Living simpler with less stuff is a great idea for many. However, homeowners usually start feeling anxious, defeated, and overwhelmed with the thought of possessing fewer home items, which is not good.
Whether you approach decluttering as part of your downsizing effort or switching to a simpler lifestyle, it’s a task that may seem daunting. However, knowing how to declutter your house doesn’t have to be as challenging as some perceive it to be.
Aside from organizing rooms, such as your bedroom, decluttering has many benefits. When you declutter, you can have fewer things to clean and maintain at home. Likewise, decluttering isn’t just about making your home tidier. For a lot of people, decluttering can have beneficial effects on mental health.
Because decluttering has a lot of advantages, it’s good if you also become aware of some easy ways to do it. This article will tackle precisely that, so read on.
1. Dump, Donate, Or Sell
Begin your decluttering by ridding of home items that aren’t needed or helpful anymore to you and your family. Sort them once and for all. The ideal way to do this is to arrange your items into three groupings—those that need to be dumped, donated, and sold.
These three groups will make the sifting process more organized. So, chuck out the dated items you’ve clutched onto for that non-existent, ‘assumed’ day, donate items to friends or charity organizations, or sell items on the internet and generate a small amount of money. The latter can be dreary, but different applications and web platforms allow selling to be much less complicated by only using your mobile phone.
When selling items, be honest when listing and describing them. Ensure that any faults or damages have been clearly outlined and pictured, and have as many images as you can of the items in general—it helps prospective buyers to see what they’re about to get and minimizes the chance of having problems along the way.
Likewise, some online venues on which you can sell your items can be Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Decluttr.
Also, dumping unnecessary items is part of decluttering. As such, take a look at a garbage removal business or other services online for those in Sydney’s eastern suburbs or other places to help with this task.
2. Create A List And Have Photos Before And After You Declutter
You can begin by writing a list of the rooms to declutter and concentrating on the ones you use most and the ones that bring the most challenge. Then within that room, do a general and intensive cleaning to get rid of items that are no longer useful and take up much of the space therein.
After that, you can choose one room in your home, such as your kitchen counter, bedroom, or living room, and take pictures of it. Immediately clean off the items in the photo and take an after-photo.
By contrasting the two photos before and after the room was decluttered, you can see how clean and attractive a place can be after it has gone through a proper cleaning process. It is not necessarily essential, but if you want to track your progress, it can allow you to be motivated to begin clearing more space in other parts of the house.
3. Look For New Areas For Better Storage
Decluttering isn’t only focused on throwing items away. It’s also about finding ways to organize and store everything you want to maintain. And so, ask yourself this question: Is there maximized storage in my house?
The answer to this might include reconsidering the fittings in your walk-in closet so that it can accommodate the items you often use and let go of those you don’t. Also, consider using areas such as the area beneath the bed that has not been utilized initially. Either way, you’ll probably have to opt for ideal storage buys to keep the place clutter-free.
It’s also best to note that the ideal storage is organized into subject groups—such as all out-of-season clothes in one group, which you can identify immediately. Likewise, you might also need space-saving alternatives, such as stackable boxes, furniture that doubles up as storage, like an ottoman with a lift-up lid, and vacuum-packed bags. Remember that lids or covers are a better safeguard from dust, bugs, and dirt than open storage.
Final Words
There can be many benefits to decluttering your house. You can benefit from having fewer home items to clean and organize. Moreover, it can also help you have less stress.
Likewise, decluttering your house, which can help declutter your life, doesn’t have to be complicated. You can take note of some easy ways, such as those in this article, to make the process of home decluttering less challenging.
Overall, consider the information above to help make your home tidier and simpler.