Warmer weather and sunnier days – summer has started, and perhaps cleaning your house is the last thing you have in mind. However, and especially if you have skipped the spring cleaning, summer is a another opportunity to make a fresh start an declutter your home.
Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organising your home? Decluttering can be a hard job but it can also be less difficult than you might expect – just get started with these four simple and fundamental steps.
Start on a smaller scale.
As the old saying goes: “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Decluttering an entire house cannot be done quickly. Don’t expect it to. It probably took you many years to accumulate stuff, and it will take time to organise them too. Remember that there is no rush. The best thing to do is to commit to starting with one room – by proceeding step by step, things will be easier.
Separate items properly and think eco friendly at all times.
When you begin to declutter your home, separate the things you want to keep and the stuff you want to bin into different boxes. Be choosy and keep only items that you like or that are genuinely useful. If you haven’t worn that coat for over a year, you probably won’t need it anymore.
But be aware that “throw away” always means making either a charitable donation or finding out about local recycling points. If you live in London you could use a site like Recycle For London to see what you can recycle where.
Only items with no value and no potential for recycling or repurposing should end up in a landfill. Executing this step properly can be quite a daunting task and is often the very reason people don’t throw out their things.
To take some of the pain out of the process you could use the services of a specialised clearing agency that is committed to recycling, suggests Rufus Hirsch from Clearance Solutions. “Removing unwanted goods this way requires better planning, more dedication, labour and effort, but we think it’s worth it”.
Clean first, buy later.
Cleaning and buying tend to go together. For each thing we get rid of, we are very likely to buy something new to replace it with. But again here you need to be patient. Don’t start buying tons of stuff to replace older worn items before you sort through your home. Beside creating total chaos in the house, there is a risk that you might end up buying things that you don’t need – leading yet again, to clutter. If you feel you need the reward of new things to keep you motivated during your decluttering, why not plan out a Pinterest board with ideas for your new spaces in the meantime and start looking online for suggestions.
Complete each zone before moving on the next.
Once you have decided what to start with, it is always good to create a sort of “to do” list as well as a schedule. This will help you “zoom in” on a room or space and just focus on one part of your home. Then make a point of finishing that task before moving on to the next one.
Ensure your schedule is not too strict and fits in with your life. This is supposed to be a rewarding experience – not feel like punishment!
Celebrate!
Decluttering is no small feat. Ensure you celebrate your achievement. Why not have a dinner party to show off your updated, streamlined, “lighter” home? You could even kill two birds with one stone and use this as an opportunity to offer your guests any of the items you’ve decided to throw out.