No Space for Hoarding – 4 Decluttering Tips to Commit to Memory

Some people have admitted to hoarding; some keep denying their obsession. Hoarding is characterized by someone having a hard time parting with possessions. Such a behavior can have a harmful effect on the physical, emotional, financial and social life of the sufferer.

Well, we’re not here to discuss about a psychological disorder, this is not the site for that. You also won’t read about symptoms leading to hoarding. Let’s just discuss how you can keep your home clean and clear from stuff that you don’t really need.

The basic guidelines include the following –

Under Two Years

The guideline to not becoming a hoarder is to let go of things that don’t have any sentimental value to you. Or, if you have not used the item for more than two years, then you know that it’s really time to let it go.

At times, these items could not mean anything at all. It might be as ordinary as empty butter containers in your cupboard. These may have been intended, originally, to become storage containers but they just ended up taking space. If this is the case, then it’s time to throw them away. Allow other people to recycle them and turn them into something more useful.

Minimalist Clothing

What about those clothes that you have kept for a long time?

Clean up your wardrobe by, first, removing all your clothes from the closet. Do you see any empty hangers? Set them aside then start sorting your stuff into three boxes – keep, donate or trash. Take a careful look at your keep box. Take a second time to sort through it again. You will observe that there is more clothing there that can be classified under the donate box.

Take out the box that’s labeled trash.

Keep Photographs and Sentiments

Of course, there are a lot of items that were given to you by your loved ones. This does not mean that you should flood your home with items that you no longer use. If these items are sentimental to you, then have them displayed. If the collection has been hidden all the while inside the cupboard, then it was time for it to go a long time ago.

Don’t fear the feeling of letting go. This is letting go of your kids’ clothes when they’re already adults. The secret to having a clutter-free home is to admit that you need to let go of some stuff. You can take photographs of these sentimental items instead and have them kept in an organized container.

Recognize Commonly Hoarded Items

It is also important to recognize the items that are commonly hoarded. These are papers (especially old newspapers), clothing, plastic bags, car parts, tools, bolts, nuts, screws, electronic equipment, and building materials.

Old furniture should also be discarded and replaced with sturdier ones.

As soon as you identify your hoarded stuff, then it’s time to declutter. Find them one by one then label every single one of them. Create homes for these items and ensure that they are always returned to their rightful places.

Horizontal surfaces must be kept clean at all times. Remember that flat surfaces can easily gather dust. Keep your paper files to a bare minimum. In your kitchen, be sure to label pantry items in order to save time in finding ingredients.

Decluttering Takes Time

Admit to yourself that you have to begin slowly. Don’t go through all your stuff in one day then have a mound of them dumped the following day. Doing so could lead to negative feelings such as anxiety and regret. Instead, go through one small space or collection at a time.

Keep yourself from saying, “I’ll put this aside for now”. Get things done and do them now. Don’t trick yourself. In place of this, you can try framing only the best item or two from your collection. You can then consign, recycle or donate the rest of the pieces.

Tags: decluttering, decluttering tips, home decluttering, home organization, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 15th, 2017 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Home Maintenance, Interior Design 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.