We understand that enjoying your home is almost impossible when you have a bunch of clutter lying around in every room. Most people agree that they have too much stuff, but sorting through and purging all that stuff can take a lot of time. Many people don’t know where to start when it comes to decluttering and simply don’t have the tools they need to get the job done. We can help with that. Here are five tips for decluttering your home.
Organize As You Go
We often to suggest to people who are decluttering that they should organize as they go. Once you have removed the unwanted items from your closets, drawers, shelves, and other nooks and crannies of a room, go ahead and organize the things you plan to keep in your home. This allows you to see the progress and will keep you motivated. It also keeps you moving in the right direction instead of skipping over things and then feeling the need to go back to them. You should keep storage boxes, and bags on hand to help you with organization as you declutter.
Six-Month Rule
When sorting through things and trying to decide which ones to keep, it’s best to go by the six-month rule. If you haven’t worn the items or used the item in six months, you probably won’t ever wear or use it again. If there are still things you aren’t sure about, separate them into a storage container and give them another six months. If you still haven’t used them, it’s time to throw them away or donate them. Sometimes you don’t realize how much clutter you have until you consider this rule.
Sell Valuable Items
Many people struggle with getting rid of things that they paid a lot of money for or feel have a high value. We suggest selling these items when possible. Getting back some of the money you spent on somethings makes it easier to get rid of and makes you feel like you aren’t losing anything. Plan a yard sale within a week of decluttering your home. Don’t let the stuff you want to sell sit around and take up space for very long. If it doesn’t sell in the yard sale, or if you can’t sell it online within a reasonable amount of time, consider donating it instead. If the items are high-value and you feel like you may take a little while to sell them, consider storing them with us until you make the sale.
Get It Out of Sight
Once you sort through the things you don’t want, you may find that there are things you aren’t sure about and want to keep around, but have no place to store them. Our Cool Box Portable Storage solutions come in handy and will give you a place to store your items. We deliver the box to you to your locations and give you as much time as needed to fill it up. When you are ready to store it, you can drop it off or call us to come pick it up. We will store your items and keep them safe while you decide if you want them. When you are ready to have the items back, we will bring back the box. Other pods cost a lot of money for the same services we offer, but we make it a point to keep our storage boxes affordable.
Pace Yourself
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to declutter their homes is trying to do it too fast or taking on to much at a time. It’s best to pace yourself and move through the clutter at your own pace. We recommend working on one room at a time. Remove all the unwanted items from your closet, then focus on one side of the room and work towards the door. No matter how much you are tempted, don’t start in another room until you finish the first one. If you find items that need to go to another room, you should put it in a box or bag and set it outside the room. Once you finish the room, you can take that stuff to another room and start there.