One of the fastest ways to have more living space is to declutter your home. Not only does it make living quarters more attractive, but it also gives you more room to move around and be comfortable in the house you already have. Here are the top five ways to painlessly declutter your living area.
1. Categorise your Belongings
First of all, you need to categorise your belongings. What treasures do you need to keep? Separate those things that are valuable from those that are unneeded or unwanted. You’ll also likely find items in your home that can simply be discarded because they’re broken or not in good shape. In any case, seeing what you have and categorising it is a good place to start.
2. Give your Unwanted Items Away to Friends & Family
You need to decide what you are willing to get rid of. If you simply have too much stuff, like so many of us, take pictures of the items you are willing to give away to relatives or friends. If you have duplicates of anything, get rid of one. Send the pictures out to relatives who you think may like or need particular things. You can also post your pictures on social media so that loved ones can see what you’re trying to get rid of. Then, give your possessions away to the first person who says they’ll take each item. If they live close by, they can come pick it up. If not, have your friends or relatives get them during their next visit so you don’t have to incur shipping costs.
3. Sell your Stuff Online
You can also sell your more valuable stuff online. Facebook Marketplace and TradeMe are just two options for getting rid of your clutter and putting real money in your pocket. It is relatively the same process. You take some nice photos of your merchandise from various angles, and then sell it online. Keep in mind that it does take a time commitment to photograph, list, and ship out unwanted household goods. If you’re not up to it, you might want to consider giving them away instead.
4. Give to Charity
If you have clothing or housewares that you can’t sell online and that no one you know wants, consider making a charitable donation. That’s a great way to make use of items that are still in good shape. Many organisations will accept donations that are then given to people in need. This allows you to scale down your belongings and help someone else at the same time. If you haven’t used an item in the last year or so, you should consider getting rid of it.
5. Throwout all the Junk
Your next step is to throw out the junk that you don’t want, and no one else can use. This would include old, tattered or broken household goods. It’s easy to fill a trash bag or two with these sorts of things and take them to the garbage. Recycle anything that is able to be recycled. There’s no sense in keeping around broken toys or plates. The more you can throw out, the better your home will be when you’re finished.
A strategy for tackling your clutter is important. It’s easier to work on one room or even a portion of a room at a time. How much you can get done in a day depends on how much extra stuff you have and how quickly you are able to deal with it. If you assign yourself one room of your house per day, you might just be decluttered by the end of the week.
Once you’ve downsized, you should make an effort to keep the number of your possessions down. When shopping, think about where you will place or store your purchases in your home. Get rid of an item whenever you bring in a new one. If you carefully consider everything you bring into your life, then you can win the war on clutter.
Streamlining your home will simplify your life. Not only will your living area seem larger, but it will be easier to find those possessions that you choose to keep. Decluttering may not be the most enjoyable activity you ever do, but it does come with many benefits that are easy to see. When you look around your spacious rooms, with a few personal treasures displayed, you’ll discover the happiness that comes from having less instead of more.