An Immaculate Home for the New, Minimalist You

Decluttering one’s home is most homeowner’s wish. The problem is, when it comes down to actually doing the task, many just simply give up. While decluttering isn’t easy, it is easy to accumulate so many stuff in life. You justify this by saying that these things are your collections and that they even make you happy. Remember, though, that true happiness is never dependent on materials things.

So, why should you declutter?

Clutter Equals Stress

It is not an imaginary thing – clutter can cause stress. Cortisol (the stress hormone) is often associated with a high volume of household stuff. This means that the more material things remain cluttered in your home, the more stress you tend to experience.

Messy homes are even seen as places of failure.

Stress is also attributed to other conditions such as overeating and weight gain. Some people feel more tired when they see a lot of clutter in their home. And haven’t you noticed how difficult it is to focus or even to process information when you are in a cluttered environment?

Decluttering in a Nutshell

First, dare yourself to live only with the things that you need. A lot of stuff even in a spacious home could easily look like a hobo’s haven. If you can, stick to the basics such as a comfy couch, a bookshelf, an end table, and a beautiful center or coffee table.

Always be focused on cleaning up. You don’t have to begin piles of magazines. You can just clip the articles that you want then have the rest thrown to be recycled.

Categorize your possessions. This is an effective way to sort through your stuff. Begin with your clothing, then carefully check your jewelry, bags, shoes, books, electronics, and so forth.

Discard any of the items that you have not used for over six months. If there are items that you keep for posterity’s sake or for sentimental reasons, then at least store them properly so they won’t visually clutter the rooms of your home.

Give away the things that you no longer need.

The Decluttering Don’ts

If the professional fees of organizing professionals make you dizzy, then it’s time to DIY. But if you have to do this on your own, make sure that you’re not going to do these mistakes –

• Do not buy boxes before you clean up. Sure, you may feel excited by the idea of buying storage boxes, bins, and baskets but they may not be used once you sort through most of your stuff. Also, be sure to measure the spaces where these bins are going to be stored in. It would be tragic to turn these storage pieces into clutter.
• Don’t tackle the project in just one day. An entire day of cleanup is not the way to do it. Few people have ample energy to do cleanups lasting for eight hours. You could feel frustrated when your day does not go the way you envisioned it to be. To prevent this burnout experience, it is best to clean up a few hours each day.
• Do not finish each task even when you’re already tired. Remember that you need to categorize your stuff so take your time. Arrange the items that you are going to give away and the stuff that you will recycle or sell.
• Do not think that you’re a failure. There are many homeowners that even spent an entire month just to finish their decluttering process. Give yourself ample time to declutter, too. Embracing a tidier, minimalist space is not an easy decision to make so just take it one day at a time.

Tags: declutter, decluttering, home decluttering, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings

This entry was posted on Friday, November 10th, 2017 at 10:00 am and is filed under Home Maintenance, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.