Decluttering Your Home – Our Top Tips

Spring cleaning is a practice observed throughout the world and across different religions. The concept of spring cleaning is thought to date back thousands of years to the Persian New Year which marks the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Iranians still continue to practice khaneh tekani which means “shaking the house” where everything is thoroughly cleaned. On a practical level spring was always seen as a good time to clean and air the house as it is warm enough to open the windows but not yet warm enough for bugs to swarm inside.

If your house is needing a good declutter and spring clean, check out some of our top tips:

Choose joy – The organising phenomenon that is Marie Kondo has helped millions of people organise their lives throughout the world. Her top tip for a clutter free life is to take on your things by category not by room; clothes, books, papers and sentimental items. Throughout this process always remember Marie’s mantra – does this item “spark joy?” If it doesn’t spark joy then she advises you thank the item and recycle/bin it.

Don’t make excuses – No one wants to spend their spare time cleaning and decluttering their home but try not to keep putting it off. Space is important in our busy lives and helps clear the mind. Take some easy first steps by unsubscribing to mailers, magazines and catalogues and decluttering, shredding and recycling all the unwanted papers in your house.

Try the Four Box Method – Label four boxes; put away, recycle, store and bin then go through your house boxing up your stuff. Storage items can either be sent to a storage unit and recycled items can either go to charity or sold online. If it seems a bit overwhelming at first try doing it for 10 minutes every day, after two weeks you will start noticing a bit difference!

What about the FAST Method?

• Fix a time – Set aside a time when all the family can get involved (send diary invites out if necessary!)
• Anything not used in 12 months – this means exactly what it says. Get rid of anything you haven’t used in 12 months.
• Someone else’s stuff – If you come across items that aren’t yours give it back to the owner asap.
• Trash – Don’t be scared to bin/recycle items. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Cut out the noise – Excess “things” in our surroundings is proven to have a negative impact on the way we process information and our ability to focus. Clutter competes for our attention thus increasing our stress levels. Although it can be hard, try to edit this noise for your own wellbeing.

At Clockwork Removals we offer long and short term storage solutions to suit you, so if you want to declutter but don’t know whether you can part with your stuff give us a call.