Spring cleaning could be considered an American tradition. Everyone talks about making changes in their homes as the season approaches. But honestly, you don’t have to wait until the weather warms up to declutter your home. It’s normal for us all to collect things in and around our homes…and then get tired of what we’ve collected. Well, if you’re ready for a fresh take on your home space, I have a few simple but effective tips to help you with your organizational goals!
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
The biggest issue with most people’s plans for home cleaning is getting overwhelmed. There’s so much stuff, so much space, and no thoughts on where to start. It happens to the best of us. When you want to declutter your home, here’s the biggest key: Take. Your. Time.
Unless your cleaning is coming on the heels of a last-minute family visit, there’s no rush to get it done. And, aside from the satisfaction of having it completed, there’s no prize for finishing in record time. Don’t allow the task to upset you. YOU determine the pace at which things get accomplished. So make a plan to declutter your home one corner at a time.
What does that look like? Well, let’s say you’ve allowed things to accumulate in your living room area. Instead of trying to do everything at one time, try cleaning things on the main coffee table. That’s it. Then, work on dusting the entertainment center the next day. That’s it! Step-by-step your cleaning. You’ll have a spotless room—and home—in no time!
A Dedicated Place in Every Space
It happens to the best of us: mail and pieces of paper accumulate all over our homes. Before you know it, there are piles of documents, bills and miscellaneous mailings stacked here and there. They may be things we don’t want to get rid of, but there isn’t a dedicated space for them. As you declutter your home, this is the perfect time to find a place for the documents that enter the house.
An easy solution is to find an unobtrusive area that can house your important pieces of mail. That can be a specific drawer in an office or kitchen desk. Or, they can be stored neatly in an ottoman or another piece of furniture. In my home, I intentionally purchase furniture that does double duty as storage. For instance, I have a piece in my bedroom that, at a first glance, looks like a beautiful mirrored chest of drawers. However, when opened up, it has a hidden filing system that can be easily locked. Important documents aren’t open for everyone to see, and their storage doesn’t negatively impact my home decor.
Re-evaluate Your Collections
After being in your home for so many years, it can feel as if you’ve outgrown home spaces like your kitchen. What’s more, it may even feel like you have no room for anything new. But here’s a reality check: might you have things collected and taking up space that you aren’t using? Your first response is most likely, “of course not!” Think again.
While making plans to declutter your home, I challenge you to take 20 minutes to go through, say, your kitchen cabinets. Then take account of the items you ACTUALLY use. If you have a family of three or four, do you actually need those 10 coffee mugs? How about those 15 different bowls? What about all of the souvenir plastic cups you collected throughout the years of traveling? And the five workout tumblers? Do you REALLY need those shot glasses you had 20 years ago in college?
Maybe you could go through your sock drawer. Are you missing sock matches, or do some of them have holes? How about your graphic tee collection: do they all fit? Better yet, do you ACTUALLY wear them all? Keeping a few sentimental pieces is okay, but only a few. Take inventory of the things that are just occupying space in your home, and purge what isn’t getting used. If you’re serious and honest with yourself, you’ll make space throughout your home storage areas, and you’ll declutter your home in no time!
Look Again—A Different Way
Did you know something as simple as shifting your perspective can help you declutter your home? It’s true! Decor blind spots are a real thing, and we all have our various tastes and biases to create them. Here’s another challenge for you: try reevaluating your space as if you were a visitor to your home. Is your decor balanced? Are the larger-scaled elements complemented with smaller decor? These are things you might miss if you don’t shift your eye’s paradigm with your interior design.
If you’re working on getting rid of clutter in your home, this is a good time to make sure you haven’t stuffed decor trinkets and tchotchkes in places that don’t really serve a purpose. You can create a cleaner look by letting go of these if you have them in your decor. Consider if those elements are doing what you thought they would in the space and achieving the result you want. Do they match your personal design style? What are they adding to the overall look and feel of the room? If you shift your perspective and realize there are more shabby chic elements in spaces you wanted to be more modern, it is definitely time to reassess.
Decluttering your home can be so rewarding, both in the physical space and for the mental and emotional space of the homeowner. If you want a different perspective on how you’ve arranged things in your home space, I am here to help! I’ve owned several homes and designed more spaces than I can count! I’d love to help you determine if your home space is configured best for your needs. Reach out to me on The Expert, and let’s bring new organization to your home today!
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