Five Steps to a Clutter Free Home
Do you live in a cluttered home? Do you long for simpler days when you could walk through your home without tripping over seemingly unnecessary objects? Well, there is hope for anyone who feels as though he or she is being swallowed up by clutter. You can have a clutter free home without having to rely solely on self-storage. It is a matter of developing and implementing a strategy that works for you.
Keep in mind that every home and home owner is different. Your needs may not be the same as those of your neighbours or other family members. Freeing your home from clutter requires identifying where you have problems and how they can be corrected. To that end, here are five steps to a clutter free home that every family can utilise:
1. Define the Problem
The first step in creating a clutter free home is identifying the problem. Truth be told, clutter is usually the result of having too much. It is not that you have a lack of space; it is that you have personal property that you do not use enough to warrant holding on to. De-cluttering requires you sit down and honestly go through the entire list of your personal possessions. If you have not used something in six months or more, chances are you do not need to keep it. Just eliminating these objects could radically transform your home.
2. Clean House
The next step is to clean the house. This may sound overly simplistic, but de-cluttering is not possible without cleaning. All of those possessions that did not pass the six-month test must be dealt with. Some you will keep anyway because they have some intrinsic value as family keepsakes or collectibles. That's fine. A self-storage unit is a great place for those items so you can get them out of your house. Other items qualify as rubbish so they should be discarded. Here's the test: could you sell an article in question to a friend or family member? If no one is willing to pay for it, it belongs in the rubbish bin.
3. Enjoy the Results
Some people work very hard to de-clutter their homes only to turn around and start filling them back up within days. This is a mistake. You are better off declaring a shopping moratorium for at least one month after completing the de-cluttering process. Use this time to enjoy the results of your labour. Once you get used to a clutter free home, it gets easier to avoid the practices that allowed your house to be cluttered in the first place.
4. Semi-Annual Reviews
It can be hard to declutter your home in a world that values possessions. However, it can be even harder to remain clutter free over the long term. We recommend conducting semi-annual reviews to make sure things are staying in order. A good time to review your possessions is in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays. Spring-cleaning offers a second opportunity to review.
5. Give It Away
Lastly, one of the hidden secrets of living a clutter free life is to be generous. Give away those possessions you no longer need or want; there are others who can put them to good use. Then, take things one-step further when you are tempted to shop gratuitously: donate that money to a good cause instead. Being generous changes our attitudes toward personal possessions to the point that we understand we do not need a lot of stuff.
Self-storage is a very good tool for creating a clutter free home. Nevertheless, how you view personal possessions also needs to be addressed, otherwise your home will continue filling up with clutter as fast as you can clean it out.
iseverything when it comes to clutter.home will continue filling up with clutter as fast as you can clean it out. Attitude is everything when it comes to clutter.