How to Declutter Your Home and Upgrade Your Storage Space

Free Your Mind of Stress by Upgrading Your Organization

If clutter is a problem in your living space, it can also be a problem for your mind. When your space is cluttered and disorganized, it affects everything you do in your home, from playing with your kids to getting work done from your home office. Clutter is distracting and messy and, in most cases, hard to look at every day. Decluttering your home will give you, and everyone you live with a sense of calm that you may not even realize is missing in your lives.

Use the Bin Method to Declutter

Once you’ve decided to tackle the clutter in your life, you may feel intimidated by how to get started. The bin method is an easy way to determine what to do with the overflowing items from your closets, cabinets, desks, and bathrooms. Get five bins and label them like this:

Put Away

These are the things you want to keep but in the wrong place.

Recycle

Anything that you can recycle should be recycled, including:

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Empty dry cleaning hangers and bags
• Empty shipping boxes

Fix or Mend

Some things that may need fixing include toys, clothing, and small appliances—any item that’s useful but not entirely functional.

Trash

Anything that makes you think “that’s garbage” needs to be thrown away, like:

• Ripped, stained, or otherwise ruined clothing
• Old shoes
• Chipped plates
• Old utensils
• Broken costume jewelry

Donate

After trash, this will probably be the most significant portion of your decluttering items, such as:

• Outgrown clothing
• Shoes that you’ve never worn
• Kitchen items that you never use (remember that ice cream maker?)
• The furniture you’ve replaced
• Books you don’t want
• Toys no one plays with anymore.

Once your bins are clearly labeled so even the youngest reader in the home can understand them, you’re ready to start the process of eliminating clutter.

Declutter Room by Room

Each room has problem areas to be tackled. Keep things moving smoothly by taking the piles from each room to the bins rather than moving the bins around with you. If more than one person is doing the decluttering, do it together room by room instead of splitting up. Then, you can cheer each other on when you decide to trash or donate a questionable item.

Bedrooms

Bedrooms are catch-alls for so many things we both cherish and forget about sometimes. Your grandmother’s precious necklace shares space with the broken silver chain that you never wear. Your most loved jeans are hanging next to the brown suede pants you’ve worn once. Be ruthless about clearing out your wardrobe. We wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time, and those mateless socks will never find their partner.

Go through your:

• Closets
• Dressers
• Under-bed storage
• Nightstands

And remember—if it doesn’t fit now, it may not ever fit again. And even if it does fit someday, it will be entirely out of style.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms are loaded with lotions, potions, medications, and cosmetics that we never use and probably expired.

• Take your drugs to a pharmacy that recycles expired medications.
• Throw out anything that smells bad, has lost its texture, or you don’t like.
• You can donate old towels to a local animal shelter.
• Homeless shelters will take your unused cosmetics, soaps, and shampoos.

Home Office

The home office is, for many people, the space where we spend the most amount of time each day. So it shouldn’t be a cluttered mess, no matter how much paperwork you do or have done in the past. We all need room to think while we work, and piles close to tipping over won’t do anyone any good if you’re trying to stay focused.

Clear out these places in your office, and send most of it to the recycle bin:

• Shelves
• Desk drawers
• Filing cabinets
• Storage boxes
• Cords, chargers, and other electronics

Kitchen

Here’s the rule for the kitchen that matters the most: Check the expiration dates on everything, especially your spice rack and canned goods. Then throw those expired food items away. No one needs to eat chicken soup that’s from five years ago.

It’s a good idea to go through every single cabinet and drawer and be honest with yourself about what you have and what you don’t need. It’s much easier to find the things you use daily if the items you use rarely are gone.

Reorganize with New Storage Solutions

Once you’ve made the trips to the trash dump, charitable organizations where you are donating things, and the recycling center in your community, it’s time to get your home organized, so you never have to declutter again. Keep the bins that you used to declutter in your garage or basement and add to them periodically as you continue to take stock of what you need to get rid of in your home. Next, get some storage solutions, including:

• Clear plastic containers for cabinets and pantries
• Drawer dividers
• Hanging shoe bags
• Toy bins and storage boxes
• Hooks, hangers, and baskets for your bathroom
• A label maker

Storage Options from Art of Drawers

At Art of Drawers, we are happy to offer custom storage and organization solutions for bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and the rest of your home. Our storage products, designed to suit your needs, are made from high-quality woods to last a long time. To find out more about our services or to schedule a free design session for your home, please contact us online or at 770-800-8410.