Clutter in our homes has proven to increase our levels of stress and anxiety. Home Edited shares her tips on how to declutter your home and keep it that way.
With our homes being used for working, schooling, entertaining, and everything else in between, as well as our sanctuaries, now is the time to take control.
Don’t get me wrong, mess happens. Toys everywhere after a play date; dishes on the side after a dinner party. These are simply a sign of a good time. It is the chaos behind all of this that needs confronting prior to calm being restored.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the process of decluttering; so be sure to keep realistic goals and always set aside the relevant time for each space.
10 step declutter your home checklist:
1. Bring like items together – allowing anything that comes into the home to be placed in their rightful place.
2. Create zones and defined spaces – makes for an easier reset on a regular basis.
3. Declutter one space at a time; make it achievable. This will empower you to tackle the next space.
4. Always take before and after pictures, just see how much you have achieved.
5. When decluttering a space, create piles for recycling, donating, and rubbish.
6. Have an exit plan – where are you going to donate, recycle and so on.
7. Create the habit and keep it up. Little and often makes a big impact.
8. Always ask yourself do I consider it useful or see it as beautiful? If neither applies, does itneed to stay?
9. Contain and label – invest in the right storage for the items and label appropriately. This allowsthe whole household to take responsibility of the spaces too.
10. Lastly and very importantly, make the time to reset on a regular basis.
Some tips on how to declutter certain spaces…
Tackling the bedroom
It is all in a habit. The small habit of making your bed on a day-to-day basis has a much bigger impact than you may realise. You start the day with conviction and focus. Starting a decluttering process with an unmade bed will certainly have an impact on how you feel about this particular space.
Spaces that get cluttered in our bedrooms are bedside tables and surfaces such as chest of drawers and dressing tables. Start with these spaces and remove any items that are destined for the rubbish bin, recycling or do not belong. Tackle each space one at a time.
Start with your bedside tables, then move onto the next space and so on. Any clothing that is around the bedroom which is meant to be hung, hang it. Items that need to be folded, fold it. And place in the spaces where they belong.
Wardrobes and/or chest of drawers
This can be a difficult space to tackle at times, however, with the right plan of action, this can be a rewarding and worthwhile detox.
Always start with tackling each clothing type. Bring all jeans together, all t-shirts, jumpers, and so on. Tackle one at a time. This will enable you to make informed decisions about items you no longer want or need by seeing all like items together. Create separate piles for donation and recycling, then get making those decisions.
Home Edited also suggests emptying your wardrobe and/or chest of drawers entirely and removing items that clearly do not belong. When deciding on an item to keep, place it in your wardrobe as you go, keeping like items together. That way, you’l have an organised wardrobe too!
Children’s toys and playrooms
This is a common category that Home Edited has tackled for our clients. A category that forever will frustrate us as adults and becomes overcrowded for our children.
We often believe that our children are unable to perform basic chores on their own, so we automatically jump in and do it for them. Always remembering the motto that there’s ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’ will allow your child to help keep spaces organised and decluttered.
The benefits of being organised and decluttered for adults are endless, so just think what affect this can have on our children.
Top tips for decluttering toys
Remove toys that are broken, have missing parts or are no longer age appropriate (and by doing this prior to big events such as Christmas or Birthdays you will create space for incoming toys)
Try not to overcrowd shelves or overfill baskets as this can be overwhelming. If space allows, consider rotating toys – this is a great way to help children get the mostout of their play time and toys. Invest in quality baskets that blend in wellm with your home aesthetic.
Label it – this helps with tidying up and knowing where the items belong
Utilising toy storage that is easily accessible is a must with children: simple and straight forward structures allow your child to take responsibility for their space as well as creating a space which is easier to clear at the end of the day. Again, children play and mess happens, but just remember a simple rule to make life easier for everyone: you choose it, you use it, you put it away. This is applicable for us all.
Always remember the WHY behind the decluttering process. The WHY behind the simplifying. For more time, more calm, more tranquility, more space and less chaos.Give it a go, you won’t look back!
If you would like further advice on how to tackle a specific space, get in contact with Kate at Home Edited. We can help take the stress out of a declutter and organisation, save you time, provide advice, recommend storage and furniture options, plan spaces so you get best/most out of the, and leave you with a refreshed home that will bring a sense of order and calm.
Follow Home Edited on Instagram @home.edited
Kate Edmondson is the founder at Home Edited, a specialist organisation and decluttering business in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
