THE EXPERT GUIDE TODECLUTTERING YOUR HOME
Sarah Biddlecombe,-Lifestyle Editor

We’ve got all the ideas you need to regain lost room and finally take control of your living space

Did you know that the average person in the UK spends around 140 days of their life looking for lost items? We’ve all been there, rushing out of the house while trying to find a face mask, our keys and our phone, or wandering from room to room wondering where we put down our pen or our book.

Decluttering your home and streamlining your possessions could be the answer, giving you back more time to spend on the things you actually enjoy. However, that’s certainly not the only benefit of getting everything organised. Studies have shown that having more clutter in our homes can increase our stress levels and make it harder for us to focus on tasks. Now that many of us are spending more time at home, there’s never been a better time for us to clear the metaphorical (and physical) desks and maximise the wellness potential of our homes.

Looking for decluttering ideas?

To help you get started on clearing your clutter and tidying your home, we spoke to decluttering expert Sian Pelleschi. As the founder of decluttering and organising service Sorted!, and the Conference Director for The Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers in the UK, Sian certainly knows her stuff.

‘My background is in events and event management, and for as long as I can remember I’ve loved the feeling of being organised, particularly at work,’ Sian says. ‘I’ve always been good with spatial awareness and can visualise how something could look within either a blank space or a space filled with stuff.’

Sian has seen first-hand the benefits that decluttering can have on wellbeing. ‘When you create space within your environment you’re allowing your mind to become more free,’ she explains. ‘For many of us, decluttering and organising is like a release. It can make us feel freer and lighter, and sometimes you don’t realise the benefit of that until you’ve done it. I love having a good clear out.’

If you’re feeling slightly overwhelmed at the thought of tackling a decluttering project, you’re not alone – Sian says this is something she has encountered with every one of her clients, and has even experienced herself. ‘That sense of overwhelm is your body and brain’s reaction to fear, which is ultimately what it is. It’s the fight or flight scenario,’ she says. ‘While some people are able to combat this by going into fight mode (actually dealing with the clutter) others really struggle and do everything they can to move away from it, until it comes to a breaking point.’

To get past this point, she recommends trying to understand your relationship with clutter. ‘Everyone has their own level of clutter they can cope with,’ sge says. ‘Some people need empty worktops and everything in its place, while others don’t mind items being on display, they just need better organisation. Once you have an understanding of where your level of calm is, you can then start to determine which areas of your home to tackle first.’

Sian advises that you don’t look at it as one big problem. “Break it down into smaller, bite-sized and achievable chunks,’ she suggests. ‘Start with the areas that will provide the biggest impact but take a shorter amount of time. Get items you no longer need or want out of the home first before deciding if you need new storage solutions and make sure everything has a place. Lastly – set a timer! You’ll be amazed how much you can get through when you’re under the clock.’

Ready to get started? Read on for Sian’s expert advice on how to declutter your home, room by room.

De-clutter
Turn your bedroom into an area of rest and recuperation

Your bedroom is supposed to be a place of calm, somewhere to relax and recover at the end of the day. Remove any items that don’t allow for that. Try and put clothes away at the end of the day instead of leaving them on a chair or the floor. If you have wardrobes that are bulging at the seams, have a clothes declutter. Remember that you probably only wear around 20% of what’s in your wardrobe.

Turn your bedroom into an area of rest and recuperation

Your bedroom is supposed to be a place of calm, somewhere to relax and recover at the end of the day. Remove any items that don’t allow for that. Try and put clothes away at the end of the day instead of leaving them on a chair or the floor. If you have wardrobes that are bulging at the seams, have a clothes declutter. Remember that you probably only wear around 20% of what’s in your wardrobe.

Organise your living space to suit your needs

Our rooms are no longer the single-use areas they once were, so the first step is to determine how you like to use your living space. Is it to entertain or to relax after a busy day? Does it have multiple uses, such as being a workspace, a play space and a relaxing space? Once you’ve determined its use, declutter by removing all items that don’t belong in this area. If they work their way back in again it’s most likely either because their intended home isn’t easily accessible, or because they’re actually being used in your living space. In this case you need to create a home for them here, too.

Organise your living space to suit your needs

Our rooms are no longer the single-use areas they once were, so the first step is to determine how you like to use your living space. Is it to entertain or to relax after a busy day? Does it have multiple uses, such as being a workspace, a play space and a relaxing space? Once you’ve determined its use, declutter by removing all items that don’t belong in this area. If they work their way back in again it’s most likely either because their intended home isn’t easily accessible, or because they’re actually being used in your living space. In this case you need to create a home for them here, too.

Wellbeing
Keep your home office minimal to maximise productivity

Some rooms have doubled up as our offices during the last couple of years, so it’s especially important that these areas are kept tidy. For example, if you have lots of stationery, be realistic about how much you actually use and give away the rest to charity, a local community center or your neighbours.

