10 tips to help you de-clutter your home

Decluttering the wardrobe

Often the apartment is cluttered with clothes. Putting things in order in the wardrobe is one of the most interesting, but at the same time the most difficult tasks. First you need to decide what exactly you have to leave. Usually this is the basic wardrobe.The minimum of women's clothing usually includes: a black dress, which is appropriate for business negotiations, and at a party, and in nature, a neutral-colored raincoat, a beige or white blouse or shirt, a skirt, black trousers, classic dark blue jeans, a jacket or blazer , a high-quality cardigan and two sweaters, beige high-heeled shoes, sneakers or sneakers in white or black, a down jacket, elegant ballet flats, at least two bags (one small and elegant, and the second roomy). These things are quite enough, but, of course, every woman has her own basic wardrobe. All this must be left.

Now for the things to get rid of. This is all that does not fit in size, things that are obsolete and worn out. They need to be distributed, thrown away, given to an orphanage or a community assistance center, and tried to be sold. You don’t need to throw it away yet, but you should put aside clothes that need repair, things that you don’t like yourself in, on a separate shelf. Good products that do not suit you personally should be sold, and everything that needs repair should be repaired. A separate category is things that should have been thrown away a long time ago, but they are so dear to the heart that they lie just like that. We need to gather strength and throw it all away.

First you need to start sorting out your things, and only then decide what to do with the clothes of your children or husband. Men usually clutter up the wardrobe is easier. They can almost always select from the whole mass of shirts and T-shirts those that are comfortable. If these things are in good condition (not worn, do not require repair), they can be left. This is half the job done.It remains only to leave jeans, shorts, trousers, 2-3 sets of clothes for going out and for every day, home clothes (two sets are also enough). It is better to buy socks at once in several identical pairs, throw away worn borsets, and replace a bunch of eco-leather belts with one, but of high quality.

Creative approach to displaying souvenirs

If you have things dear to your heart that you feel sorry to part with, be creative in storing them. Deep display frames are a great idea for storing bulky items like jewelry. A wonderful exhibition of your jewelry can be arranged in the lobby or hallway. You can even buy stylish hooks to hang hats, scarves, and other bulky items you don't want to hide. Opportunities - the sea!

Showcase for beautiful little things in a Swedish studio

I hope these ideas help you clear some space in your home and I believe what will you feel feel better by tidying up the rooms and making room for positive energy!

cleaning tips

Rational storage

The main rule of organized storage is that in the end it should be comfortable and spacious. The more free space in the room, the better. Although this conflicts with the habitual and even natural for many people the ability to complicate things, as well as with a passion for hoarding and shopping. But the world around has become more technologically advanced: there are fewer wires, instead of a mountain of papers, you can store scanned copies in electronic form, all volumes of the encyclopedia fit on a flash drive, and for storing, for example, fur coats, there are special services that will make sure that clothes survive the warm season intact. , safety and security.

After removing the garbage from the apartment, you need to decide where and how to store the necessary things. It is worth sorting objects into "hot" and "cold". The former are used every day. These are household appliances, clothes, shoes. "Cold" things - a home library, seasonal clothes, Christmas decorations, gizmos dear to the heart, and the like. To store them, it is better to organize the system somewhere in the corridor so that there are fewer cabinets in the living room. It is better to minimize open storage, and if you already have an open rack, you can additionally buy fabric or cardboard boxes to hide document folders, photo albums and other things that are not used every day from prying eyes.

Appliances

Do not rush to throw away household appliances. Non-working devices should be put in a separate bag. If by the next “revision” the technique still does not work, then there is no need for it. Well, if you can fix the devices. So the functionality of the house will improve, and there will be no items that take up space idle. But where to put the rubbish, that is, old tape recorders, cassettes, non-working equipment that cannot be repaired and will no longer be used? Cassettes need to be digitized (if there are memorable photos, and films can simply be downloaded when needed), very old things can be tried to be given away to nostalgic ones, and non-working ones can be sold for spare parts.

What Decluttering Strategies Are There: Books and Videos

We have already mentioned Marla Scilly and Marie Kondo. But it is worth talking about them in more detail.

"Fly Lady"

“Fly lady”, or “flying lady”, is unthinkable without the appropriate “uniform”: comfortable shoes (and these are not slippers!), Beautiful neat clothes.

