Pic Credit: Pixabay
Good intentions notwithstanding, clutter happens to the best of us for one reason or another. One moment, your home is calm and organized. The next, there’s a cupboard you fear to open and a room where the floor hasn’t been seen in weeks. Between family life, work, and endless “useful” purchases, things can build up faster than you expect.
But here’s the good news: with a little forward planning and a lot of letting go, you can reclaim your space, and make your home more serene, more streamlined, and better for everyday life.
Start with a target
Before you start bulk-buying trash bags, ask yourself what you’re looking to achieve here. Do you want to turn the spare room into an office? Free up hallway space so you can get from the front door to the kitchen without tripping headlong over discarded shoes? Even if the end goal is making things less chaotic, having that end in mind is a big part of the reclaim.
When you have a goal, it makes it easier to say goodbye to things like the broken chair you were “going to fix”, or the chipped mugs that were full of character (and bacteria), or the stack of clothes that you don’t remember anyone actually wearing.
The power of waste disposal
Now it’s time for trash bags. Once you get stuck in, you’ll be surprised how quickly the “could come in useful” pile turns into a geographical feature with its own area code. This is where you have to be ruthless, and consider MW skip hire to force your hand a little. When there’s a large trash receptacle outside, it focuses the mind on what needs to go into it.
It also stops you worrying about how much you can get rid of in one go. Clear out the garage, empty the loft, and scout around the sides of the house for things that got left “for later”. And if you’re feeling guilty about throwing out so much, think on this: many refuse companies now recycle up to 90% of what they collect – so you’re not just dumping it, you’re letting it fulfil its potential.
Going room by room for stragglers
In the bedroom, start with the wardrobe. If an item hasn’t been worn in two years, it’s not likely you’ll wear it again. It can probably go to goodwill – but if you’re going to keep it, you need to wear it tomorrow. Otherwise you’re fooling yourself. Also, look at underbed storage for seasonal items. For the living room, cut back on cluttered surfaces. One remote for each item that needs it, and the others can go into a drawer. If you have six half-burned candles, pick a couple of favorites. The rest? Drawer.
In the kitchen, we all do that thing where we keep old takeout containers because they’ll be good for freezing leftovers. And then those containers live between the dishwasher and the counter, never really getting used. Recycle. For the kids’ rooms, get the little ones involved. Chat with them about donating some toys to those less fortunate, and implement a one-in-one-out policy going forward.
Once you declutter, your home opens up and life becomes less manic. You begin to see how space can be used productively. But initially it’s not a bad idea to live in a more sparse space so you can think about what you really need. And don’t beat yourself up if you’re back in the same place a year from now; we’re only human.
Note: This is a collaborative post
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