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A Practical Guide to Decluttering Your Home

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The long overdue Spring has finally sprung. We have been blessed at last by the occasional dry, warm day.

Many people associate this time of year with spring cleaning, decluttering, and all those DIY tasks that have been put-off over a very long, wet winter.

Decluttering and spring cleaning has many benefits, whether that’s decluttering the home or the office.

Knowing where to find certain items helps us to feel organised and on top of things, which is, of course, good for our everyday lives, especially our state of mind and wellbeing in general.

It doesn’t take long for things to build-up, and the problem is that if we put off having a good sort-out, then before we know it, the idea of ‘decluttering’ becomes totally overwhelming.

When Clutter Becomes Overwhelming

The accumulation of so-called clutter is a by-product of hoarding. Many of us are moderate hoarders, but some individuals suffer from excessive hoarding disorders, so much so, it is a condition recognised by health professionals with advice available from the NHS. It can get to such a level that it impedes normal healthy life.

Decluttering, of course, frees up space, with the minimalistic trend for homes and offices bringing with it both practical and psychological benefits. It’s little wonder that we have seen an increasing number of professional declutter experts and home organisers emerge to help people (and businesses) carry out this very task.

They adopt a practical approach without emotional attachments to items, and basically help clients to become more organised. Feeling more organised helps us with all sorts of things in our everyday life and can be a real benefit to reducing stress and time management.

So, Let the Home Declutter Commence

A thorough declutter is a good place to start in preparation for a spring clean. It’s the time of year when many people turn to self storage services for a number of reasons. This could be storing seasonal items such as winter clothing, or more short-term storage for DIY or refurbishment projects.

Top Tips for Decluttering Your Home

The Designer, William Morris, famously said, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

With spring finally upon us, we share with you some handy advice for decluttering the home.

Firstly, plan where you want to start and where you want to finish. Make it a project, but make it manageable.

Get the kids to help tidy their own rooms even if it involves some rewards. If you can make it fun for the family, then so much the better.

Assign smaller, manageable windows of time to decluttering rather than one intensive session. Rather than tackling an entire room, start your decluttering project by allocating a cupboard or drawer to sort out. It will feel less daunting and more achievable.

Take 4 bags and label one ‘BIN/RECYCLE’, one ‘KEEP’, one ‘CHARITY’, and one ‘REHOME/RELOCATE’. Place your items in the appropriate bag.

Take the charity items to the shop or drop-off point sooner rather than later, otherwise you’ll end up with the same amount of clutter, just rehomed in bags.

You may also be tempted to keep things. Bin (or preferably recycle) items that are no longer needed.

Assess whether a self storage room or unit would be useful for those items marked ‘Relocate’.

Many decluttering gurus will adopt quite a steadfast approach when it comes to decluttering in terms of what should be kept and what should be binned. That’s fine if you are 100% sure, but take your time in making decisions, especially if items have some sentimental attachment.

As a storage company, we have many customers who use our storage units for storing family memorabilia – items such as furniture, pictures, or ornaments that they can’t keep at home but don’t want to part with.

Decluttering larger items such as furniture, baby gear, and toys, tools, and equipment can pose more of a challenge. These take up space. Consider self storage – renting your own secure room is rather like an extension to your own house without all the hassle of planning permission, building work, and cost. Many self storage companies can also help with transportation if required.

When sorting out paperwork, be careful how you dispose of any correspondence with your personal details. ID theft is rife, so shred your paper documents where possible. There are many home office shredders available and they are a very handy tool for securely destroying personal paperwork.

Finally, don’t forget to reward yourself. When you’ve completed your goal of tidying a cupboard or room, take a break and indulge yourself. A nice cup of coffee and chocolate digestive always hits the spot.

If you’ve never used self storage services before and would like some guidance on the options available, then please get in touch. Our experienced team at Extra Room Self Storage really know their stuff. Our self storage rooms are affordable, secure, immaculately clean and easy to access. We can help with your storage in Tamworth, Hinckley, Nuneaton and surrounding areas.