Being a homeowner requires long-term commitment. Regardless of how expensive your home is, you will need to exert time and effort to ensure that it’s functional and clean. A poorly maintained home can result in clutter that can cause stress and impact your general well-being, especially your mental health.
According to studies, seeing clutter at home can increase the cortisol levels in the brain and create chronic stress. The longer you leave clutter in your space, the more severe its effects are to your mental health. Over time, clutter can also become the reason why your home will lose its inviting ambiance and shoo away you and your family to stay indoors for long periods.
Make sure that this doesn’t happen by de-cluttering your home. Here are ways you can do it:
1. Dispose Of Items That Are No Longer In Use
It’s common for people to keep items even when they are no longer using them. While some people do this because of the sentimental value of the items, others are doing it because they don’t want to waste the money they spent on purchasing those things. If you want to de-clutter your home, you should dispose of items that are no longer in use, regardless of how sentimental or expensive these might be.
Depending on the condition of these items, you can look for a donation pickup service or sell these items in a garage sale. Any of these options can help you de-clutter your home, while making sure that your most loved possessions will have new owners.
2. Start Clearing A Starting Zone
One of the reasons why only very few homeowners are successful in de-cluttering their space is because they can easily get overwhelmed. Most homeowners have the motivation to start organizing their homes, but once they realize that the task will require loads of effort and time, they will lose the motivation to continue.
If you have been in this cycle and don’t want to experience the same thing again, start small. Instead of targeting to de-clutter your entire home for one weekend, start clearing one area, like your couch, table, or kitchen counter. Your goal in this process is to ensure that unnecessary items are not placed on the surfaces of these zones, and the cleanliness of these spaces is maintained for the longest time possible.
Over time, you can start expanding your zones and work on other areas of your home. As long you’re making progress every single day, it won’t be long before you can eventually organize your entire home!
3. Teach Your Kids And Everyone At Home Where Things Belong
De-cluttering is a long-term effort that requires the cooperation of everyone in your home. It’ll be very frustrating to successfully de-clutter your home, only to realize that none of your family members know where to place their clothes, socks, and other valuables. This can result in a lot of stress, and you’ll be back to square one all over again.
When de-cluttering your home, teaching your kids and everyone in the household where things belong should be part of your to-do list. You should teach them which items should be placed where and how important de-cluttering is. Your family members won’t be able to learn this habit overnight, so make sure that you remain patient and understanding.
4. Use Simple Folders
Paper can easily pile up in your home. This is especially true if your kids are attending school or if some of your family members are working at home. To ensure that everyone’s documents stay in place, and do not create clutter, make use of simple folders, which usually come cheap and can be bought almost anywhere.
Simply label the folders that you’re going to use at home and inform the entire family about the purpose of each. You can give one folder each to your kids and ask them to keep all of their artworks there. You can also encourage the adults to use the same method in storing major bills and important documents.
Think Long-Term
There are a lot of ways on how you can de-clutter your home and ensure that the entire space is organized. However, it’s not enough that you just know how to get the job done. You should also have the commitment to continue your efforts for the longest time possible. De-cluttering your home today and, then, disregarding the importance of organization a week after will put all of your efforts down the drain.
Make sure that this doesn’t happen by de-cluttering every day. The more consistent you are with your efforts, the sooner you can enjoy a well-organized and clutter-free home!
