5 Ways to declutter your home

Trouble is, a lot of us have a block. Not just from not knowing where to begin, but a psychological block. So let’s take a look at 5 ways in which you can mentally address the problem:

1. Carve out for yourself 5 minutes in which you will dedicate to decluttering. Out of the list below, pick just one of the techniques and commit 5 minutes to the task.
2. The five box method. You want to pare down what you have cluttering a room. Allocate five boxes. Each will be the repository for a different outcome for your possessions. One will be your Trash box; another your Give Away box for stuff to donate to a charity shop or good cause. The other boxes will be marked Keep, Relocate (i.e. to another room where it will be more easily accessed) and Recycle. You have to deal with every single item by placing it in one of the boxes. Don’t limit your time here. Some projects take an hour, others days or even weeks. The technique and principles remain the same, though.
3. To get you over the psychological hurdle of what to keep, what to throw, prove something to yourself by experimenting with numbers. One professional declutterer came up with the ‘333’ challenge. Clients were asked to limit what they wore to 33 items over a 3 month period. It was to demonstrate that you can live with less and to prioritise what you wear. Choose your own numbers to suit you.
4. Make a list of rooms to declutter, beginning with the easiest. The secret is to tackle one room at a time and then stop when you’ve finished that room. The degree of difficulty will increase with rooms that have a greater proportion of drawers and closets, but working from the easiest first may give you more confidence further into the process.
5. Commit to giving away one item every day. This has worked remarkably for some people over a year, sometimes longer.