Eliminate Clutter In 5 Steps

Top Ways To Declutter

Nobody enjoys having to deal with clutter in their home. Clutter can keep you from relishing in a space that’s truly clean and it can make it hard to feel productive. We can all benefit from a proper decluttering in our homes – the less mess we have can make a big impact on reducing our overall stress. Here’s the lowdown on how to best organize your home with some decluttering tips.

1. Don’t Think, Just Clean

Start by cleaning your surfaces. Take everything residing on your desk or other similar surfaces off, wipe all of your flat surfaces down and remove dust buildup. Wipe all of your items and only return the most essential items. Removing excess clutter early on will help you define what you need to keep and what needs to leave your home. Start small and work your way up to the larger, more difficult piles taking up space in your life and home. For the non-essential items that you still need to access, organize them in a drawer, or decorative storage box that can be placed in an out of the way but accessible location.

2. Sort Everything You Have

Take your teeming piles of documents files, clothing, books, and other non-essential or needed items and sort through them, one pile at a time. Be merciless, we can’t stress this enough. If you can easily access it elsewhere or you don’t think you’ll be using it again, throw it out or donate the item.  Once you’re left with smaller piles, designate them to a home. Put them in a basket hidden from sight or keep them tucked away in a box or a file cabinet. Sorting through everything is a great way to make an inventory of your belongings. It’s important to find homes for everything out of place – otherwise, they’ll be free to take up space elsewhere and clutter up your world.  

3. Continually Purge

We tend to associate times of purging with seasonal changes like spring cleaning. The reality is we should be cleaning and purging on a consistent basis. Preventing build-up is essential to reducing clutter and that can be done by regularly taking your clothes and other items to a secondhand shop or clothing swap, slowing down purchases and giving away things that you no longer have a use for. The thought of having to purge and declutter your entire home can also be daunting! Start one room at a time, set a reminder in your calendar every two weeks to purge and organize your home and you’ll be surprised at just how many things you’ll be getting rid of. 

4. Set Up Decluttering Systems

If you don’t use systems to immediately take care of clutter, it can grow in ways you won’t be able to control later. Clutter has a tendency to set in, so it’s important to devise systems to help keep it to a standstill. If they’re set up properly, these systems can help you purge clutter with ease. For instance, paperwork should be divided immediately into filing storage or shredded and recycled when you’ve gone through them so they don’t take up space elsewhere. Keep magazines and books out of sight if they’re not being read. 

5. Integrate More Storage Options

More often than not, clutter is the result of a lack of space of storage to house them.  Where are your items going? Where can they go? Create storage spaces like vertical wall shelves or racks that go up or use baskets and hooks to maximize your storage opportunities and make your home feel less cluttered. If possible, build cabinets that sink into your walls instead of stick out. Use those cabinets to build multiple compartments to organize and store items and keep your place looking clean. 

Adding more storage to your home is not always possible. When you have items that are cluttering your space that you need to store but do not have room for, consider renting a storage unit.  Clutter can wreak havoc in your everyday life, so taking a few of these tips to heart and working to eliminate clutter in your home will leave a big impact in your daily mood and help you save more time in the long run while allowing you to enjoy the space in your home. 

Looking for more space to store your beloved belongings? Contact our experts at 780-469-7867 for a tour of our storage locations.