This guest post comes from Nancy Zafrani, the general manager of Oz Moving & Storage in NYC. A day-one employee of Oz, she has 25 years of experience in the moving industry. As a New Yorker, Nancy also has lots of experience dealing with small apartments and organizing. In this post Nancy, gives us 6 Decluttering Tips to Keep Your Home Tidy. You can find other helpful organisation and moving tips on Oz Moving and Storage’s blog.
Too much unnecessary stuff can make your home look untidy and feel cluttered. Still, it can be difficult to get rid of the clutter you’ve collected over the years. Even though you know you will never need the things that cause your drawers and cupboards to overflow, you can’t seem to throw them away. However, a few decluttering tips and tricks can help make the process easier.
When decluttering your home, the most important thing you should focus on is optimizing your space and throwing out useless things. Still, the way you declutter your kitchen will differ greatly from your bedroom decluttering habits.
Here are 6 simple decluttering tips for your kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.
DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR YOUR KITCHEN
As you get older, you tend to collect more and more kitchenware. Although you use them frequently, let’s face it, we probably have more pots, pans, and utensils than you need. Thus, if your kitchen isn’t organized, you’ll often have to deal with mess and clutter. However, you can easily avoid that by following these simple tips for decluttering a kitchen:
Think About What You Use Often
If you want your kitchen to stay organized longer, you should think about which items you use regularly. If you use your blender every day, place it somewhere you can reach it easily.
Your kitchen should work for you. By organizing your kitchenware based on how much you use it, you prevent cluttering in two ways. Firstly, your frequently-used appliances will be in reach, so you won’t create clutter while taking them out of the cupboard. Secondly, you’ll find it easier to clean up after yourself, as you can easily put back the more frequently used items in the easier to reach areas of your kitchen cupboards.
Don’t forget to purge what you no longer need or use. If you haven’t used the gadget in a year, it’s probably time to let it go. You may also want to let go of any duplicates you come across.
Organize Your Spices
If you use a lot of spices while cooking, you should also organize them properly. You don’t have to do anything extravagant, simply organize them in a way that works for you. Make sure the names of the spices are facing forward, so you don’t mix them up. Additionally, you can place your most-used spices in the front, as they’ll be easier to spot. Throw out any spices you haven’t used in some time, or any that have expired.
DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR YOUR BATHROOM
Your bathroom holds a lot of clutter. With the half-used bottle of the shampoo you forgot about, the skincare products, and more, your bathroom can easily become messy. Even if you decide it’s time to declutter it, you may not know where to start. If you feel overwhelmed, follow these decluttering tips for bathrooms to make the decluttering process go smoothly:
Related Post: 4 Daily Habits for A Tidy Home
Decide on What You Should Throw Away
Before you start organizing your bathroom, go through everything you keep in there and sort it out into three piles — keep, throw away, or donate.
Firstly, check the expiration date. If the expiry date has passed, throw the item away. Additionally, if you’re decluttering makeup, throw away anything that you’ve used for more than two years. Makeup will usually last for about 6-2012 months after you open it, so if you have makeup from five years ago lying around, throw it away.
Secondly, see which products you’re nearly done with and make sure you use them up first. If you don’t want to use the product, throw it away.
Lastly, if you have unopened products, think about donating them. You may think you’ll start using the body lotion that’s been in your cupboard for years, but you probably won’t. Donating products you won’t use will make you feel good, help the less fortunate, and declutter your bathroom.
Position Your Products In a Way That Makes Sense to You
After you throw away and donate everything you don’t need, you may think about how to organize the things you do need. Every bathroom is different and, while some may not have enough space to fit everything they need in their bathroom, others have plenty of room to spare. However, no matter how big or small your bathroom is, you should place your toiletries in a way that will work for you long-term.
If you’re used to your facewash being near the sink, keep it there. The same goes for your shampoo, deodorant, and everything you use daily. However, make a dedicated space for your toiletries. You’re much more likely to put them in their place after you’ve used them if it’s in reach. Furthermore, you’ll end up putting your toiletries in the same place you’re used to after a while, anyway. So, why wouldn’t you make a dedicated place for them wherever is most convenient for you?
DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR YOUR BEDROOM
A bedroom should make you feel calm and serene. However, if your bedroom is full of mess and clutter, it can have the opposite effect on your mood. Additionally, having a lot of decor in your room can make it feel cluttered even when it’s not. If you want to declutter your Bedroom, start with these useful tips:
Dedicate Five Minutes a Day to Decluttering Your Bedroom
If you want to make sure your room doesn’t get too messy, dedicate five minutes a day to tidy and declutter. Put everything in its place, put your dirty clothes in the hamper, and throw away any trash. Make the bed and light up a candle if you feel like it.
On the other hand, if you don’t feel like cleaning up every day, you can also dedicate a larger chunk of time a few times a week to keep your room tidy and decluttered. This will take more than five minutes, but decluttering and tidying should suit your schedule so go with the option that suits your preference.
For more tips on how to declutter your bedroom check out 12 Simple Bedroom Organisation Tips!
Invest in Furniture That Doubles as Storage
If you don’t have a lot of storage space in your room, furniture with storage is a must. Nowadays, you can easily find beautiful furniture that doubles as storage. Even beds often have storage space underneath.
Simply put, more storage means less clutter. You can put anything you want into decorative storage boxes and furniture, including books, shoes, or linens. Thus, you’ll be less inclined to leave your stuff all over the room because you’ll have a dedicated place for it.
Be sure to take advantage and utilise over door hooks and shoe hangers for storing hats, shoes, bags etc, consider gas lift beds or beds with drawers for storing excess linen, seasonal cushions or clothes, and side tables with drawers to keep your items out of sight and make your space appear more tidy and minimal.