Littering, a 15-minute timer, zoning, free surfaces, a two-minute cleanup are also the foundations of Marla Seeley's theory.

She also suggests setting aside an hour a week for general cleaning - 15 minutes in each zone, no more. And for the easiest way to build your own system, he advises you to start a diary with a to-do list. You can enter a weekly and monthly cleaning schedule into it.

Marla is also opposed to tearing down the house on weekends. This is a time for family and hobbies.

Those who are interested can subscribe to her mailing list on the Internet and receive cleaning tasks by mail every day. When you realize that several thousand people in the world are dusting the mezzanine with you, it becomes more fun.

Marie Kondo Method

BUT Here's Marie Kondo not a supporter of stretching out the pleasure of saying goodbye to things. Her method is fast decluttering. And not in places of storage, but in categories. Clothes, papers, books can lie in different places of the apartment, and in order to have an idea of ​​their quantity and quality, you need to analyze one category at a time.

The author advises cleaning alone so that the advice of loved ones does not confuse you.

A few more books that might be helpful:

"Simplify your life." Simplicity of life as a key factor in a free and organized life (by Erin Doland).

"Breathe freely." Decluttering is a way to unload space, get new positive emotions and free up more time. A home is a reflection of a person's personality. And the authors (Lauren Rosenfield and Melva Green) compare the person with the house.In their interpretation, a person is able to determine the course of his life, getting rid of unnecessary things.

“Perfect order in 8 minutes…”. Regina Leeds also talks a lot about the energy and the changes that come with vacating the apartment. Her system is based on three pillars: throw away the excess, sort what is available and organize storage in a functional way.

"The art of living simply." Dominique Loro's ideas may seem too revolutionary. But they make sense: theoretically, everything that we really need can fit into one, maximum two suitcases. This is a wardrobe, and favorite little things, and a must-have like a mobile phone and a toothbrush. And the author does not attribute equipment and interior items to personal things.

"Minimalism. Life without rubbish. The Russian blogger Irina Sokovykh has her own technique. The scheme is like this. First, away from everything broken, outdated and unfashionable. Then everything is useless. And finally, the unloved. And so methodically in a circle, until you understand: now there is definitely nothing to throw away.

A few more tips on how to competently start clearing debris in the house are in the video.

What to throw away and what to keep?

Remember that the more junk you throw away, the calmer your life will be. It will be hard at first, but as you sort things out, keep your goal in mind and try to manage your emotions.

With piles of "throw away" and "give away" everything is simple, but what to do with things that fall into the category of "incomprehensible"? Ask yourself why did you keep them? And, more importantly, when was the last time you used them, and why are they really dear to you? If you haven't used something for more than six months and haven't even remembered that you have this thing (and you don't have a compelling reason to leave it), it's time to say goodbye to it.

The approach to memorabilia, of course, should be different. Drawings of children, souvenirs brought by loved ones and other cute little things can and should be left. Just find a suitable place for them so that they do not scatter around the house and litter it.

Souvenirs on the shelves of cabinets in a odnushka on Varshavskoe shosse

Step 1. Stop consumerism

Stop buying unnecessary things. How simple! Not really. We are the consumer generation. For many of us, shopping is the meaning of life. We buy to relieve stress, to create an excuse for a job we hate, to emphasize status, to entertain ourselves, or just to pass the time. Many purchases replenish our junk collection.

What purchases should you refuse?

Food. Do not buy too many products, even with a long shelf life, unless, of course, you have a special pantry room in your house. Otherwise, the products purchased for the future will be stored anywhere, filling the voids in the kitchen, on the balcony, in the pantry. In today's world, where there is a large supermarket on every corner, there is free access to food around the clock. There is no need to buy in reserve, because you can always walk to the store. Keep your stock of food exactly as much as will fit in the storage spaces allocated for this.

Furniture / interior. If your apartment looks like a furniture store showroom or it's hard to step into it without touching any piece of furniture, then it's time to tie up with weekend trips to IKEA. Stop buying furniture if you already have everything you need to live.

Step 4. General cleaning for one, two, three

When someone talks about general cleaning, the imagination draws many hours of cleaning carpets, washing curtains and moving heavy pieces of furniture to dust under them. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. But the general is an important step towards decluttering. In a clean, tidy space, it is easier to breathe, there is a desire to understand things, sort and lay out.

