Decluttering and tidying up are my favourite. We used to live in a 2 bedroom property as a family of 4, so I became an expert in clever storage solutions and regular decluttering and even when me moved to a bigger home, it stuck! Here are my tips for anyone just starting their decluttering journey and for those who need some inspiration to keep going.
1. Begin with anything that doesn’t belong to you. By that, I mean return the denim jacket you borrowed from your sister. Give back your Dad’s pressure washer (have you seen what those things do to water bills anyway)! Just hand back the pile of DVD’s your colleague lent you a year ago, that you’ve never watched… they’re probably all on Netflix now anyway!
2. Go room to room removing anything that’s out of place. Start with surfaces and items that are in view at all times. Do you still love the ornaments you bought when you first moved in or are they just annoying to dust now? Tidy paperwork away and recycle those random envelopes. If it’s out on the side and it shouldn’t be, put it away, fix it if that’s what it needs or get rid of it. Empty each cupboard (one at a time) and check that you still need everything inside, you might even find some long lost treasure!
3. Clean as you go. Each time you clear a shelf, box or cupboard, wipe it down before refilling. Pull out floor standing furniture to make sure nothing has slipped down the back and while you’re there, dust or hoover behind it.
4. Clothing and footwear. If you have children, start there. Recycle anything that’s too stained or torn to be worn any longer, bag up outgrown clothes to be sold on Vinted, Facebook Marketplace, passed on to other children or donated to charity. Get them to try things on before you pack them away for the season, if it won’t fit next year, don’t keep it.
When it comes to your clothing, potentially that’s a bigger job. If you’re a fashion fan, you might have clothes spanning decades hidden in the depths of your wardrobe. If that’s the case, why not channel your inner Carrie Bradshaw and invite some friends round to help you decide what to keep, sell and donate. Be honest about things that need repairing, if you aren’t going to repair it (or take it to a seamstress), it might be time to recycle it.
5. The big stuff. If your shed is full of old bits of wood, mouldy/outdated car seats and buggies or numerous paint cans that are long past their best, you may want to consider hiring a skip. Aside from decluttering your home, it can be very therapeutic and satisfying to throw a broken chair or a heap of ancient curtains on to a growing pile of stuff that is leaving your property! A reputable skip hire company will ensure that the contents of your skip is properly disposed of and will endeavour to recycle as much waste as possible.
Good luck with the decluttering, let me know how you get on!
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