A Clever Guide to Achieving an Organized, Clutter-Free Home

More than a mere chore, decluttering has become a massive home improvement trend for people across the globe in recent years.

Cleaning expert Nagisa Tatsumi reveals that when people are asked, “Which would you prefer to learn: cooking or cleaning?”, more actually say that they would rather learn about the latter. Why? Because it is difficult to enjoy all other aspects of home living in a cluttered home.

If you subscribe to the same belief that a clean house trumps a delicious meal, then here is a savvy guide to tidying up and decluttering your home that can help you get the best results and enjoy every minute you spend in your private living space.

1. Assess the rooms first.

The first step is to determine how much tidying up every room needs. In doing so, you will be able to figure out how you should effectively tackle cleaning and decluttering the different areas.

A professional cleaning company suggests making the dirtiest and most disorganized room the first priority. Starting off with the most demanding cleaning task is always a good idea because you will be able to accomplish more labor-intensive tasks while your energy level is still high.

Plus, once you’re done with the hardest part of cleaning, it becomes easier to breeze through the lighter, less time-consuming tasks.

2. Gather all the equipment you need for cleaning and decluttering.

You must make sure that all the things you are removing or putting away will go to their appropriate places. You can’t just have those things lying around and finding their way back to the areas you have cleared out.

So be prepared and have your cleaning equipment ready at hand; this includes the packing materials and boxes you will need for sorting and packing your belongings. When you have all of these within easy reach as you declutter one room after another, there will be a smooth flow to your cleaning and organizing process.

3. Label your packing boxes.

When decluttering, it’s crucial to segregate items properly. Labeling the boxes is the best way to do that. What should you label the boxes? “Throw Away,” “Sell,” “Donate,” “Keep,” and “Put in Storage.”

When you have different labeled boxes laid out before you in a neat row, sorting your possessions becomes easier thanks to the visual cues. It’s just a matter of picking up an item, selecting the box to place it in, and then repeating the process until you have gone through everything.

4. Identify storage solutions.

Controlling clutter and keeping your belongings organized is a breeze when you designate a place for everything. So your next step is to determine the most appropriate place for each item to go after editing your belongings and cleaning up the rooms.

You will discover that you now have a lot of freed-up space in different parts of the house and that you can use these as “official” storage solutions for particular items.

For example, once you’ve gotten rid of old newspapers and magazines that you used to keep in the storage ottoman in the living room, you can now use that free space to store extra pillows, throws for your couch and scented candles.

Furthermore, create a rule that no other items should be stored in that space. Do this for every item in your home, and you’ll have an easier time remembering where everything is and identifying when something isn’t where it should be.

For large furniture items and appliances that you currently have no use for, consider using a mobile storage solution. Not only will you keep those big and bulky household items out of the way, but you will be able to maintain and protect their good condition as well.

5. Create a new “clean home” culture.

Finally, a key component of maintaining a clutter-free abode is the culture observed at home. If you wish to keep your home clean without the stress, then you must teach all the members of the family to “contribute.”

• For example, teach the kids to bring their clothes hamper to the laundry room every Saturday morning so you don’t have to make the rounds anymore.
• Impose a “no empty hand when leaving a room” rule. This means that before anybody leaves a room, they should scan it first for things that should be thrown in the rubbish bin, or put back to their original place, or brought to the sink for washing.
• Another decluttering tactic to use is to clean as you go, such as when you’re cooking. While letting your dinner cook, wash the utensils you’ve used, put away the bags of ingredients, and properly dispose of the kitchen scraps.
• It would also help to make “purging” a weekly or monthly thing. Go through your possessions to see which items are still relevant to your current lifestyle, which are damaged, and which are plain rubbish and useless, and should be tossed out instead of taking up space.

There you go — a very easy and practical guide to cleaning and keeping your home clutter-free. Once you conquer clutter, you will enjoy your home more as a place for resting, relaxing and spending quality moments with the people who matter to you the most.

AUTHOR BIO

John Pfeiffer has been the proud owner of Ashtons Removals for over 40 years. His attention to detail, a product of his accountancy background, and his emphasis on training and empowering his team members, has ensured the vast number of Gold Coast families who have been moved by Ashtons Removals have had their furniture and effects moved undamaged and with minimum fuss.