Guest article from houseremoval.com 

When you have a young family it is so easy for your home to become cluttered. All that extra stuff you acquire when you start a family simply builds up into a mountain of clutter. And it’s easy to make excuses for not dealing with it.

I’m not suggesting you clear out family treasures or items of sentimental value – and if your family is still growing it makes sense to keep toys, clothes and equipment that the older children have outgrown to use for the new arrivals. But…  if you now have the perfect family size, is all that stuff really necessary? It can’t all have sentimental value – let’s face it much of it is probably junk. 

And that’s where my first tip comes in…

 

Be Honest With Yourself

If we all take a long hard look at the items cluttering our home, and are totally honest with ourselves, then most of these items we neither need nor want. But being totally honest is one of the hardest hurdles to get over – because committing to decluttering is not about finding the time or the energy but it’s about reaching the right mental state. It’s about genuinely wanting to have a cleaner, clearer home. Oh yes, cleaner because how can you truly keep the place clean if it’s cluttered? Something else to think honestly about.

If you aren’t in the right frame of mind right now why not think about the benefits of decluttering:

• A cleaner home
• A calmer, less-stressed home and life (because you can always find what you need when you need it)

You know, I’m going to stop right there with the benefits because those 2 should be enough to motivate anyone.

So let’s have a look at how to quickly declutter your home with minimum disruption once you’ve truly accepted that it needs doing:

 

Be Ruthless 

This is all about our frame of mind again – ignore any vague attachment to an item and think dispassionately about whether it is necessary in your life. Take each item that you suspect of being clutter and ask yourself 3 questions:

• Do you use it?
• Do you need it?
• Do you love it?

No to all of those? Then it is definitely clutter and needs to go.

Don’t Take On Too Much

If your home is anything like mine was before I discovered the benefits of decluttering then it can be difficult to know where to start. So don’t be too hard on yourself. Why not try decluttering just one room in a day or even a weekend. Otherwise the task can be so overwhelming that you will never complete it – or even start it!

 

Use Containers & Labels

Containers can be anything from sturdy plastic bags to cardboard boxes to packing crates but whatever you decide to use get them ready in advance and clearly label them: Recycle, Charity, Storage, Trash or whatever categories work for you.

As you fill them, move them to your car or the garage ready to go to the charity shop, recycling centre or household waste disposal. Whatever you do, don’t leave them in the house creating even more clutter. Fill some bags and boxes then dispose of them – that way you will see yourself making progress. 

For items that you are recycling make sure you group them together with similar items so the whole container can be disposed of at the same time and place – and you don’t find yourself having to sort through your containers at the recycling centre. And, remember that any electrical item that has a plug or uses a battery must be disposed of according to local regulations.  

 

Remaining clutter-free

When you have completed your decluttering exercise it can be easy to slip back into bad habits if you don’t have enough storage space for everything you are keeping so invest in some good storage units to keep your home tidy. And if you really don’t have enough space for everything you need to keep then rent a small self storage unit to store seasonal items, sports equipment or family treasures you don’t need every day.