According to a recent report, 54% of individuals in the UK are living in “over-cluttered” homes and apartments. While this is hardly surprising, especially if you have lived in the same property for a number of years, it is something you must work to reduce where possible.
This is because clutter can:
- Mask serious maintenance issues in your home, such as mold build-up.
- Increase the dust in your home, triggering respiratory conditions and allergies.
- Detract from your home’s appearance.
- Negatively impact your mental health, heightening feelings of stress and anxiety.
Fortunately, there are plenty of steps that you can take to keep your home clutter-free. Read on to find out more.
Table of Contents
Start by going through all of your belongings
The first step to keeping a clutter-free home is getting rid of clutter! Go through your home one room at a time, and try to dispose of anything you no longer need or use. If you’re conscious about the amount of waste this could produce, you can donate anything that is still in good condition to a local charity. Many even offer free pick-up services for large or bulky donations, such as furniture, saving you a lot of time (and heavy lifting).
When decluttering, try to be as ruthless as possible. Being overly sentimental means that you’ll allow clutter to build up indefinitely, bringing your right back to square one.
Deep clean your home
If you’re looking to completely refresh your home during this time, deep-cleaning is a great way to do so. This can help to ensure that your home appears as clean, tidy, and organized as possible.
Again, this is something that you should try to tackle one room at a time, beginning with the spaces you feel are the messiest. This way, you can spread out the work over several days (or whenever you have time to deep clean) as opposed to attempting to clean your entire home from top-to-bottom in a single day. You should also assign tasks to each member of your household so that you don’t have to do everything alone.
Struggling with motivation when cleaning? Various studies have found that listening to music can help you stay focused while lifting your mood.
Invest in a storage unit
Investing in storage units is another great way to reduce the amount of clutter within your home without having to part ways with items that you’ll actually need and use. While you can store just about anything in a storage unit, they’re a great place to store seasonal items. For example, you could store Christmas and Halloween decor there during the winter, and summer items once the cold weather hits!
Focus on minimalism
Focusing on minimalism will help you to keep clutter at bay moving forward, due to the fact that it encourages you to be more intentional when it comes to buying things for your home. When you own less, there’s less chance of clutter building up, especially if you get into the habit of putting things away when you have finished using them.
Buy furniture that doubles up as storage
If you are trying to create more space within your home, buying furniture that doubles up as storage is a great starting point. It also means that you’re less likely to leave clutter lying around, as you have somewhere to put it! For example, if you’re decorating your bedroom, you may want to purchase a bench/seat that has a storage compartment hidden beneath the cushion.
Make use of your walls
Many people leave the walls of their homes ‘empty.’ However, doing so often means that you are failing to make use of all of the space you have available to you in your home. For example, it’s far better to build a media wall for your TV and electronics instead of letting them take up valuable floor space. On a similar note, installing shelves can also make it easier to find places to store your belongings.
Build a shed
If you’ve got the outdoor space to do so, building your own shed is another great way to reduce clutter in the home. This is because it means that, once again, you have a place to store items outside of your home, reducing the amount of clutter you’ll have to deal with. However, make sure that you maximize this space as opposed to simply throwing everything inside and slamming the door closed!
You may also want to use this as an opportunity to turn your garage, attic or basement into a more functional storage space by properly organizing this space. For example, this could be achieved by adding wall brackets or shelving units!
Spend ten minutes a day decluttering
Unfortunately, decluttering is not a “one-and-done” kind of task. It is something that you have to do on a regular basis, especially if you want to keep your home clean, tidy, and clutter-free. However, it does not always need to be a mammoth task, especially if you keep on top of it. One way in which you can achieve this goal is by spending ten minutes a day decluttering. For example, this could be as simple as quickly scanning a room before leaving, making sure that you’ve put everything back in its rightful place.
Teaching your children to do the same is a great way to minimise clutter, while also teaching them to be a little more responsible moving forward. When the time comes for them to move out later in life, they’ll also have developed healthy habits!
Final thoughts
If you’re reading this article while surrounded by a sea of clutter, you aren’t alone. However, the truth is, you’d be much happier if you did something about it as opposed to viewing it as something that you’ve got to learn to live with.
After all, reducing clutter can improve your mental and physical health while also ensuring that you are keeping your home in pristine condition. Furthermore, there are plenty of steps that you can take to reduce clutter within your home, including:
- Going through all of your belongings and disposing of or donating anything that you no longer need or use on a regular basis. Be ruthless!
- Deep cleaning your home to ensure that it is as clean and tidy as possible.
- Investing in a storage unit to store anything that you do not have space for until you need it again.
- Focusing on minimalism when decorating your home and being a little more intentional when buying anything new.
- Buying furniture that doubles up as storage so that you have more space to store away your belongings.
- Making use of your walls, such as by hanging wall brackets and shelves or creating a media wall.
- Building a shed to provide you with extra space to store away belongings.
- Spending ten minutes a day decluttering in order to eliminate clutter build-up in your home and ensure that all of your hard work pays off.
While the above list is by no means exhaustive, it is a great starting point for those who are currently feeling overwhelmed by the amount of clutter present in their homes. So, what are you waiting for? The sooner you get started, the sooner you can begin to enjoy the clutter-free home you’re dreaming of. Remember, it is not something that it is out of reach, but it is something that you have to work towards.
Think we’ve left something important out? Leave your best decluttering tips in the comment section below.
