I don’t know about you but, for me, a tidy home is a happy home. In fact, I can get stressed out really easily if my home is a mess or feels over-stuffed with my belongings. So, it’s always one of my personal goals to minimise the clutter and maximise my storage systems to ensure that my home is a relaxing space throughout the year.
Here are the links to my other New Year’s goals blog posts in case you want to check them out, including how to buy your first home, ways to be more creative this year and how to plan a thrifty and sustainable wedding. But right now, I’m sharing some tips to help you go from being ‘stuffocated’ by your belongings to a clean, tidy and peaceful space in no time at all:
Clear the clutter
The trouble with clutter is that we don’t notice it building up until it becomes a problem. It’s easy to stow things away and think “I’ll deal with that later,” but we rarely get round to it. So, if this happens multiple times during the year, it’s no wonder that you might be looking around your house in January and thinking that you’d like to declutter the stuff that’s now spilling out of every drawer and cupboard.
So, let’s tackle those over-stuffed storage units and get your belongings back down to a manageable amount. The key here is to minimise your stuff without getting rid of anything that you particularly need or really love. One way that I like to approach decluttering is to decide what I want to keep rather than what I need to get rid of. Imagine you’ve removed everything and just need to select which things to put back in the room – it feels much easier to choose what you want rather than having to ‘give up’ something.
There will definitely be items that are easier to part with than others. For example, photographs and gifts can feel sentimental and you might not want to get rid of them. No problem – keep hold of them! Or, if you really don’t need or want it, you could take photos to remind yourself of the item but then let it go. Things that will be easier to declutter are broken items that can’t be repaired, books you’ve finished reading, clothing that you haven’t worn in the last year, and obsolete technology.
But don’t just throw away the things you’ve decluttered; you can donate things that are still in good condition to charity and you can even make cash from recycling your old phone, trading in your books online and selling collectables through auction sites. Always consider if it’s possible to make some money from the things you’ve cleared out, as an extra stash of cash in the savings pot is always handy. Plus, you might need it to buy some storage solutions for the stuff you’re keeping…
Add super storage
Once you know what you’re going to keep and have donated, sold or recycled the excess, you can take stock and see exactly what you’ve got left. This will be the basis of the storage solutions you’ll need in your home. And once you’ve got the correct amount of storage furniture for your items it not only keeps them tidy and out of sight, but it also helps to prevent recluttering.
Here’s an example – if you’ve minimised your clothing and cleared out anything you don’t wear or that’s in too poor condition to repair, you’ll have a ‘capsule’ collection of clothes that you love and enjoy wearing. So, to keep these in good condition and easily accessible so that you can actually wear them, why not invest in the correct storage solution?
I have fitted wardrobes in my bedroom with built-in drawers, and the rails hold exactly the right number of hangers for the pieces of clothing that myself and my husband own. This helps to prevent recluttering because we can’t fit anything new into the wardrobe without first getting rid of something, which also makes us think twice about making new purchases – another money-saving tip! If you choose a mirrored style it’ll help the room to appear bigger and bridge, or go for a wardrobe with sliding doors to save space.
Spring clean
Okay, I know we’re still in the midst of winter, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t complete your decluttering journey by giving the house a top-to-toe clean. Honestly, you’ll like you’ve achieved your goal to cut the clutter and get organised even more so if the rooms are clean and smelling fresh. There’s nothing more satisfying than walking into a room where everything has its place, the surfaces are clear and your room is clean.
So, get out the vacuum or mop and zip around the room with it – and actually move furniture if you need to get behind or under it to really clean the floors. Then check out the condition of the windows. I find it shocking whenever I inspect my windows in January as the winter seems to flood in at exactly the right angle to highlight all the smears and smudges. So take down and launder those curtains (if they’re washable) and squeegee the windows. Wipe all the surfaces of your furniture and actually use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum to refresh the sofa.
Doing a quick spring clean really finishes off the task of decluttering and organising your home, making you feel satisfied that the job has been done well. It’s like a reset for the new year and means you can continue to enjoy your year without the stress of clutter piling up or the rooms getting messier and muckier.
Let me know how you get on with your decluttering and minimising journey in the comments below. And please share your hacks for spring cleaning or clearing out your wardrobe etc so that we can all benefit from your experiences. Thanks! 
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