Declutter your life

Simplify your life by giving yourself less to worry about, less to clean and less to stress you out. Here’s how you can declutter your life

Create a checklist

Decluttering your home can be broken down room by room. In the kitchen, list things such as pots and pans that you no longer use. Bathrooms are also a great place to get rid of a lot of unused items. Drawers can be more easily organised and cupboards will be more manageable. Ticking things off your list will also give you a sense of achievement.

Five minutes a day

Getting started is often the hardest bit of any project so ease yourself into your decluttering by devoting just 5 minutes a day to it. Even if it’s clearing off a busy dining table or collecting all your unopened mail to be dealt with on another day, you’ll soon start to see and feel the difference in your home.

Declutter your mind

Taking the time to declutter your mind will help you feel lighter and more energised. Mindfulness has become a very popular concept over the last few years and many are embracing it because it offers an opportunity to connect with your own mind.

Yoga is also a great way to work on your flexibility and strength, but it’s also a fantastic way of soothing the mind. Some yoga styles use meditation techniques that focus on your breathing. This usually results in feeling calmer and less stressed. It can help centre your attention levels and help with concentration. Carrying less in your head will certainly make your days easier to deal with.

Take the 10-10-10 Challenge

Every day, make it a habit to throw out ten things, return ten things to their proper places and find ten things that you can give away.

Before you know it, you’ll start to see the compound effect of doing this every day. Disposing of, re-homing or giving away small things will help make your home feel more spacious and more of a sanctuary.

View your home as a first timer guest

Sometimes, all it takes is to stand back and look at things for how they really are. One of the best ways to do this is to view your home as a first-time guest.

Start by coming in through the front door and observing your home as if you’ve just entered it for the first time.

What would you think if it was somebody else’s house? What would you change? Looking at things objectively is a bit of an eye-opener!

Create a list

There’s perhaps nothing more satisfying than ticking things off a to-do list.

Creating a decluttering list will allow you to plan your project and feel a sense of completion as you progress. Break your list into manageable sections so that it’s not overwhelming.

Clean out your wardrobes

Decluttering your wardrobe is a powerful way to take back an amount of control in your life.

The first step is to completely empty your wardrobe. Decide on some rules before you start sorting and then be totally honest with yourself as you plough through your clothes. Keep the basics but ditch the things that you’ve probably worn once or twice. Don’t be tempted to keep stuff in the hope that it’ll come back into fashion one day.

Take photos of before and after decluttering

One effective way of staying motivated is to take before and after photos of the specific areas you’re working in.

When you’re finding it hard going, remind yourself of where you started and how far you’ve come.

Streamline your storage solutions

This applies to many areas of your home, especially rooms like kitchens and bathrooms. Only buy products that you know that you love and are going to use.

In the kitchen, go through cupboards and throw out anything that’s past its sell-by date. If you have items that you’re unlikely to use, donate them to a local food bank.

Using clear jars for storage of dry foodstuffs like pasta and rice will mean less packaging and can easily be replenished from your local eco-shop.

It’s also useful to arrange food items according to their type. More frequently-used items should be easier to reach while things that you use less often can be put away up on higher shelves.

Work together

If you share a home with a partner or family, get them involved and you’ll be declutter quicker and help create a feeling of solidarity.

Delegating others can allow you to focus on your own areas, and save time in the process.