Clutter is the cost of a busy lifestyle that leaves you no time to tackle with it. Besides the busyness, there can be many other reasons why it’s so hard to declutter your home. Maybe you are too tired or lazy to sort through your stuff. Or maybe there’s an underlying psychological reason (ADHD or hoarding disorder) stopping you from getting rid of stuff. Or maybe your partner or kid is a hoarder who never lets your home stay clutter-free for more than an hour.
Many people don’t look at decluttering as an essential part of their lives. And that is alright. Because we all are built differently and there’s no-one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to living your life.
The accumulation of clutter is a normal part of life. Stuff makes your life easier and makes your home more liveable for you and your family. But what when the same stuff that was supposed to make your life easier starts making it difficult for you to carry out the normal activities in your home? Imagine a scenario where you stop decluttering your home altogether only to realize after a while that there’s little to no space left in your house to walk around freely. And there are critters and spiders weaving their homes underneath the piles of clutter you’ve been accumulating.
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Now you may not have the time to declutter your home on a regular basis but still have the desire to return to a clean-looking place every day after work. We all do. Here are a few golden rules of decluttering that you can follow in your daily life to keep clutter at bay and to eliminate the need to declutter your home very often:
1. Ditch The Duplicates
Take a tour of your house and look for duplicates in the cupboards and drawers. You might find too many pairs of socks and innerwear that haven’t been worn in ages. Check for any duplicate items in your kitchen appliances cupboard and the junk drawer. There are chances you may find an extra pair of scissors or a brand-new food processor that is similar to the one that you use regularly. Donate or sell away duplicate items that you don’t need, or give them away to a friend or family member.
2. Get Rid Of Things You Haven’t Used In The Past Year
If you haven’t worn an item of clothing or an accessory in the last one year, chances are that you just don’t like it enough. Donate the clothes or books or kitchen utensils or anything else that hasn’t stepped out of the cupboard in the past year. Stop telling yourself that they might become useful someday because they likely won’t.
3. Give Every Item A Home Of Its Own
Don’t let an item in your house sit homeless or it will end up finding its way to random places. Get a key holder for your keys and a mail organizer for all the incoming mail. Keep a decorative basket in your living room for miscellaneous items like remote control, reading glasses, wallet, nail chipper and notepad.
4. Embrace Creative Storage Solutions
Make the best use of the space available in your house by getting creative with storage. Use underbed storage for off-season clothes, comforters and toys and utilize vertical spaces. Hanging closets can be a great option to utilize the vertical space in your closet besides hooks and hangers. You can also resort to vertical shelving to take advantage of the wall space.
5. Return Items To Their Rightful Place After Using Them
Don’t leave anything lying around after using it. It’s so common to leave your nail chipper on the coffee table or the dining table after using it. Don’t let clutter build up on flat surfaces and put things back to where they belong right after using them.
6. Digitize Wherever Possible
If paper clutter is a problem in your house, digitizing it can be the way to go. Scan every possible document or file to be stored digitally in folders on your desktop. If you have too many keepsakes, take pictures before getting rid of these items. Digitizing sentimental items makes it easier for you to look back and relive the memories whenever you want without having to keep the actual items.
7. Reassess Your Habits
If your home is way too clogged up with clutter, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your spending habits. If you buy things on impulse or without thinking much, try to adopt a more mindful approach to shopping. If you find it hard to control your urge to buy unwanted stuff, make it a habit to sleep on it before deciding whether to buy it or not.
For instance, if you see a model wearing a dress or a footwear while shopping online, give yourself at least 24 hours to think if you really need it or can do without it.
8. Stop Clutter At The Door
The easiest way to stop clutter from building up is to stop it right at the door. Be mindful of what you or your family members bring inside the house and make efforts to give every thing a home right away. Tell your spouse and kids to be mindful about their future purchases because it might add up to the clutter in your home.
9. Donate/Sell/Trash Immediately
Don’t ever let the box of decluttered items sit in your home for more than a day or they will end up finding their way back into your home. Take the Donation box to the donation centre immediately after decluttering. Take the trash out as soon as you are done decluttering and the Sell box to a thrift store near you.
Even the slightest bit of change in your lifestyle comes with tons of clutter. Be it the birthing of a baby, the kids growing up or a rise in family income, all of it calls for accumulation of clutter in your home. But by following these golden rules of decluttering, you can keep the clutter at minimum thereby making your home a lot more manageable.