Decluttering your home: quick and easy tips to follow right away
Do you dream of a more organized home?
Do you wish you could zip through your home and quickly tidy up?
Once you get your home organized and set up a system, it takes 15 minutes or less to decluttering your home.
Would you like that?
Why not give these top tips to decluttering your home a try. Grab a java, put on your favorite tunes and set the timer.
You will not need much time to quickly declutter your home if you follow these simple tips.
Living Room: The top of your coffee table should be 75% clear. Clear off and recycle the old newspapers and magazines. Put any unopened mail in a “to do” basket or file. Clear off anything else that is not related to the living room or to the coffee table.
Save only the last 2 issues of magazines. If you must keep an article from a magazine, tear it out and file it. Better yet, can you find that information on Google when you need it?
Keep all remotes in one basket or decorative box.
Ottomans not only act as great storage they are comfy to sit on. I like the look of a tray on top of the ottoman. This acts as a surface to put your drinks and snacks on.
Downsize the number of area rugs you have. This can make your home look smaller and cluttered. Not to mention the amount of dust that can accumulate in them.
Be mindful of your bookshelves. Are the books falling off the shelf? Are they crammed in there so tight you cannot get them out even if you did want to re-read them? Did you know that most people do not re-read their books even though they have the best of intentions to? Keep at least 10% of each book shelf bare. Have no more than 3 non-book items on any given shelf. For example a glass vase that you got on one of your vacations or as a wedding gift.
Displaying photos in similar frames is a more cohesive look. It helps to keep your eye on the photo not on the frame.
Have a place at your front entrance for shoes. Nothing looks decluttered more than a pile of shoes. It is the first thing you see when you walk in your home. It can be a trip zone as well.
Kids Zone: Keep kids toys in baskets. Keep to the same size, shape and colour of baskets. One basket can be for all red toys or cars. One basket can be for all blue toys or dolls, etc. This helps with clean up as it is easy to ask your child to take a basket and go pick up all their red toys for example.
Install pantry sliders helps to keep your kitchen organized.
Kitchen: Keep no more than 10-12 plastic storage containers in your kitchen drawer or cupboard. If you eat yogurt you are always bringing more plastic containers into your home.
Say goodbye to junk drawers. What is in yours? When was the last time you looked in there? Are the take out menus still applicable or have the restaurants gone out of business?
Take out recycling every day or every other day. Piles of recycling can look disorganized.
Have one place for keys and one place only. For safety purposes do not have your keys hanging on a hook which can be seen from the outside of your home. For example by your back door window. Keep a spare set of keys to each vehicle and each door of your home in a secondary spot. For example in the kitchen drawer. (Not the junk drawer as you will no longer have one!!)
Paper: Use the 2 F’s rule when it comes to paper. Can you file it (bills, bank statements) I say go paperless on this one? Or frame it (for example, kids artwork)?
Kiss junk mail goodbye by signing up for www.reddotchampainge.com
Visit catalogues online to avoid extra paper products coming into your home.
Shred, shred and shred some more. This is the perfect task to delegate to age appropriate children.
Check out this video on decluttering your home for a bonus tip:
Bathroom: Keep cosmetics in a nice cosmetic bag or basket on bathroom counter. Better yet, slip it under the sink after each use. Have a basket for your blow dryer, hot iron and all other hair products.
Keep only one shampoo, one conditioner and one body wash in your shower stall at all times. All those unused bottles need to be used up and recycled.
Bedroom: A well made bed says hello to being clutter free.
Hang up clothes as soon as you take them off. This will save you so much time when it comes to decluttering your home.
What is one decluttering rule you make sure and do every day? For some it is a clean kitchen sink, for others it is a made bed. Please leave your comments in the box below.