The modern household tends to get so cluttered with useless (and not so useless) stuff, that it’s amazing your pinkie is not living in constant fear of bumping into yet another décor element you don’t necessarily need. It’s okay, stuff tends to accumulate over time. After all, it’s a natural process, especially for hoarders who get emotionally attached to every trinket they bring home.
But after a while, all of this clutter will start taking a toll on your quality of life, as well your emotional well-being. No matter if you’re decorating and organizing your rental, or if you’re sprucing up your house, it’s important that you declutter thoroughly every once in a while. Aside from elevating your quality of life, decluttering will help you raise your home’s perceived value in case you’re selling, and will make moving a breeze. With all of this in mind, here are the five great ways to declutter your indoor and outdoor living areas.
Start with the kitchen
Decluttering can seem like a daunting task, so all the more reason to challenge it head on. And what better way to start your campaign against clutter than to begin with the busiest room in the entire household? Arguably, the kitchen is the area with the most foot traffic throughout the day, which can make it become quite messy and cluttered, quite quickly. Before you know it, the cabinetry is overflowing with pots and pans you’re never going to use, and the island has no functional workspace because it’s covered in trinkets, coupons, and empty cereal boxes.
Again, don’t worry, clutter tends to creep up on you when you’re not paying attention. First, start by picking up and throwing away all of the expired items. You’ll be amazed at what’s hiding deep in the pantry and the surrounding cabinetry. Next, it’s time to part ways with some of your cookware, dishes, and utensils. Are you ever going to feed a platoon of hungry soldiers in your home? Probably not, so be sure to scale back and keep only the cookware and other necessities you actually use.
Organize your living room
Next up is the living room. This is a very special place in every household, used by the entire family to create an intimate homey feel that brings people together, and serves as the perfect backdrop for many a lifelong memory. But you can’t expect to make such memories with your loved ones if you’re feeling confined from all the clutter. Now, the living room is one of the toughest rooms to keep free of clutter, simply because of the amount of use it gets every single day.
Your best bet is to create a set of rules. Make sure every member of your household understands that personal belongings have their place, and it’s not the coffee table. Assign chores and have everyone take part in vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning in general. Also, assign a drawer, shelf, and cabinet for every commonly used item that belongs in the living room. And lastly, inspect every storage space to find and throw out expired or unused items.
Keep your outdoor space nice and tidy
Let’s step outside for a bit, shall we? Here we have your outdoor living space, the backyard, and the front lawn. There are many reasons why you would like to keep your outdoor living space nice and tidy throughout the year, and not just to make your neighbors jealous. First up, your backyard can become a serene outdoor oasis if you simply remember to put every gardening tool, your kids’ toys, and other stuff in your shed to make more room, and declutter the setting. Now that you have some space to work with, let’s address the finer details.
Instead of trying to declutter first, be sure to create a floorplan for your outdoor area. This will create the foundation and help you remove all extraneous décor elements. Stick with a simple design involving the patio and its furniture, and perhaps a cobblestone walkway to the central seating area in the middle of the yard. Hang lantern lighting above, raise a flower garden to create that oasis look and feel, and put a fire pit in the center. And that’s all you need for an amazing outdoor living space.
Proceed to the bathroom
The bathroom is one of the easiest rooms to declutter and organize. Simply put, everything should have its place inside of a drawer, cabinet, on a shelf, or a hanger. And every family member should know where their stuff should be. Throw out expired products, replace old magazines with a couple of new ones, and scrutinize the cabinets mercilessly – chances are there are a lot of things in there you don’t need. And of course, you can always put the stuff you don’t need right now into a self-storage unit, no matter what room you’re trying to declutter.
Create a stress-free bedroom
Lastly, the bedroom should be your serene space imbued with intimacy and peace. Don’t let it become a cluttered mess by leaving clothes lying around or by layering tons stuff on the side table, instead, tend to regular decluttering. On a weekly basis, you can throw away all unused and expired items, but on a daily basis, you want to remember to put your clothes in the closet and organize them neatly. This will make it infinitely easier to create the ensemble of the day, and keep your bedroom looking fresh.
Creating a clutter-free living environment is one of the most rewarding projects you can take on this weekend. Follow these steps, and you will elevate the look and feel of your indoor and outdoor living spaces.
