Decluttering Made Simple
There are a number of reasons why you should declutter your home, for example, the extra space you will find yourself with as well as the money you will save. By simplifying and decluttering your home, it makes it easier to stick to the principles of a zero-waste lifestyle. When you have fewer things, it means there is less to worry about it’s sustainability. You will find doing so much easier if you make it fun for yourself, so here are a few tips to get you started.
To begin with, it is important to understand the reasons why decluttering your home is so important. Firstly, it gives you more space. Having an unorganised environment can be distracting and unmotivating when you are trying to get work done. For example, if you work from home or are a student trying to get your essay done, it is important to have the right working environment, which includes a clear, tidy desk. Another reason why you should want to declutter your home is that you will have a deeper appreciation for the things you do have. When you take more time to decide what you want to purchase, you tend to love them more. You will also find yourself going out to shop a lot less regularly and therefore you will have more time for yourself and others. An important reason to mention is the amount of money you will save. In 2015, the US self storage industry made an estimated revenue of $31.6 billion, with nearly 10% of American homeowners renting out a self-storage unit. Those who don’t rent out storage units have to purchase wardrobes, shelves and other storage boxes to hold all their items.
The first thing you need to be aware of when decluttering your home is how to do so. it’s a great idea to start with just 5 minutes at a time sorting your items into categories. Ask yourself “have I used this in the past 6 months?” if the answer is no, it generally goes into the ‘get rid of’ pile. Otherwise, it can stay. Then figure out whether your items are in good enough condition for it to be given away to someone else. There are a number of ways in which you can give your items away to others, such as your local charity shops or selling them online. If you find you have an item which takes up a lot of space but is something you want to keep, you can consider swapping this item for a smaller version on an app such as Swapabee. This app lets you list your items and swap them for someone else’s by either sending them in the post or meeting up with them in person. Another way in which you could utilise the app Swapabee is to swap more than one of your cheaper items for a more expensive item. This will minimise the number of things you have in your home without having to throw anything out to landfill.
There are extensive lists floating around the internet which can give you ideas of which items in your home are likely able to be thrown out, for example, Tupperware boxes and old makeup you had forgotten you have. The general rule with spices is that they last 4 years, so throwing out your old herbs and spices could be a quick way to get started. With guidance from these lists, it’s a great idea to create your own decluttering checklist and personalise it to what you need to work on.
When it comes to your bathroom, you most likely have many beauty products that have gone way past their use-by date. I think the best way to start would be to go through your medications and throw away anything that is expired, then move on to your cabinets and take everything out. have a good look at everything in front of you and assess whether they are still useful to you and if they are in date and throw out accordingly. Then put everything straight back into the cabinet and pull out your drawers, again seeing whether there is anything you need to throw out, and move on to another area of your bathroom.
Sometimes the idea of decluttering your home is a lot more appealing than actually doing so. To keep you motivated, you could take a before and after a photograph of an area in which you’re tidying. Take a small area of your home such as a kitchen counter and take a photo, after tidying the items away that were in that image, take another photo and see the difference. This is a good way to show you how your home could look. Now keep going! You’ve got this! Another way to get motivated is to ask a friend to help. It is always easier to do anything if you have a friend to chat with along the way. If not, play music or listen to a podcast so you don’t get bored so easily.
When decluttering your home it’s always important to remember why you are doing it. Keep reminding yourself that by doing so, you are creating a space for yourself to live in which is enjoyable and comfortable. Using these starting tips, you should have a good idea of where to start in your decluttering journey. Take your time during this process and reward yourself after doing each section of your house, it won't be an overnight process but the pros definitely outweigh the cons with this one. Good luck!
This article is in association with SWAPABEE. An environmental app company that allows anyone to swap their items for others. Create an account and start swapping today at https://swapabee.co.uk/.