Doesn't appear? Then let's go the other way. In order not to be intimidated by the amount of work, it is better to break a large task into several small ones. Once. Today you are in the kitchen. Lay out the food, wash the refrigerator, throw away what has gone bad for a long time, wash the kitchen set. Two. Next up is the bathroom and toilet. Three - living space, dressing room, hallway. If you carry out general cleaning and take things apart a couple of times a year, then clutter will definitely not threaten you.

Pull it all out

Select the room where you want to start decluttering and remove everything from the cabinets, chests of drawers, baskets and tables that are located there

It's important to take everything out, even recent purchases, so you can appreciate how much you actually have. I would suggest doing it early in the morning and maybe even call friends or family for help.

You have a lot of work to do (you can break it down into a couple of days).

You may have to use the floor of the corridor or the next room, because the next thing you need to do is sort all the things, and the space of the room in which they were stored may not be enough.

Divide all things into three piles: "throw away", "leave" and "give away".You can add another category: "incomprehensible", things from which you will sort out at the very end, when the sentimentality in you decreases, and the determination to get rid of things gets stronger.

Recognize the problem

A mountain of rubbish does not appear immediately

It accumulates over the years, at first you will not even pay attention to it. A few signs will tell you it's time to part with old things

This should be done if you are constantly putting off repairs, dry cleaning, or other item treatments.

These are shoes without heels, a shirt without buttons, long trousers that need to be shortened. If your hands do not reach the repair for several months, then you can easily do without these products.

If you are constantly late, and the reason is not traffic or that you overslept. And this happens because of the large number of clothes and accessories that cannot be quickly found or suitable items can be selected. Think about it, realize the problem, and you will understand that a mountain of rubbish interferes with life.

Zen decluttering

Regina Leeds, author of Perfect Order in 8 Minutes: Easy Solutions to Simplify Life and Free Up Time, teaches us about the so-called Zen organization. She says that after organizing the space, its energy changes. The vibrations that a clean, structured and well-groomed space creates emit completely different vibrations than chaos and disorder.

Regina Leeds says that tidying up any space consists of the same steps: get rid of the excess, categorize the remaining things, and organize them. She called these steps "the magic formula."

Step 1: Remove

This step helps us take control of the room and get rid of unnecessary things. We can not only throw things away, but also donate them to charitable organizations, re-gift them, give them to relatives, return them to their owners, donate recyclable materials for recycling, come up with a new purpose for them.

Step 2: Categorization

Here we need to sort items into categories with similar features: clothes, toys, food.

Step 3: Organization

Here our task is to complete the process and create beauty, convenience and functionality in the use of things.

This is the order that works. It makes no sense to buy organizers and storage devices until you get rid of the excess and appreciate the real volume of your things.

Why is it a pity to throw away old things

According to psychologists, many things become a symbol of the past for the owner. They remind what a person has achieved and what he has. Objects are reminiscent of past events and people who were in our lives. They become part of a person's life, which is why it is so difficult to throw away even a spoiled product.

Property can emphasize status and success. For example, designer clothes, furniture, cosmetics or other items, even if they are outdated. Especially if these things were expensive.

In addition, in the wardrobe of every girl and woman there are clothes in good condition that she does not wear. There are also new things that she has not even worn. In this case, it is a pity to throw out the products, even if they are not needed.

This also applies to equipment that is not used. For example, a coffee maker, juicer, toaster and other auxiliary appliances that were bought just in case.

There is a rule, if you do not use a thing for more than a year, feel free to get rid of it.New products or items in good condition do not have to be thrown away. You can donate items to second hand or donate to charity. For more information on where to donate unwanted clothes, see.

Psychological research proves that the more rubbish and things in the house, the lower the level of personal well-being of a person. The more he focuses on possessions, the less he is satisfied with life. Such people often suffer from depression and insomnia, depend on cigarettes and alcohol.

It is possible to improve the quality of life, move to a new level and get rid of the past only by getting rid of rubbish. We offer a few tips that will tell you how to get rid of unnecessary things in the apartment.

How to get rid of pity by throwing trash out of the apartment

First of all, before throwing the trash out of the apartment, a person feels sorry for many items that he once needed or were never useful, which is why he has to deal with this feeling. In order not to be sorry, you need to do some work on your own thinking in order to change it.

Over the years of life, people have become accustomed to storing unnecessary trash for years, arguing that it will ever be needed. In practice, it turns out that the dwelling quickly gathers dust after cleaning, there is not enough space in the apartment to place new things, and it becomes inconvenient to do something in everyday life, as a person is constrained by a pile of unnecessary items in the rooms.

