admin, Author at Dare to Declutter

How to define clutter?

I define clutter as a physically messy or untidy state. An environment which makes you unhappy or stressed. This puts you off from making decisions.

How do you know whether you are living in a cluttered house? Maybe the definition below can help.

You can define clutter, by simply looking at an area and determining its purpose.

For example, if you have a garden shed and you keep filling it up with items, eventually you won’t be able to move inside the shed. It has become cluttered.

This then potentially puts you off from buying garden tools for the shed (it’s original purpose), as there is no more room. The only option then is to declutter it, to make room for it’s original purpose.

How clutter starts

An easy example is a dining table

This usually becomes a dumping ground for people with extremely busy schedules, who dump items and rush off to do something else.

The table then stays cluttered. It becomes overwhelming and a chore to tidy it, so it’s just left in a mess.

This has a negative effect to encourage more dumping of items. Therefore feeding into the overwhelming state even more, which encourages more cluttering.

And so the cycle continues.

This becomes stressful and then takes a much larger portion of your time to determine what to do about it.

Define clutter first

Using the example above, a dining room table is designed for your family to sit around and eat dinner.

This statement may seem a bit patronising at first, but it’s not intended that way.

I would start with determining what a particular area is used for. Saying it out loud also helps to re-affirm it in your mind.

The failure here, is not your understanding of what a dining room table is, but your decision making process.

I would determine what the area is used for and how cluttered it is, is the first step in resolving the issue.

Decision making process

You may not have enough time, or your schedule is extremely busy. This is the possible cause of cluttering in your home.

Your life is so busy, your decision making processes are being taken by other more important things.

It doesn’t make you a bad person or you should feel embarrassed. For most people it’s simply that they don’t have the time.

I would recommend you make time, however small, to start chipping away at the clutter.

Take small steps to define clutter

Start with something small, (like a drawer or dining room table) and make the decision of where the items should go.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much at first as this can have the opposite effect.

I would give yourself 15-20 minutes per day and start the process of decluttering an area. These small steps will eventually develop into larger steps over time.

Remember, having a cluttered space is simply a decision making problem.

Start with the small steps and take some time back and you will feel better about yourself.

Get help and support

Telling a loved one is an easy way to offload the mental burden and physicality of the work. If loved ones are also living with the clutter, working as a team improves their living conditions as well.

You should download a habit tracking app to your phone and set yourself some time aside each day. This will allow the app to remind you to keep on top of your decluttering each day.

You will be surprised by how much you can do in a day in a short space of time. And how that builds into an effective habit going forward.

You can always reach out if you don’t have the help and support around you.

New Year Declutter

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Start the new year right by a new year declutter.

When we declutter our home, this has a positive effect on our mental health. As we set out our new year’s resolutions, a new year declutter is one of the best resolutions.

What to declutter

Following our other article ‘decluttering after Christmas’ gives you an insight on what to declutter straight after Christmas.

A new year declutter deals with starting the new year right. This will help you stick to your resolution of keeping your home clutter free and organised.

Make a list

Look at the rooms or areas you want to tackle.

Then ask yourself what is it you want to achieve?

Make a list of items that don’t serve a purpose or you couldn’t live without.

Those items can be small (cluttered fireplace mantle) or large items like single pieces of furniture.

Sometimes large pieces of furniture removed from a room can make all the difference.

Those items can then be recycled, sold or given away.

Re-arranging furniture in rooms

Rearranging rooms by moving furniture around can help with decluttering.

Sometimes items won’t fit where you want them to go.

This would be an ideal time to assess whether you actually need it or not.

It also helps when moving sideboards or units around, you can take the opportunity to go through them and dispose of any items you no longer use.

Set completion dates or goals.

Putting yourself under a time pressure can help you focus on the task at hand.

Set realistic time goals, don’t over do it otherwise you will start to hate the process and see it as a chore.

(If you are suffering from a particularly cluttered house, don’t put yourself under a time pressure.)

Just focus on the small areas of decluttering and work up to the main areas.

Declutter regularly.

Decluttering regularly will help you keep decluttering to a simple 10 minute process.

Dedicate a set time and day for this process.

If you are never busy at the weekend, give yourself some time for this process for each room.

Not only will it make you feel good each week, staying clutter free week in week out is a good resolution throughout the entire year to stick to.

