Ok, now that you’re in the zone, let us take you through our favourite method for really getting serious about decluttering and organising your home. 

• STEP 1: Choose your target (and tear it apart)
  Maybe it’s the (shudder) drawer with all the plastic containers, maybe it’s a wardrobe or cupboard, or maybe it’s your workspace – whichever pocket of clutter you decide to tackle, remove every single thing from it and spread it all out somewhere where you can see (in all its dubious glory).

• STEP 2: Edit (which is just a nicer way of saying start chucking stuff out)
  Now it’s time to turf or rehome anything that doesn’t belong, that doesn’t get used, or that is broken. You don’t need five pairs of tongs, nor do you need more than one potato masher to make it impossible to open the utensils drawer. Be ruthless – keep only what you use.

• STEP 3: Sort it out into categories
  Whatever’s left after your editing session now needs to be sorted in a way that makes sense. In a pantry that might mean grouping baking ingredients, breakfast cereals, and canned goods. In a wardrobe, it might mean sorting your clothes into uses (eg. Workout gear, sleepwear, workwear etc), and in a bathroom it’ll mean grouping your haircare products, make-up and those three skincare products that your husband never uses.

• STEP 4: Put it away – nicely
  Once everything is sorted into categories, it’s time to pop it back from whence it came. But wait! Don’t just shove it back in willy-nilly and hope for the best. Contain or display your things in their categories so that they’ll be easy to find when you need them, and so that it’ll be easy to keep the area tidy. In the pantry and bathroom, go for clear storage containers that you can label. In the wardrobe, use matching hangers to store your clothes, and baskets or containers to help keep smaller items like socks and underwear organised.

  This is also your chance to jump on the Shelfie bandwagon. If you have open shelf space in your home, use it to display vignettes of your special things, without overcrowding. Look to Pinterest for styling inspiration, and change the arrangements every now and again to keep things fresh and interesting.

  STEP 5: Keep your house clean and organised
  Once you’ve put the hard work in to declutter and organise an area of your home, your only job is to keep it that way. Easier said than done, especially when you have a family, but you can do it! We recommend making sure everything is spic and span and where it should be before you trundle off to bed for the night, because it’s amazing how different your morning will feel when you wake up to an organised, clutter-free space.

Some other tips:

• Take before and after photos – when you can see the impact of your efforts, you’ll be  motivated to keep going.

   

• Pack away clothes that aren’t appropriate for the season to make your wardrobe feel less cluttered. When the weather changes, swap them over so you’re always prepared with appropriate outfits.

   

• Don’t expect to get your whole house done in one fell swoop. Going too big at the start will likely result in overwhelm and you’ll probably give up before you’ve made any real difference. Tackle the clutter in stages, and you’ll have a much better chance at making it stick.

   

• Write a checklist of every area in your home that you want to declutter and organise. It’ll keep you accountable, and it’s immensely satisfying to tick them off as you go.

Need some help with storage solutions to keep your place organised? The FURNISHD. team is here to help source the perfect pieces to suit your home (and keep all that stuff under control!)