Decluttering Top Tips!

By Maggie Swinburne

Creative storage solutions

From creating a sense of space and calm, to making daily cleaning jobs easier, there are plenty of benefits to de-cluttering. While you might be tempted to do it all in one go, there’s no harm in taking your time and carefully considering what you should keep.

Be creative with storage

It sounds obvious, but good storage will immediately clear a lot of unnecessary clutter from your house. Beds with drawers below and Ottomans with lids are invaluable for keeping towels, bed linen and other everyday items neatly concealed. If you don’t own furniture like this, inexpensive canvas boxes and wicker baskets will do the job just as well. Avoid piling things on the top of wardrobes or on the spare bed, as it’ll just look messy. Instead, put seasonal items like suitcases and Christmas decorations in the loft or garage until needed, and remember you can always hide smaller bags in bigger ones to save space.

Rotation, rotation, rotation

Museums and art galleries only display a selection of carefully-curated objects, drawn from their huge archives, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do the same with your own treasured possessions. Carefully select your favourite ornaments, candles and photographs and keep them out for a couple of months, before stowing them away and bringing out another set. You could rotate objects on a seasonal basis, with warming fur throws and cinnamon candles in the winter and beach-inspired bunting in the summer.

Clear the cables

In the age of mobile phones, tablets and other electronic devices, it’s no surprise that many of us have more cables than we need. Check to see if your phone charger could also be used for your tablet, and identify ones you do not need. Many of us hold onto old cables, even if the device has long since gone!

Where possible, share chargers with other members of your household and give away or recycle any you do not use. If you have too many cables around your TV or stereo, conceal them with inexpensive trunking, available at most hardware stores.

Get on top of your filing

Over time, it’s easy for paperwork to mount up, whether it’s bank statements, utility bills and –everyone’s biggest gripe – junk mail. Start by methodically looking through the pile, deciding which documents are essential (driver’s licence, house deeds and so on) and which are not (old bank statements and bills). If you’re comfortable using a computer, consider ‘going paperless’ for bills and contact Royal Mail or the Mail Preference Service to stop junk mail.

Once pared down, file important documents away alphabetically so they are easy to find, and remember to shred anything with your personal details on it.

Give it away

If we’re truly honest with ourselves, have we ever regretted giving an old jumper or coat away to a charity shop? Simply knowing it has gone to a good home is enough to give us a warm glow, especially when the proceeds helped a worthy cause. As you de-clutter, imagine how much use a friend or family member could get from your unloved furniture, crockery and other household items, especially if they are moving into their first home or upsizing.

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