Psychologists reckon that if you persevere with a task for 3 weeks or more, it becomes a habit. But this habit only sticks beyond 3 weeks through ongoing commitment and determination.

Download habit tracker apps to your phone. These will help keep you on track.

And decluttering your home on a regular basis is a good habit to have and keeps you on track with your resolution.

Tell others about your new found resolution.

Telling loved ones and friends about your new resolution will help you stay on track because you have declared it openly with others.

They will also provide you with the necessary support should you falter and will encourage you to keep going.

Your ongoing commitments

This is a good new years resolution to have generally. ‘Out with the old, in with the new’ as the saying goes. The break over Christmas should make you focus on what’s really important in life.

If you are so busy, you don’t have time to keep your house in order practically through decluttering, this should be a sign you need to slow down.

This is hard if you run a business or have an over demanding boss. A lot of the time the business or over demanding boss runs you.

You can defeat this by setting aside time to dedicate to important tasks only and this starts with you.

Just like unmovable calendar appointments i.e. going on holiday, friends coming round to dinner or appointments with the doctors etc….

The tasks you set yourself should be like this, unmovable.

The whole essence of this article is based, for the majority of people, around time management.

We never seem to have enough time to do anything constructive or to make changes.

It just seems as if we are swimming against the tide of life, hoping we are doing just enough to manage from one drama to the next.

Use online systems like Google Calendar, reminder or habit tracker apps to your phone to set your unmovable tasks, whether that be decluttering, managing your diary, or time with your family.

You will be surprised that simple little changes can have a big impact on your life going forward.

Decluttering after Christmas

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With Christmas over and a new year approaching, decluttering after Christmas is an ideal time to re-evaluate what you have and what you can dispose of or give away.

Christmas decorations (which didn’t get put up), are an ideal first casualty in the decluttering after Christmas war.

Use storage boxes

Clear storage boxes with lids are ideal for Christmas decorations. You can see through them so you know what you have.

Before putting them away, clear out the old and out of fashion decorations.This helps to keep the boxes uncluttered and free of old decorations which you know will never be used again.

Evaluate your storage space

Getting your Christmas decorations down from the loft or out of the garage or shed, is an ideal time to evaluate where and how you should store them.

If you have just ‘dumped’ them there, try to re-organise. Getting rid of unused items should also free up some space and you would be so much more organised for next year.

Wrapping paper, boxes, bags and labels

Wrapping paper and containers for presents which didn’t get are ideal to keep for next year.

I know I shouldn’t be encouraging you to keep stuff when I’m writing a piece about getting rid of items you no longer use. But this will save you time and money in the long run.

Present bags and boxes are ideal to keep and keep using over and over again for years. You can store the present or bottle bags in the boxes you are keeping to use up valuable space.

It makes sense to keep present bags in these boxes as it makes it easier to identify for next year

Wrapping paper can be stored in clear wrapping paper containers. These are readily available on Amazon and as they are clear you can see whether they are for birthdays or Christmas.

These containers protect the easily damaged paper from being damaged and stored very effectively for next year.

Presents and gifts

As we receive our gifts over Christmas, this is an ideal time to dispose of or give away items we no longer use.

As most of us have a few days off over Christmas, this is an ideal time to go through what you do not need and free up spaces in our wardrobes, cupboards and drawers.

Sock drawers are a great example of clearing out the old socks which have built up over time.

As most of us will receive similar gifts like these, clearing these out will make you feel good about your new items.

Wardrobes and drawers.

Check for old clothes no longer worn. Decluttering after Christmas for these items will provide you with more space for your new clothes.

Just putting new clothes into already jammed wardrobes will not help your ability to identify items you need to wear. You will simply forget about them as you cannot find them.

Electronics and gadgets

We live in a world dominated by electronic gadgets.

These electronic items are mostly stored in cupboards and drawers, so are easily forgotten.

Old phones and chargers are a great example that people seem to keep for posterity reasons. We feel attached to keep because, quite frankly, they have been attached to us for so long.

You can get money back on valuable electronics like mobile phones, through various high street shops in the UK. This is a great way to declutter and earn money at the same time.

Electronics should be recycled because of their components, you cannot simply throw these away. You will have to take it to your recycling depot.

Simply get a cardboard box and store them in there, ready for disposal. Just make sure you have ‘wiped’ any personal information from them.

Children’s toys and games

Childrens toys are an ongoing annual event. Decluttering these are also ongoing event throughout the year.