Make sure you keep paperwork to a minimum and have a good filing system that’s easy to maintain. If you can, have a dedicated storage solution for all of your filing, stationery and any other work-related items. If you’re an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of person try open shelving with nice box files, magazine files or drawers that are labeled (otherwise you’ll forget what you have and where it belongs).

Keep your home office minimal to maximise productivity

Some rooms have doubled up as our offices during the last couple of years, so it’s especially important that these areas are kept tidy. For example, if you have lots of stationery, be realistic about how much you actually use and give away the rest to charity, a local community center or your neighbours.

Make sure you keep paperwork to a minimum and have a good filing system that’s easy to maintain. If you can, have a dedicated storage solution for all of your filing, stationery and any other work-related items. If you’re an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of person try open shelving with nice box files, magazine files or drawers that are labeled (otherwise you’ll forget what you have and where it belongs).

Don’t let your kitchen become a dumping ground

We spend a lot of our time in the kitchen – for many of us it’s the hub of the house. So it’s important to make sure it’s easy to navigate and doesn’t feel like a dumping ground for random things.

Start by grouping like-for-like items together so you can assess what you have and get rid of any unnecessary duplicates; after all, there’s no use having 20 storage boxes if you only ever use 10. If you find items that you’ve been ‘meaning to use’, factor them into your meal planning for the next week and actually use them.

Make cupboard space easy to reach by placing items in baskets or clear boxes that can be easily pulled out. This also means you can see exactly what you already have, which should help to cut down on duplicate buying.

Make sure there is a home for everything and clear away those piles of paperwork, homework and anything else that regularly finds its way onto the dining table or island, so that they don’t build up and become a burden.

Don’t let your kitchen become a dumping ground

We spend a lot of our time in the kitchen – for many of us it’s the hub of the house. So it’s important to make sure it’s easy to navigate and doesn’t feel like a dumping ground for random things.

Start by grouping like-for-like items together so you can assess what you have and get rid of any unnecessary duplicates; after all, there’s no use having 20 storage boxes if you only ever use 10. If you find items that you’ve been ‘meaning to use’, factor them into your meal planning for the next week and actually use them.

Make cupboard space easy to reach by placing items in baskets or clear boxes that can be easily pulled out. This also means you can see exactly what you already have, which should help to cut down on duplicate buying.

Make sure there is a home for everything and clear away those piles of paperwork, homework and anything else that regularly finds its way onto the dining table or island, so that they don’t build up and become a burden.

Streamline the products in your bathroom

The bathroom is one of the first and last rooms we enter each day, so it needs some element of order and calm. Try to have only the items that you use daily out on display. If you have storage in your bathroom, keep like-for-like items together.

Be sure to assess what you have and what you actually use. Realistically you only need two towels per person, and some spares for guests or taking outside of the home. The same goes for toiletries – you’re unlikely to need items that have sat unused in your cupboard for years.

Streamline the products in your bathroom

The bathroom is one of the first and last rooms we enter each day, so it needs some element of order and calm. Try to have only the items that you use daily out on display. If you have storage in your bathroom, keep like-for-like items together.

Be sure to assess what you have and what you actually use. Realistically you only need two towels per person, and some spares for guests or taking outside of the home. The same goes for toiletries – you’re unlikely to need items that have sat unused in your cupboard for years.

Make items in cupboards and drawers easily accessible

Cupboard space and drawers can be the two areas that people struggle with the most. Sian regularly finds clients saying their house is tidy, it’s just the cupboards that are a nightmare. But this is easily fixed. Clever use of internal storage options and labelling can help those cupboards and drawers of doom become a delight.

As with all areas in your home, make sure you know exactly what needs to be in the cupboard or drawer. Use old storage boxes, or buy new ones of a style you like, to section out the drawers and cupboards and help to compartmentalise items to make them easier to store and find. Labelling is another way of helping to keep everything in its place.

Make sure everything has a home and a place that’s easily accessible for when you need it. It’s OK to have more than one home for something if used in multiple rooms. You don’t want to have to go searching for a pen, for instance, from one room to the next so have a small stash in each room that you tend to use them in. As with everything, ascertain its purpose and need and you’ll start to find it easier to declutter and sort.

Make items in cupboards and drawers easily accessible

Cupboard space and drawers can be the two areas that people struggle with the most. Sian regularly finds clients saying their house is tidy, it’s just the cupboards that are a nightmare. But this is easily fixed. Clever use of internal storage options and labelling can help those cupboards and drawers of doom become a delight.

As with all areas in your home, make sure you know exactly what needs to be in the cupboard or drawer. Use old storage boxes, or buy new ones of a style you like, to section out the drawers and cupboards and help to compartmentalise items to make them easier to store and find. Labelling is another way of helping to keep everything in its place.

Make sure everything has a home and a place that’s easily accessible for when you need it. It’s OK to have more than one home for something if used in multiple rooms. You don’t want to have to go searching for a pen, for instance, from one room to the next so have a small stash in each room that you tend to use them in. As with everything, ascertain its purpose and need and you’ll start to find it easier to declutter and sort.

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