Are you fed up with coming home to a house full of junk? Do you seem to have mess everywhere all the time – no matter how much you clean and tidy? Then you may simply have too much stuff.
A recent study by Hammonds Fitted Furniture asked 2,000 Brits how often they declutter their homes and how likely they are to hoard their possessions.
It turns out that 29% of UK adults said that they clear out their homes once per month, while only 5% of those surveyed said they ditch items every week. If you’re finding that the clutter is taking over – we’re here to help. Here, we explore the benefits of decluttering and how you
can achieve a mess-free haven.
What are the benefits of decluttering?
During their study, Hammonds spoke to professional organiser Mimi Bogelund from The Organised Home & Life.
She said that “having a good clear out is well known to have huge positive effects on your mental and physical health. Knowing where to find things avoids frustration and helps time management, as well as cuts visual noise from clutter and makes cleaning so much faster and easier”.
By tacking your clutter head on, you can help to reduce the amount of visual stimulation for your brain and therefore reduce stress and anxiety. Plus, a clutter-free space can help to improve your sleep, increase concentration, and boost productivity throughout the day.
Tackle one room at a time
If you’re keen to ditch the clutter but are unsure where to start, choose one room, to begin with. This will feel more manageable than trying to declutter the whole house. For instance, you could start in your bedroom and tackle your wardrobe – which appears to be one of the biggest problem areas for Brits.
According to Hammonds, adults across the UK are reluctant to bid farewell to unworn clothing – as the average Brit is hanging on to £173.42 worth of unused items in their wardrobes. This equates to a whopping £ 9.2 billion worth of unworn clothes across the UK.
If this sounds familiar, it may be time for a good clear-out. Start in your bedroom and then work your way to other areas of the house, such as the loft, garage, or living room.
Choose what to keep, donate and throw
When you are decluttering each room, organise your items into piles that you want to keep, donate, and throw away.
Be ruthless – only keep pieces that you use regularly, need, or love. Everything else can go! This will help you to cut down on the amount you’re hoarding and free up storage space for other items.
Apply this principle to all the rooms in your house, such as the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. Before you know it, you’ll have cleared out a huge number of items that aren’t used, freeing up valuable space throughout your home.
Invest in smart storage solutions
One of the most important factors when it comes to decluttering is ensuring you have adequate storage. It’s essential to take advantage of every inch of space available, regardless of the size of your home.
For instance, you could install fitted loft storage, put drawers under the stairs, or shelves on an unused wall. You could also invest in fitted wardrobes in the bedrooms to make the most of the horizontal and vertical space, reducing the number of items left on sideboards or windowsills.
By culling your items and creating plenty of efficient and effective storage solutions, you can wave goodbye to mess and say hello to the clutter-free house of your dreams!
