Years of beautiful memories can often turn into your worst nightmare as you walk into a spare room, office or your garage.
The thought of starting the process to declutter and sorting through your lifetime of items can be hard, and it can often be emotional as you let go of things that you no longer need but might hold a special place in your heart.
Now that the kids are back at school and you are ready to move into a new year fresh and excited for new possibilities a declutter can do wonders for your mental energy and can help claw back some much-needed space.
Here are our top tips for decluttering your home.
Have a game plan
Plan which areas of your home could benefit from a declutter. Write down the rooms or spaces that need your attention the most and start with the easiest win first. Once you have had one success, you are more likely to move on to the harder tasks.
Plan out if you will need a trailer or skip for certain areas of your home and book those in for specific days, perhaps on the weekend when you have the time and energy to do so.
Declutter in small, focused bursts
Think of your decluttering as a marathon, not a sprint. You are not going to clean up your entire home or garage in a day, so start with one section and work from there.
Set yourself a time limit of one hour to sort through a section of draws, etc. and once you have done that do something else that brings more fun.
Book in regular declutter sessions until you get to the level you want to be at.
Sort into practicality first and sentimental value second
We all have things that we struggle to let go of. But start with sorting things into practicality first and sentimental second.
Ask yourself questions like:
- Is this something I use daily, weekly or regularly?
- Is this something that I am likely ever to use again?
- If I get rid of this will it open up space in my life for something else, I enjoy?
- Could I give this item to someone else?
Sort into sections
Sorting out the things that we own can help us categorise them and know what to keep and what to get rid of. It can often be helpful to sort into four piles.
Keep, Sell/Donate, Store, Trash this will help you visually know what you need and what you don’t. Think about what these things add to your life, and if you need them and use them.
You can also use this mindset to help you decide what new things to bring into the home so that you don’t get overwhelmed with clutter in the future. Think about is it’s useful, does it add to your life and is it necessary.
Happy decluttering.