Children get toys for birthdays and Christmas and generally when adults are feeling generous.

Anyone with small children will know how cluttered their toys and games get.

Broken or old toys should be removed without the children seeing you do it.

As new toys replace the old around Christmas, children will focus on their shiny new toy. This is an ideal time to dispose of unwanted toys.

One trick to use when clearing out old toys, is to keep them elsewhere ready for disposal.

If the child cries out about missing their favourite or old toy, you can simply say you’ve found it and put it back.

Food and drink

As we eat our way through the festive season, this gives us an opportunity to clear out old food from storage cupboards and freezers.

Freezers are a particular culprit in storing food which is out of date and lurking in back of the freezer.

You cannot freeze food forever, it will go out of date. If that’s the case, you need to dispose of it.

Sauces, pickles and storage jars. So if you have more than one of the same type, empty the contents into the same jar, freeing up space.

This saves from having multiple jars clogging up valuable space.

Finally, use your time effectively. If you have spare days whilst not at work, this is the time to get decluttering after Christmas and ready for the new year.

Overwhelmed by Clutter?

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Are you feeling overwhelmed by clutter? It is a very easy trap to fall into, because clutter happens slowly and over time and will build up without you noticing. Until one day you can’t live with it anymore

Start small to get going

When overwhelmed by clutter, it’s important to make an assessment of where to start.

A quick and easy win would be to start with a drawer. This is starting small

This will help you psychologically start the process and develop the mindset for further decluttering.

Create a plan and write a list

The next step would be to create a plan as you are already in the decluttering mindset by your small drawer decluttering.

Make a list and write it down. This process of writing a list is important. Don’t store it in your head, it would just overwhelm you again.

It is also very satisfying when you can strike items of the list as you progress and will spur you on to do more.

Focus on a single room/place

Deal with a single room or a space at one time. This will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by clutter everywhere.

Use the 3 box/bag method of keeping, throwing away, giving away or storing long term. Sometimes this is done best with someone to support you through this process and help you make those tough decisions.

Now you are in the decluttering mindset by the quick win of decluttering the drawer, now’s the time to make a real impact.

Make an real impact

Start with the room that you live in and use the most. This will have the most impact on your life. Getting this one room completely decluttered, will start to relieve the stress of being overwhelmed by clutter. You will start to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Set realistic timescales

As clutter has probably built up slowly over time, give yourself proper realistic timescales in sorting it out. This probably cannot happen in a single day.

If you find it daunting, give yourself regular breaks. Aim for simple minute durations of 10, 20, 30 minutes. The decluttering durations will start to grow as you get your head into the process.

Positivity and reward

Try to see the decluttering as a positive experience, rather than a chore. Decluttering can be hard, physical work and there’s great satisfaction with achieving something that’s hard.

Reward yourself with regular breaks with a nice cup of tea or coffee. This reward process allows you to work towards the break and spurs you on.

Take photos of before and after to see your progress.

Don’t be a perfectionist.

“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. This should be a mantra going forward. You will probably find that decluttering one room will probably clutter another room. This is perfectly normal.

Getting rid of rubbish or giving away stuff to charity, should be a regular process to help keep the clutter to a minimum around the house.

The decluttered items, now cluttering up another room have already been logged into your mind of what you are going to do with them.

Every great journey starts with a single step

Finally, you have decided to deal with the issue. See this process as a journey to initially deal with the problem.

Going forward, you need to keep the clutter to a minimum.

You’re not a perfectionist, no one really is when dealing with clutter.

If you fall down and clutter starts to rear its head, recognise the problem is starting again and deal with it before it becomes a problem.

A 10 minute declutter is much easier to deal with than a full day or weeks worth of decluttering.

Give it go. If you don’t get there 100% always remember that 80% is always better than 0%.

Decluttering boxes

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The use of decluttering boxes is an ideal way of storing items you need for use later on.

When you have a mountain of stuff and want to organise it properly, then it makes sense to store it all away in decluttering boxes.

This does not mean you need to stuff everything away. You still have to go through the process of decluttering in order to store the minimum amount.

They are so easily available nowadays, all sorts of them, whatever you are looking for is so easily obtainable.

Storage units will sell you boxes, along with anything else you would need to pack away fragile items for storing, like bubble wrap, tape etc.

