Your home should feel like a breath of fresh air, a peaceful haven where you can relax and unwind at the end of the day. But instead, there’s clutter everywhere, clogging the shelves, the cupboards, your closets and every surface where you look. Ugh. Not relaxing at all.
Bathrooms can become major hubs for mess. Then when you’re looking for something important — like a bandaids or an extra roll of toilet paper — you can find everything but! Decluttering your bathroom doesn’t have to be a chore. The top things to focus on in your bathroom:
- Empty all drawers and cabinets - toss items that are expired or that have been hiding in your drawers and haven't been used or missed.
- Combine items if you have more than one of the same thing.
- Make sure items like medications and sunscreens are up-to-date.
- Keep items you use on a daily basis in your bathroom.
Your bedrooms should be relaxing and promote a night of deep, rejuvenating sleep. Try these tips to organize! :
- Take everything out of your nightstand and sort it into keep, discard, and how the heck did this wind up in here??
- Choose one book or item to keep on top of your nightstand, the rest try to tuck it away in the drawer.
- Get in the habit of putting clothes away immediately after wearing or laundering them.
- Pick a container that you enjoy for spare items like jewelry, your watch, and your keys so they don’t clutter up the surface.
Do you have a hard time shutting your kitchen cupboards and drawers? It’s not uncommon to have several sets of measuring cups, or five corkscrews. But you don’t need duplicates of those! Here’s how to declutter your kitchen:
- Empty all your cupboards and drawers at one time, making sure to get rid of duplicates and keeping only what you use.
- Too many plates, bowls, and mugs? Unless you have dinner parties for 15 every other night, donate the items you don’t use or love.
- Analyze your appliances carefully.Decide which appliances you can donate and which you absolutely need.
- Do the same thing with your pots and pans, keeping only what you use and love.
Are you storing everything in your garage? If so, you’re not alone...I'm just as guilty! The garage can be an especially difficult, so start small.
- Start by sorting through the boxes. You know...the ones you've had there since you moved in? Decide which items you want to keep, which to donate, and which to throw away. If you think you’re going to use an item “someday,” get rid of it.
- Create a pile of items you use frequently, like tools or gardening supplies. Install hooks on the walls to hang items, or put in a shelving unit to store neatly marked bins.
- Put rarely used items, like Christmas ornaments and other seasonal decorations, on the highest shelves. Be sure to LABEL those boxes or totes so you don't buy duplicates!!
- Install hooks to hang bicycles on the walls of your garage.
- Pare down your boxes of childhood mementos on an annual basis and decide which truly have emotional meaning.
Decluttering doesn't have to be a chore, or worse yet, painful. You may think it's too hard or that it takes up too much time. Once you start, you'll feel lighter and your home will see the results and you'll be excited every day to come home - or stay home!
