How to declutter your life in 2017
At the beginning of this year I promised myself I would declutter my whole house so that in 2017 I would have a fresh space. Decluttering can be very therapeutic for the mind. For me when the house is clean and decluttered, in a strange way my mind also feels decluttered to I am much more relaxed which in turn actually makes me more productive too. I have finally decided to be rid of everything that I no longer need or I'm just holding onto for the sake of it. Now this applies to all aspects of my house, my makeup collection, the kids and my own wardrobes, the kitchen, the toys and even that one drawer in the house where the 'i have no actual place or use' drawer, that one drawer that is just full of nonsense.
I have got through almost every room in my house at this stage and with doing so I've picked up some handy tips and tricks to help you also do the same at the end of the day it's important to remember that your house is a living space not a storage place.
Okay so let's get real for just one second. I know cleaning is not fun either is taring out a whole wardrobe full to the brim of clothes and creating and even bigger mess to sort through. I get it but you know that feeling you get when you have finally sorted through the wardrobe and you've finally thrown out that top you we're hanging onto for 5 years in hopes it would come back into fashion? Well... imagine that feeling in every room as you walk through you house. Its just pure bliss.
Tip 1
So getting started can often be the hardest part. What I done was make a list of all the rooms in my house but in order of which room had the most sorting out. Tackle the worst room first as that is when you are the most motivated. For me it was the kids room simply because of toys and clothes.
Tip 2
Stick with one job at a time. This is one definitely comes from experience let me tell you. There has been so many times I have gone into a room to sort it out and hopped from job to job like pouring all the toys out onto the floor to start, then opening the wardrobe and start to pull out clothes that no longer fit before I know there is a huge pile of clothes on the floor along with the toys and it all just becomes very overwhelming. So for example if your starting of with the toys stick with it until you have them sorted, bagged and put away.
Tip 3
Creating a system can be the key to having your life decluttered in 2017. Depending on the type of decluttering I'm doing I will either sort things into piles or boxes. There is 3 boxes the keep box, the throwaway box and the giveaway box. Jobs can become much easier when there is a system in place. So when I take an item of clothing out I can then decided whether I want to keep it, throw it away or give it away.
Tip 4
This next is especially great for places like the kitchen or when sorting out your makeup etc. Ask yourself these two question. Is there an expiry date? When was the last time I used it?
Do you know how many tins of random sauce or sachets of chicken stew mixes were out of date? Well either do I but there was enough. Enough space that by the time I cleared the presses I freed a whole bottom shelf.
Asking yourself, when the last time you used something, is a great way to throw out things that your holding onto unnecessarily. The general rule of thumb is if you haven't used it in the last 6 months then get rid of it. A great way to do this with cloths is if after a declutter you face all your clothes to the left and after you wear it hang it to the right by the time your ready to declutter again you will already have a fair idea of the clothes you haven't worm etc. You can use this method for all sorts of stuff like dvds, books etc.
Tip 5
This next tip is to prevent you from having to do such timely declutters next time around. Set aside a half hour each week or every 2 weeks whichever suits you to quickly go through each room of your house to be on the look out for any clutter spots that seem to be accumulating. So if yous tart to see under the stairs starting to be used a storage again quickly sort everything back to where it should be and you will never need 2/3 hours again to tackle under the stairs.
I have 1 or 2 rooms left in my house to do but it honestly feels so amazing to have got rid of the majority of clutter in the house. Over one year you would be surprised by the amount of unnecessary items and products you are holding onto.
In the wise words of Anna and Elsa ''Let it go''.
Until next time,
Lisa.
x
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