In order to get rid of pity and throw out the trash, you should understand that free space in the house must be created regularly. Spending life in the same environment, a person becomes a hostage to thinking that he lives in the past.

Such a position does not allow you to accept something new into your life, because of which stagnation in human development begins. An apartment overloaded with junk becomes difficult to clean, which is why people start spending a lot of time cleaning, dusting, rummaging through the closet, or sorting unnecessary things.

Throwing away unnecessary things, a person becomes free, because the burden of past memories ceases to put pressure on him. Of course, you should not get rid of the photo album and children's drawings. They can be assembled and sent to a distant shelf. This will contribute to the fact that the owner of the home will have more free time to take a new photo, and not constantly review what has already been.

Remembering the past is a good thing, it helps to understand what a person has achieved in his life, what he has seen, but there should not be 365 such days in a year, as this interferes with living in the present and moving into the future.

Identification and sorting of trash

Cleaning and sorting things begins with their evaluation and determination of the need. A simple analysis and a series of questions will help you figure out what wardrobe items or values ​​​​it’s time to part with: “Do I need this item?”, “Will I use this item in the near future?”, “What emotions, memories and associations causes me is this product? If at least one of the answers is negative, throw the item away or give it to a friend.

When decluttering, first of all get rid of things that have not been used for one year. If during this time the product was not in demand, then it is unlikely that it will be used in the future. Such things can be safely put in a box with trash.

Sort through your wardrobe and throw out old, worn, or damaged items.It makes no sense to store unusable products - they spoil the energy, evoke sadness and simply take up space in the closet. Similarly, you should do with things that do not fit in size. This is especially true of the fair sex, who store a significant part of the wardrobe in case of weight loss.

Most of the rubbish is old, worn or out of size clothes, which are filled with wardrobes and chests of drawers, so you should start decluttering by sorting out the wardrobe

Having dealt with the wardrobe, gradually clean other places in the apartment:

1. Tidy up your bookshelf. Leave useful and interesting books, and put unnecessary ones in a separate box.
2. Sort the accessories, discard those that you don’t like or don’t fit your usual looks.
3. Throw away old cards, invitations, letters, and notes that are worthless or associated with negative thoughts.
4. Sort out all the dishes in the cupboards. Throw away chipped or cracked plates and cups, get rid of old frying pans and pots, because every housewife is guaranteed to have new inventory in stock that is waiting in the wings.
5. Check bed linen, towels, tablecloths. Throw away items that are stained, washed or damaged. New things that do not cause positive emotions, sell or give away.
6. Get rid of broken equipment. Faulty appliances work like vampires - they absorb positive energy and fill the apartment with negative. In such houses conflicts and troubles often arise.

Eastern wisdom says that positive energy escapes through holes in shoes, socks and clothes. This leads to an oppressed psycho-emotional state, self-doubt and the development of complexes.

The main stage of decluttering is to get rid of everything that brings sadness, melancholy and negative memories.

It is sometimes difficult for people to part with things that resemble a specific person, period of life or a certain moment, but it is important to correctly place the accents and remove as much as possible from life and the environment everything that does not bring pleasure. Throw away photos with the former, remove souvenirs, gifts and items that cause irritation and negativity

Get rid of things saturated with bad energy and sad memories. Only after parting with the sad past will the door to a brighter future open.

Step 2. Operation "Declutter"

If you have been living in an apartment or house for more than 5 years, then most likely you have accumulated a lot of old things that are both a pity to throw away and not to be left behind. The concept of "conscious consumption" offers you three ways to manage these things.

Secondary use or reuse. Give old things that lie idle a new life. For example, make shorts from old jeans, make flower pots from plastic bottles or an ottoman in the hallway from an old suitcase. There are a huge number of options for reworking old things. Perhaps, having embarked on the path of decluttering, you will also think about how to reduce the amount of garbage that you produce.

Gift or sale. If the thing is in good condition, but you do not use it, then give it to those to whom it can serve. Perhaps someone will want to buy or just take it from you.If you have accumulated a large amount of clothes that you have become small or no longer needed, donate them to charity or exchange them at dress-crossing sites (exchange of things). By the way, now you can change not only clothes, but also books, flowers, furniture and other things at swap parties.