You can also get companies like theboxco.co.uk, who will pick up your boxes, store them carefully and return them when you need it.

You can use our discount code of DARETODECLUTTER

This discount code will give you a discount on the cost of the storage over a period of time for the theboxco.co.uk

Places like Ikea will have plenty of options, whether it’s long flat plastic boxes on wheels that can quite easily fit under your bed.

Or plastic boxes with lids, which are so handy as you can see what’s in them.

The boxes with lids are very handy as they can be stored on top of each other, therefore saving valuable ground space

For the more aesthetically organised person, more decorative options are available.

There are a number of high street shops that sell boxes now as well.

And the obvious online shops, where you can get any size, shape, and colour.

These decorative boxes can be stored on shelves and serve as part of the furniture or look of a room.

Use the loft (if you have one)

If you are lucky enough to have a loft, use the space carefully and wisely.

Packing your things into boxes will utilise that precious space.

Make sure you label cardboard boxes, but better still use clear, plastic ones so that you can see your things at a glance.

And group boxes by their contents for easy access.

For example, it makes sense to locate your Christmas decorations in one part of the loft only

This makes its easy for when you need them quickly and saves time searching every box in the loft

It seems now that everywhere you look everyone wants to be more organised and decluttered, is it a trend?

Or is it something that we have always aspired to be?

Whatever reason you feel that everything needs to be in it’s right place.

I highly recommend you start with packing your things away in boxes.

And if you need help you can always contact us

Why decluttering is hard

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Decluttering is hard. Why?

There are many reasons, but I’ve listed a few of the higher levels of reasons behind the mindset.

In order to move forward you will have to re-think how you approach the situation.

Feeling Overwhelmed

One day you wake up and realise you have too much stuff. How did that occur?

Having a cluttered life is a slow and developing process that people don’t notice until it’s too late, then you’re overwhelmed.

You take one look at it, think it’s all too much and then give up

That’s the overwhelming part. The way to get round this is to start somewhere small and simple to declutter for a quick win.

That quick win will in turn spur you on to do more. So a simple trick is to start with a cluttered drawer, empty it out and get rid, keep or donate items from it.

Rearrange the drawers, purchase drawer dividers and have a place for everything. This simple trick will make you realise you can take control back, one small step at a time.

Enlist help

Ask someone who you trust and is non-judgemental. This will help to spur you on and 2 people are better than 1 in getting the job done.

Reward yourself and your friend with a takeaway or a glass of wine afterwards. The commanderie will help see you through and make it an enjoyable process.

Over thinking the problem

You could term this as an ‘excuse’ mindset. You subconsciously think it’s all too much so you compensate by trying to do too much too soon.

That only ever leads to failure, because quite simply, decluttering is hard and you’re not used to it.

Again start small, declutter a drawer, hang your clothes in the wardrobe or make your bed.

These are simple tasks that require minimum thinking but can have a big impact on improving your negative mindset.

Stop trying to overthink and just do.

Have a decluttering plan

The process of planning should not be underestimated. If you invest time in planning, this is the start of the decluttering process.

It has been shown that by starting small and investing some time, however small kickstarts the process. Once this has started, even if you stop, the mental need for c ompletion remains.

Make a simple plan and write it down (important). Always start in a single room or area, have storage or boxes and bags available and decide how to tackle it.

Write each stage down and when complete, draw a line through it. Working to lists is a very satisfying process and mentally spurs you on.

Societal Pressure

We live in a materialistic society where the ‘biggest is best’ mindset. You need the biggest house, the best car, more money, the latest gadgets etc…

All this puts undue pressure on people to deliver more and more. This all adds to a house ‘full of stuff’

So what do you do? Buy more cupboards to store more stuff or buy a bigger house to store more clutter?

Sometimes growing families mean a bigger house is needed. But buying a house because you think you’ve outgrown your current cluttered home, would be a mistake.

Always go with the mindset of being happy and grateful with what you have, not what you don’t have.

Aspiration to achieve is a good thing, materialistic want is not. You’ll just end up spending money on worthless items and a house full of stuff.

Learn to be happy.

Conclusion

Finally, you’re probably reading this because you’ve realised decluttering is hard. But it can be made simple.

Make a plan. This will negate the overwhelm and trying to overthink the problem
Enlist help. Get someone else to help who you trust and get on with
Don’t worry about what society or others think. They don’t live your life, like you don’t live theirs