Top Tips for a Spring Declutter

We at Home Instead know home is where the heart is. It’s the place we all love, feel safe and cosy and that’s why we are proud to help our clients live well in their own homes. However, many of us have areas in our homes that could do with a clear out – even if its just a drawer, or a cupboard or maybe the spare room. These are places where all our “stuff” accumulates – the items that don’t really belong anywhere and so they end up in the bits and bobs cupboard or piled high in the spare room or garage. Over the years, and particularly as we get older, these “collections” grow, often to the point where we feel a bit overwhelmed and prefer to ignore the issue rather than tackle it!

However, help and advice is at hand! Home Instead have spoken to two local professionals who specialise in organising and decluttering and they have given us some sound advice.

Claire Lawrence, from Let’s Get Sorted, and Emma Hurll, from Harmonious Living, together have over 15 years’ experience in helping people declutter and organise their homes, either as they downsize, move home or purely as additional support to sort out years of possessions. We asked them for their top tips on getting started with decluttering and giving our homes a bit of a spring clean.

1. Start Small: Take the task in bitesize chunks. Start with just one drawer, or a cupboard or set yourself a time limit of, say, 30mins – you’ll be surprised in how much you can get done! And make sure you complete the task. The feeling of accomplishment will spur you on to tackle your next cupboard.
2. Start with an Easy Win: Work with a simple, straightforward cupboard, like the linen cupboard, or kitchen drawer, where it’s an easy, fold and keep or throw away chore. Don’t start with a drawer full of old photographs or memories, as time will tick by and before you know, you haven’t even made a dent on the task. Keep those bigger projects for after you’ve completed a few small ones, so your moral is higher!
3. Workspace: Make sure you have a nice, clear workspace to sort on. Give yourself plenty of room. A table or a bed, something at a good level and where you will sit comfortably – not the floor where you could struggle to get up from!
4. Declutter Buddies: Two hands make light work and its usually more fun too! Taking on a chore with someone else means you can motivate each other and get the task done quicker. A friend can also ask those questions such as, “When was the last time you wore this?” or “Do you really need this?” and help you get rid of items you haven’t used in years. You could do this with a friend, (you could take it in turns to sort out at each other homes) or a family member or perhaps call on a professional, like Claire and Emma!
5. Love It or Throw It: When sorting items, ask yourself “How do these things make you feel?”. If you love something, keep it, but if you aren’t bothered, let it go. You can keep a “Revisit” box in your garage of things you don’t use but don’t feel quite ready to throw away and take a look at it in a few months’ time.
6. Organise your Clutter: Label sorting boxes or bags with “to keep” “charity” “bin” so you know where those items are headed for. Items you are keeping can also be organised in nice storage boxes that can be labelled so you can see easily what it contains and fid things quickly going forward.
7. Take Before and After Photos: You’ll get a real sense of achievement when you look back at all your hard work!
8. Finally, a Tidy House is a Tidy Mind: It’s proven that the environment we live is reflected in our mental health. Living in a clean, tidy, organised home make us feel lighter, more carefree and happier – studies have proven this. Our Care Professionals at Home Instead can help keep on top of your everyday housework, as our services include light house work, helping with laundry, cleaning and clearing a fridge – whatever you need to ensure your home stays shipshape and an enjoyable place to be.

William Morris said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”. We hope our tips have motivated you to get busy and tackle those areas of your house you’ve been avoiding for years!

If you’d like to find out more about Claire and Emma’s services, go to;

www.letsgetsorted.co.uk/ email: [email protected] call: 07555 067511

www.harmoniousliving.co.uk/ email: [email protected] call: 07932 957039