Spring Clean: Decluttering Your Home
Spring has officially arrived, and now is a great time to clear out those things you don’t need and make some extra cash to fund your summer holidays!
Decluttering and throwing things out is easier for some than it is for others. Some people often clear things out, others hold on to things 'just in case'. No matter what your hoarding tendencies are, we’ve brought you some excellent tips for decluttering your home, which should make the whole process a lot easier.
Make a list
All productive organised thought starts with a good list – at least, we think so anyway! Jot down the areas you’re going to tackle first and allocate a certain day and amount of time to each task. Deciding to tackle everything in one day is counter-productive, and it’s unlikely that you’ll get it all done. Allocate an afternoon to clear out the clutter in your wardrobe, 40 minutes to tidy out the medicine cabinet, and a whole day to clear out the attic.
Be ruthless
Have you used the item in the past 6 months? Are you going to use it in the next 6 months? If the answer to both of these questions is no, then it’s likely that you could do without it. Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule, but many of us have a habit of clinging on to things we don’t need which are taking up valuable space in our homes.
If you’re not very good at throwing things out, put all of the clothes you’re not sure about in a vacuum bag, and put all of the items you’re thinking about throwing away into a box. Put the bag and box out of sight and re-visit it in 5/6 months’ time. The chances are, you won’t have even missed the stuff that’s there and everything can be thrown away.
Don’t go it alone
Asking friends or family members to help you with your spring clear out is a great idea. They can often bring a fresh perspective on how you organise your belongings, and help you with throwing things away as they are not emotionally attached to your items. Of course, you can offer to help them in return for their decluttering services.
Keep, throw away, give away, upcycle or sell?
All of your belongings can be sorted out into one of these five categories. Go through your house room by room and decide: which items you’re keeping, which ones you’ll recycle or take to landfill and which ones you’d like to donate to charity or give to friends. Are there any items that can be upcycled? And which ones are you going to sell on Preloved?
Create a filing system
If you haven’t already, create a system for filing important documents. The first step here is to sort out what’s important, and what can be thrown away (make sure to shred any documents with personal details on). Next, invest in some folders, or reuse some you already have, and create a labelling system in which everything can be sorted into. Get into the habit of using your new filing system regularly.
Toss away your toiletries
Many of us are culprits of storing bottles of shampoo and shower gel around the bath or shower. Make optimum use of all storage space in the bathroom and get rid of any toiletry bottles that you don’t need.
Increase your storage space
Having plenty of storage spaces usually increases your chance of holding onto things you don’t need, but if you’ve just finished decluttering and you think you could do with some extra room, why not invest in a shabby chic chest of drawers or some second hand storage boxes?
If you have any more spring decluttering tips, or if you’d like to share your decluttering progess, we’d love to hear from you! Email editorial@preloved.co.uk, or tweet us
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