It can seem like a huge task to organize your home, and it sometimes can be. However, we have put together some handy hints to help you. Here is our guide to decluttering your home in 4 simple steps.
It doesn’t matter how big a task is, it is always easier when it’s broken down into manageable chunks. Instead of just turning everything in your house upside down, start with a plan. Don’t treat your home as a series of rooms to clear and tidy, think of it as zones to organize and declutter. The logic of this is to enable you to group similar areas to tidy at the same time, letting you keep better track of everything in those zones. Your living room, den and playroom probably have a lot of overlap with use, so why not organize them all at the same time. This way you can make sure any toys, games, books, or more stay in their designated spots and kept together. You eat in both your kitchen and dining room, so organize them together. That way you can keep track of anything that’s made its way into the wrong room. Essentially, you should be thinking of areas in your house where things belong and are commonly used, and organizing them together.
What’s the 5 step decluttering method? It’s simple; instead of tidying and cleaning all your stuff in each zone at the same time, break it down into five categories:
Things To Keep:This is the easiest step, with everything you want to keep just give it a good clean and put it back where it lives. When you’re decluttering, be ruthless with items, think carefully whether you really do want to keep them or not.
Things To Bin:There’s always trash that turns up with a declutter! Make sure you’re sorting everything properly into trash, recycling, and organics.
Things To Fix:Some say the art of repairing old items is dying out, but it doesn’t need to be that way! If you’ve got some belongings that need a little bit of attention and could do with a little care and attention, why not put them aside to be repaired. This could be anything from an old coat that needs some new buttons to a piece of furniture that needs to be repaired. Put these items to one side and find somewhere local to get them put back into their best condition.
Things To Donate:It’s inevitable you’ll come across a few pieces that you’ll want to donate while you declutter. This could be old clothes you once looked great in but now aren’t quite your style, books you’ve not picked up since finishing them, old toys, and just about anything else. You can donate these items to a variety of charities and organizations, just check who’s accepting donations near you. It doesn’t have to stop with these items, if you’re finding an abundance of canned food or dry goods that are still in date but you’re never going to get round to using, think about taking it to your local food bank. This way, your decluttering can also help others.
Things To Store:Most clearouts come with the realization that you have more stuff than you thought you did! So, what do you do with all of those things that you love, but just don’t have room for? The answer is Self Storage! Self Storage is a great option for safely stowing away items that you don’t have any room for, but don’t want to part with. This could be large items of furniture, seasonal items like snowboards and sleds, or a buildup of sentimental items you really don’t want to let go of. With Self Storage you can safely store just about anything and access it anytime you need to.
If you’re really going all out with your home decluttering, don’t forget any of your outside areas! A declutter around the home is a really great time to take stock of what you’re keeping in your yard, garage, deck, balcony, or any outdoor space you have. If you’re short on space and heavy on excess outdoor gear, it could be time to think about sorting it into one of the five steps above.
Well, this is definitely the best step, you get to reward yourself on a job well done by relaxing and enjoying your clean and tidy home! After you've spent some time enjoying it, you’ll probably want to think about what to do with all of the items you’re not holding on to. Find an appropriate place to donate any of those items you no longer want for yourself, you can do this by checking with local charities and organizations. Next, think about those items you want to keep but don’t have room for. Self Storage is the perfect option for keeping items like this safely as you’ll be able to store them in climate controlled, secure units for as long as you need to. At Riel Park we have a variety of storage solutions to suit all needs. You can take a look at our storage unit size guide for a visual representation of what you can fit in each of our units.
Give one of our storage rental experts a call at 780-459-6435 for more information and help with your storage questions, or reserve a unit online today..
