Clutter Busting Tips

Clutter in some homes, can be a real bugbear! From shoes all over the place, coats slung over the back of a chair, magazines everywhere or perhaps it's the wardrobe / closet! Here we've compiled some great tips and recommended some of our clutter busting products to help you get on your way to an organised home that's a dream to relax in!

De-clutter

Before you can really organise your home, it's best to take some time to declutter. Perhaps you want to have a good clear out of junk throughout the whole house, but why not break it down into manageable chunks?

Take a room at a time and really go through each one thoroughly before moving onto the next. One room at a time won't seem quite as daunting, and you can spend more time to ensure it will be done properly which will help when keeping it neat and tidy in the future!

Below we've given you a step by step guide of how you can declutter your home effectively.

Step one: Select the room that you're going to start with, and clear an area to sort through your items.
Next empty out all the cupboards / drawers / wardrobes, whatever it is, get it all out!!
Place it into the clearing area, and grab some storage boxes & bags, and bin liners!

      Step two: Next go through everything, and make four piles:

                       Pile 1) Items to keep - everything that you can't live without, that absolutely MUST be kept and will be given a new tidier home.

                       Pile 2) Items to repair - this might be things you want to keep, but that need a bit of TLC, or things you think you could sell / give away but need a bit of a spruce up! Anything from shoes that need to be re-heeled, toys, coats with holes in the pockets, whatever it is, put it in the pile and you can decide once it's been fixed whether or not it's worthy of your new clean and tidy home, or if it's still definitely clutter and can be given to a charity shop or sold!

                       Pile 3) Items to sell / give away - anything that is in good order but that you can sell at a boot fair or to friends, or perhaps give to a charity shop.
If you're unsure, give it the 6 month test, have you worn it / used it in the last 6 months? No? It's OUT!
Make way for new things and reduce your clutter by thinking about what you use today! It might be brutal, and some things we're sure you'll be sad to see the back of, but it will be worth it once you have a tidy home!

                        Pile 4) Items to throw away - fill up those bin bags with everything you don't need. Documents that are no longer needed, beyond repair shoes / clothes / toys, things that you forgot you even had, chuck it all out. It will feel good after - promise!

Step three: Now you've sorted out your items it's time to think about what you're going to do with everything that made the cut.
If it's your wardrobe / closet, take some time to assess your current wardrobe interior. Is it well planned? If not, why not take a look at some of our wardrobe packages here. We have lots of designs to choose from that will allow you to separate your long hanging garments from your short hanging garments from your folded garments!
If you can't find anything that suits your size / style, let us know and we'll come up with a custom design free of charge!
If it's documents, why not look at getting some files and plastic wallets to organise your papers into categories. Bank statements and credit card statements in one folder, Utility bills & Council Tax statements in another, Work related items in one folder & Car related documents in another...

If you're organising another area in the home, what do you usually store here? Coats? Shoes? Keys? Broom? Ironing board? Toys?

Whatever it is, make sure that now you have cleansed your home of the junk, the items which are staying have an appropriate home! Shelving, baskets, drawers, hooks can all be utilised to organise your storage areas more efficiently and help you to keep on top of the clutter. Make sure you maximise storage by making use of the vertical space too.

We have some great products to recommend:

	8051 - Tie & Belt Rack Designed for storing ties & belts but also a great item for keeping jewellery tidy, keys, umbrellas, bags, dog lead, p.e. kit, the list goes on! £10.49 inc. VAT Fixing hardware comes included. You can install this item directly onto a wall, or perhaps the back of a door! Click here to buy!
8111 - Stack & Expand Shoe Rack The beauty of this item is that it will continually grow as your shoe collection does! The stack & expand shoe rack is a tubular steel frame which stands at 64.5cm wide, but expands up to 114.3cm wide. Each item is sold separately giving you one level of shoe storage space, but if you purchase two or more you can stack these items and create your own shoe tower. £23.99 inc. VAT Click here to buy!
	Cloakroom layout #1 - 1.83m / 6' Wide Our wire shelving system is ideal for creating a cloakroom / hallway storage area. Our SuperSlide shelving allows you to add a hang bar to create space for coats and jackets and this design also includes a shoe rack. You can choose between 12" (30.5cm) & 16" (40.6cm) deep shelving, and the hardware will be sent to fit with your available space. Shelving can be trimmed to suit your exact dimensions, and we also have other designs for you to choose from. Prices from £70 inc. VAT Click here to buy!
3462 - Broom & Mop Holder Ideal for storage in under the stairs cupboards, or kitchens. This broom and mop holder is the perfect accessory for storing your cleaning items so that they're easy to find and kept neat and tidy. 8 hooks for resting brooms / hanging dust pans etc from, and two adjusting hooks with rubber caps that grip the handles of your mops or brooms. £12.99 inc. VAT Click here to buy!
	Alder 6 Cube Package Perfect for use in the kitchen, hallway, living room, or in a kids room, our Cubeicals packages represent great value for money too with fabric drawers included in the price! This lovely alder finish is a great warm colour and will fit into any room, but we also have packages available in white, espresso & cherry finishes and in different sizes. You could design your own unit too! £66.99 inc. VAT Click here to buy!

Step four: Now that you've decided how you're going to store all your items, it's time to start prepping the space. If you're re-organising a storage cupboard / wardrobe / closet, a fresh lick of paint will do wonders! Remove any old shelving and fill the holes, sand it all down and paint! A nice clean coat of paint will really lift the space and you'll be so glad you put the extra effort in afterwards.
Next if you're installing new accessories or shelving, make sure you read the instructions BEFORE you start trimming anything or marking anything out. The old saying measure twice, cut once, doesn't work the other way around, so make sure you know what you're doing before you start and it will save a lot of frustration.
Now that you're new storage system is in place and ready to use, start putting things back. Make sure you have a system. Things that are used every day, make sure they're within easy reach. Items that are only used every so often should go on higher shelves, and consider using boxes to help access them when required, and keep the dust off when they're stored.
If organising a laundry room, try colour coding hampers or storage bins, so you can organise clothes by person / colour / casuals / work wear etc.

Now that you've successfully de-cluttered your home, it's time to start enjoying it! Make sure everybody knows where the new home for your stuff is, and there will be no excuses for losing things again!