The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering and Organising Your Home
 

Constant decluttering is key in keeping your home neat and organised!

Ah, clutter. It sneaks up on all of us, yes, even on the extremely organised ones! From clothes, school supplies to toys and more, it’s all too easy for clutter to pile up in your home. Fortunately, there are simple ways to stop clutter in its tracks. In this article, we’ve compiled our top decluttering and organising tips to help you along!

For most, decluttering or ‘spring cleaning’ as we commonly call it is usually a yearly affair but it shouldn’t be. In fact, the act of tidying up has become a way for people to take back control (at least of their homes) and strip back, overhaul and organise. For starters, we recommend trying it out once a month. If you have the energy and time, then a weekly decluttering and organising session is ideal as it allows you to really focus on the items you’ve tucked away in every corner of your home.

It's time to wave goodbye to stressful clutter and say hello to a tidy, streamlined home. Let’s go! 

Work out your game plan


 A decluttering checklist helps you determine what you need to do to create a space you love.

If you’ve been trying to clear out your spaces without a proper plan in place, hit the stop button! Before starting on the actual clean-up, ask yourself what you envision your home to be and how you can get there. It’s easy to pick up stuff and throw it out but organising your plan will help make the job less stressful, frustrating, and tiring.

To help you get started, get yourself a nifty planner and start jotting down your to-do list. This will keep you motivated and can be used as your weekly or monthly planner for decluttering. It’ll also help you keep track of all the spaces you’ve cleared out and have yet to clear. Furthermore, it’ll be satisfying to see your progress as you go along.

Divide and conquer


 Break the decluttering process down to sections and set a common goal for your family to follow!

Quit trying to declutter the whole house in a day! Instead of making this a daunting task, use your time and resources (aka family members) wisely and prioritise the areas that need the most attention first. Breaking it down into small, manageable chunks and setting timelines will allow you and your family to focus on the spaces you’re clearing at your own pace, without any unnecessary pressure.

Regardless of which room or corner of the house you choose to start with, the objective is to have these key pointers in mind before you start decluttering:

  • What are the things to keep in that room?
  • What are the items to throw?
  • Is there anything you can donate or give away to family members?
  • Are there items to keep? And if so, are they in the right place?
     

Having these objectives in mind will allow you to stay focused and stick to your game plan. It also makes the designating of spaces to family members easier as all of you will be focusing on a common goal in every space. 

Dealing with sentimental clutter


 Parting with sentimental items can be hard, but there are ways for you to keep them safe without the clutter. 

Photo albums, gifts, souvenirs, heirlooms...these are some of the sentimental items we all have at home and more often than not, these take up quite a bit of space. While throwing out the sentimental items isn't recommended, it’s a good idea to take a look at everything you have and decide which ones you’d like to keep or give away to other family members who may really want them.

If you prefer not to pass it down to family members, then it might be a good idea to include some of the more precious gifts and souvenirs into your showcase display at home. Photo albums tend to be the bulkier items from the lot and are also the ones that utilise most of your precious space. Instead of holding on to hard copies, why not digitise them?

Keep your photos and memories fresh and safe by saving all of them on your computer or a hard disk. Alternatively, you could also get yourself a handy digital photo frame to display your favourite pictures!

Get rid of paper clutter for good 


 You’ll be surprised how much space you’ll save without those pesky piles of paper everywhere in the house.

It’s no surprise that many of our homes are filled with paper clutter. From paperwork to bills, it’s easy to find our drawers filled with them.

Go through all the paper content you have that’s hidden away at the back of every drawer and decide if you need to keep any of those. For confidential content, do remember to shred before disposing.

If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to go fully digital! Opt for digital bills, statements and receipts to stop the pile-up of paper clutter at home. Over time, you’ll come to realise just how much space you’ve saved just by going paperless and your drawers will also be put to better use. 

Pay attention to untouched spaces 


 It’s easy to miss out on them but it’s the untouched spaces that usually require the most cleaning up.

Do you have things lying under your bed or above your wardrobe? You’re not alone. It’s common for many households to store their non-essential or older items at these spots.

From curtains to bedsheets and even luggage (that’s usually packed to the brim with old stuff), we often turn a blind eye away from these spots when in fact, these spaces can actually give us more room to keep your items out of sight.

Take everything out from under your bed and above your cupboards and ask yourself if you’ll be using these items any time soon. If your answer is no, then it’s best to compile these items and store them together neatly, discard or donate them if necessary. 

Organising is key

 
The beauty of decluttering is that you’ll have more storage space and with that, better ideas on how to organise your items in an orderly fashion. 

Once you’ve sorted and classified the unwanted items and completed your decluttering, let the organising begin.

You can either separate your items out by category or by usage. For instance, grouping your children’s books together with their art supplies in a box might be a good idea instead of keeping them in two separate boxes. This rule can be applied across all the spaces in your home and on all items — the idea here is to set a theme for easy organising and retrieving.

Alternatively, you can sort and store your stuff by its level of importance, in terms of usage. We recommend compiling the underused items together, and keep them away from your pile of commonly used daily items to avoid mixing and cluttering. For easier management, try stacking up storage boxes of the same size where possible for a tidy look. Be sure to label them clearly, especially if your boxes are not transparent. This will help you to save time when looking for things.

Decluttering is a great family activity as it gives your family members a sense of responsibility for their own space, and teaches the little ones the importance of cleaning up and keeping the house neat. Moreover, once you’ve successfully decluttered and organised your home, you’ll find yourself being more mindful of the things you buy, keep and store. After all, isn’t it everyone’s dream to have a home that is always spick and span?

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