegboards — depending on the items you’re trying to store.
Of course, there are plenty of household items you can use to store other things. For example, many people use toilet paper rolls to keep their cards organized.
Alternatively, you can invest in furniture pieces that double as storage space — like those handy ottomans with hinged lids. You can also opt for special organizers for specific items like these storage bags for Christmas trees.
6. Don’t Let Guilt Stop You
While you’re decluttering, you’ll probably be reluctant to get rid of certain gifts, heirlooms, or even just items you didn’t get the most use out of.
There are several ways to deal with things like those.
When it comes to deciding which items of clothing you should keep, get a friend to help you.
Touching these items can make you more likely to want to hang onto them. So having your friend hold them up should let you be more objective.
As for things like gifts and heirlooms, you can let yourself be a bit sentimental. However, that means keeping your grandma’s favorite mug — not the china set no one has ever even used.
If it helps, think of it this way: donating old baby clothes and gifts you’ve received but never used lets these items live on. They’ll be useful to someone else.
Lastly, if you feel like you spent a lot of money on an item you haven’t used, like exercise gear or kitchen appliances, it’s best to just cut your losses.
Whether you sell these things or toss them, at least they won’t be cluttering up your home anymore.
7. Mend or Toss Broken Items Quickly
Sometimes, we all feel like we can squeeze some more use out of old and tattered items.
In these cases, we can either mend them or toss them — as long as we make the decision quickly.
Otherwise, we just end up with stained clothes and unglued shoe soles that sit in the corner, collecting dust.
8. Exorcise Expired Items
Oftentimes, people avoid decluttering things because they think they’ll eventually need them.
However, many items like those have strict expiration dates. You’d be surprised at how many perishables you’ve been holding onto!
9. Schedule a Junk Pick-Up
Scheduling a junk pick-up service before you start a big decluttering task will hold you accountable.
Even simply knowing that a removal company will be there on Sunday will make you more inclined to have everything packed up on Saturday evening.
Just separate the items you want to donate and sell and the ones you’re willing to toss and let the professionals handle it.
Prevent Clutter by Regulating Your Shopping Habits
Ultimately, the best way to avoid clutter is to not let it accumulate in the first place. Once your home is neat and clean, you’ll be more careful with your purchasing habits.
Between the decluttering tips on this list and your commitment against bringing in unnecessary items, your home will look effortlessly tidy every day.