Recycling. If the thing has lived its life, and it can no longer be returned to its presentation, then it's time to send it for processing. You can recycle almost everything: clothes, shoes, furniture, household appliances. You just need to find those who are involved in responsible recycling in your city. If there are none, then contact the manufacturing enterprises, perhaps your things will be useful to them to create something new.

Examples of decluttering for housewives

Marie Kondo likes to repeat: bring things into the house and remove things from it consciously, focusing not on momentary sympathy for them, but on how it will look in the interior, whether you really need them.

Bijouterie

Bright jewelry is often bought according to the mood and just as easily goes into oblivion. If the soul for jewelry no longer lies, it's time to say goodbye. Surely when you want rich colors again, old earrings, beads and bracelets will not be relevant: you want other colors, designs and textures.

Package

Summer residents know what a pain it is to see how food packaging flies into the trash, because it can be adapted for seedlings. And yet the house is not a place for storing such containers. In extreme cases, take it to the balcony, or better - to the garage or to the cottage.

Package with packages

It is not economical and not environmentally friendly to just throw away polyethylene immediately upon returning from the store. Many store this goodness in a plastic bag that grows endlessly.It is better to buy a beautiful plastic container for storing bags (available in home improvement stores). You can’t put much in it, so you have to deal with the surplus: use store bags for taking out the garbage, take them with you for shopping, or even switch to an eco-bag.

kitchen stuff

Visually clutters up space and utensils on rails, numerous plates, cereals, detergents on countertops. Thin them out, for sure you really don't need all of them. What you decide to keep can be put in lockers, but not in plain sight.

Cut-outs with recipes are best glued into one notebook, or even thrown away - there is an Internet for all occasions.

Textiles with non-removable stains are evil. He gives hope that you are about to wash everything, but a year passes, and an untidy rag wanders from the washing machine into the room and spoils the mood.

In the kitchen, cups, plates, cutlery, cutting boards, pans, regardless of their degree of wear, can get “under distribution”. A set of devices, some of which are lost, it is better to update. When the time comes for a feast, a different-sized serving will look disastrous.

Imagine how you would like to see your kitchen. What colors, what style? If you can’t take your eyes off the monochrome Scandinavian interiors for a long time, get rid of dishes with Egyptian pharaohs and a Khokhloma teapot. Buy the same dish, but in a plain color or with a simple geometric pattern.

And if you dream of hi-tech, then it's time to give away enamel pots with polka dots and a tablecloth with sunflowers. Even if all this is bought recently and sparkles with novelty.

Preparing to declutter the apartment

At first, cleaning and maintaining cleanliness requires the same meaningful approach as other areas: the family budget or your professional activity. Here, too, a system is needed, and if you have never thought about it, adopt other people's ideas and developments, and then build on your own experience the right style for you cleaning.

Basic components of the order:

1. no extra stuff
2. all things are in their places.

You can stumble over the first point, because the concept of "extra things" is very vague. In addition, having caught fire with the idea of ​​getting rid of them, it will definitely not work to free the house in one fell swoop. And not because there are a lot of things, but because the thought: “I will give this sweater away, since since the moment of purchase it has not left the far corner of the closet,” it may not immediately illuminate you.

Among the theorists of home cleaning, the term "decluttering" has taken root (the second option: "decluttering").

What does it mean to loosen up?

This is not to collect garbage around the apartment, no. Candy wrappers, apple cores, clothing tags, empty bottles, dried-out pens, expired products do not count. This is the obvious garbage that all sane people throw out.

To really clutter up means to throw away or donate things that:

• are duplicated
• in good condition but not used,
• used but not liked
• heavily worn
• broken.

At the same time, you did not part with them for a long time, because you thought that they would still be useful.

Very cool, this approach is described in the book "Magical Cleaning" by the Japanese specialist Marie Kondo (also called KonMari).

Kondo Marie "Magical Cleaning. The Japanese method to clean up once and for all"

Remember: there are candidates for ejection in any apartment, including owners who have never suffered from plushkinism.

Even if there are no blockages in the corners, but you like to stock up on fragrant creams for different parts of the body, clothes on sales, decorative figurines that seem to you an attribute of comfort, believe me, when you start to declutter and go into a rage, you will take things out in bags.

The epicenters of trash:

• first aid kit,
• spices,
• socks, tights, underwear,
• cosmetics,
• fridge,
• drawers in tables.