From broken items you promise you’ll fix one day to mementoes from that special holiday, it can be easy to let things pile up in your home without even realising.
Every so often, it’s important to give your homes a good clean and, in the process, get rid of things that are taking up valuable space.
Here, Michelle Ogundehin, Editor at Large at ELLE Decoration and self-confessed colour fiend, shares her top 10 tips that will refresh your home in an instant…
1. Take stock of what you already own
My number one absolute rule is actually a reverse decluttering tip, it is simply, always store like with like. It means you’ll always know exactly how many batteries, bulbs and bin bags to stamps and sweaters, post-it notes to pots you have, therefore you’ll never buy more than you need in the first place! It also means that you can easily find anything and everything when you’re in a hurry as there’s nothing more annoying than shelling out for something only to discover you had plenty already.
Plus, it’ll stop you succumbing to ‘special offers’ that aren’t remotely advantageous if you don’t need said item. This is a particularly good sale rule for clothes, as it’s remarkable how many bobble hats, pairs of black tights, navy jumpers you’ll find you already own if you diligently group them together.
2. Focus your attention on one thing
When the mood to declutter strikes, contain yourself to one thing to purge, such as newspapers and magazines or your wardrobe, rather than randomly attacking the house, or even a room, as a whole. If you do the latter you’ll soon be either overwhelmed or bored. If you focus your efforts, it’s more achievable and there’ll be a rewarding sense of completion when it’s done, which might even inspire another round of clearing!
3. Get into the right mindframe
My personal rule of thumb on assessing whether to bin, recycle, give-away or keep anything is to imagine you’re moving house, could you live without it and/or would you pay someone to carry it up three flights of stairs? Answer yes to the former, away it goes. Answer yes to the latter, and you can hang onto it.
4. Don’t fall into the ;well-it-might-come-in-useful-one-day’ trap
The ‘well-it-might-come-in-useful-one-day’ mode of thinking is the death of a good declutter. Ask yourself, could it really not be re-sourced or inexpensively re-bought should that heady day ever materialise?? Toilet rolls, spare boxes, old wallpaper rolls do not, repeat, not, come into this category… get rid and recycle! The only exception might be if you have small children and wet weekends are shortly forecast in which case old boxes can rapidly become quite splendid rockets in which to fly to the moon!
5. Store your memorabilia mindfully
I don’t believe in notions of scanning everything into a computer file, you’ll never look at it and it kills the joyful physicality of such mementoes. Instead, buy yourself a matching set of pretty cardboard boxes (the sort of thing you can pick up easily at Paperchase or a large newsagents) and contain all your bits and pieces inside these. It’s fun to regularly read through old letters, thumb through childhood diaries and look at old pictures. And each time you do it, you’ll probably be happy to let something go, so it’ll reduce organically over time. It also means you’ve created a dedicated place for such things when you inevitably have new things to add.
6. Cut down on space taken up by CDs and DVDs
Keep these too but decant them all from their boxes into Muji’s super handy CD wallets. Cut the picture from the front of the DVD wrapper to pop in front of the disc, and store by genre. It’s amazing how much space you can save by doing this, and immensely satisfying because it’s so quick to do.
7. Go through your books
Only keep books that you either consult regularly (eg: cookbooks, reference books etc), would read again, lend to a friend, or pass onto your children. Everything else must go! Ruthless but valid.
8. Access your foodstuffs
Rule number one applies here too. Store like with like to avoid an unnecessary stockpile of dried apricots. And at least twice a year pull everything out to check use-by dates and do a swift inventory. Ancient packet of teff flour? Perhaps time to let it go.
9. Do you really need those broken things?
Unless broken items can be fixed instantly with a tube of super glue, or you are about to retire, get rid. Be honest with yourself, how long has that vase/chair/old toy been in the basement/garage? Quite. Life is sometimes just too short.
10. Look around you
And finally, I believe that our homes have the power to physically affect both our health and wellbeing. Home should be a place that restores, rejuvenates and replenishes, but so often it is not because of clutter. In short, if you want positive change to your wellbeing, it pays to address your environment. So stay inspired by staying mindful of the decluttering objective: to be happy at home!
