5 Steps To Decluttering Your Home

31 Aug 5 Steps To Decluttering Your Home

If your ‘Spring Clean’ feels like a lifetime ago, why not start your next round of decluttering. If you’re thinking of moving from a home you’ve lived in for a number of years, the chances are you have accrued a lot of belongings. Don’t let it get out of hand, and throw away/donate things you no longer need. This will make your home feel much more like a home and less like a storage unit.

We’ve put together some simple steps to help you get through it.

Be prepared!

Plan your assault. Make a list of the rooms you want to declutter and prioritise them. It doesn’t need to be the whole house, make sure your list is achievable so you don’t get beaten by the task at hand. Make sure that your list includes the most affected areas of your home – they could be whole rooms or specific areas – we all have that one drawer in the house!

Start fresh

Try and clear out the room entirely to begin with. This will mean that you have a clean slate on which to start your project. We’re not necessarily talking about heaving large pieces of furniture around, but give yourself some space.

Sort your items into categories, ornaments, bills etc. this will allow you to visualise the task more clearly and get rid of entire categories of clutter at a time.

Decisions, decisions…!

This is the hardest part, but you have to be ruthless. Obviously you have kept certain things for a reason, whether it’s sentimental, nostalgic, or emotional; we make excuses for keeping things that we don’t need.

The question to ask is; do I need it now? Will I need it soon? Am I likely to need it in the future? Remember that dress you haven’t worn in years, the lamp that doesn’t fit in anymore – do you really need to keep hold of them?

Sometimes having someone else present can help with decisions you find tough – invite a friend or family member round. By the end of this step you should have a large pile of items you don’t need and a couple of much smaller piles of things you want to keep.

Charity and ebay

So the items you don’t want to keep don’t necessarily have to go in the bin. Remember the saying – “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Take your pile of things you’re getting rid of and sift out anything that might be of value to someone else – maybe it’s a vintage jacket in good condition or a retro videogame console in high demand. Decide whether to advertise it for sale on something like Shpock, E-Bay or Gumtree or donate it to a charity.

Just remember not even charity shops will be able to make money from items in poor condition – those items need to go in the bin.

Reinventing your space

Now that you’ve gotten rid of the clutter you can get on with the fun part! Start by placing your furniture and larger pieces back in the room before building the rest of the room’s look. This will give you focal points in the room and help you find suitable places for your remaining items – make sure everything has its own place where it will be used or appreciated.

We specialise in providing the best possible mortgage service and have an extensive network of housing professionals with whom we work closely to cover all aspects of moving house. So, if you are thinking of buying or moving house and need some mortgage or protection advice why not drop us a line on 01753 439000 or email us. You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

photo credit: By PlusONE