QUICK AND EASY TIPS TO DECLUTTER YOUR APARTMENT
QUICK AND EASY TIPS TO DECLUTTER YOUR APARTMENT
With our busy lives, it is sometimes hard to keep up with our clutter & here are some tips and tricks to declutter and organize to make your life run more smoothly.
1. Keep the image of your decluttered rooms in the forefront of your mind: Work in an orderly progression, such as clockwise around the room; otherwise, you may feel overwhelmed because the mess seems to be worsening instead of improving.
2. Have trash bags and empty cartons ready: Mark them with categories such as "Give away," "Trash," and "Keep, etc." Then begin in one corner of the apartment and sort everything into the categories. Don't empty drawers or closets at this stage; it will create confusion.
3. Work in chunks: Put on lively music, set a timer for 15 minutes, and do as much as possible. Take a break, look around, see how much you've accomplished. Take a moment, rinse & repeat! Do this over the course of an evening or weekend, and you'll be astonished at how much you have accomplished. Put away the things you decided to keep and congratulate yourself.
4. Be ruthless with yourself: If you haven't used something and know you never will, why keep it?
5. Rearrange the furniture: Reorganize your furniture to see if it will create a more open flow that will feel fresh and new to you. It's easy to get complacent about our environment; taking time to rearrange the things you already have can give a completely new look to your home.
6. Use the "7-Second Rule" (When you take it out, put it back.) When you remove something from a cupboard, closet, or drawer, put it back when you finish." Take "7 Seconds" to put it away, and you'll quickly find it tomorrow.
7. Identify storage spaces with labels and stickers: This can make your life easier, especially if you have a spouse, roommate, and/or children. Make the labels short and sweet to identify what goes in that area.
8. Hang up your clothes: When you get undressed at night or change clothes to go out, hang them up in the closet, place them in their labeled area, or put them in the laundry basket. Invest in some hooks if it makes this process easier for you. If your closet is too crowded, return to the first tip above, and clear out the clothes that no longer fit or that you don't like. Just because you already paid for it is no reason to keep something you won't wear.
9. Store out-of-season clothing and décor. Buy containers or storage bags that fit under your bed or wherever you have a space, and pack away out-of-season clothing and household decorations. Squeeze as much air out as possible before closing.
10. Call a halt to impulse shopping. When you are shopping, and something calls out, "Buy me! Take me home!" pause and ask yourself, "Do I need it, or do I just want it, will I use it, and do I already have something that serves the purpose?"
11. Neaten as you go. Clean up as you go; it makes the cleaning at the end of the day or meal go much faster. Every morning when you get up, immediately make the bed. Pull the sheets and covers up, neaten the pillows, and straighten piles of papers, books, and magazines.
12. Maintain your new habits. Look around and do a quick neatening up each day, and the mess won't have a chance to build up. Remind yourself that you're doing it for yourself and your family, to bring more peace and tranquility to your home, reduce stress, and for that satisfactory sense of flow.