Much has been said about decluttering and its ability to help you put order in both your home and your life. Apart from making your home cleaner, more orderly and more efficient, so you don’t have to spend as much time rifling through piles of stuff to find the things you need, decluttering is also said to help mental wellness. It makes you more focused and attentive, increases productivity, and, for some, it can even help alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms of anxiety.
Yet, if clutter has been accumulating in your household over a period of many years, it can be tough to start, and what things you must throw away. Luckily, it all becomes a relatively straightforward endeavour when you start step by step. Here’s what you need to do.
Different piles
The best way to determine what you should keep and what you should discard is to go through everything and add it to two different piles. Although the process can seem painstaking, it allows you to see exactly how many things you have. For many, this simple visual aspect is enough to convince them that they need to start cleaning. This includes everything from kitchen appliances to utensils. For instance, you might notice that you have five spatulas or sieves in your kitchen. Even if you love cooking and are quite adept at it, you most likely won’t need more than two, so the other can be donated or recycled.
Storage space
Having enough storage space is a must, and if you’re planning a refurbishment project, you must make sure to incorporate enough stuff to fit in all your stuff. Get kitchen wall units that provide you with premium storage space. If you have a tall wall that could be used to store all these items, this cabinet is the best option. Since they have a slim and stylish design, you don’t have to worry about adding bulky cabinets to your kitchen and destroying the whole design. Having sufficient space available through cupboards and shelving means that all your items will be safely deposited, and there’s no risk of them becoming damaged.
Keeping your countertops clean and clear of unnecessary items is key. If your counters are cluttered with appliances, consider using hidden electrical outlets. These pop-up outlets can be installed inside cabinets and drawers, keeping countertops neat while still providing power for your appliances. This not only saves space but also enhances the overall look of your kitchen.
Seasonal stuff
Seasonality is an excellent thing in the kitchen, as it allows you to use fresh ingredients and become more creative with your cooking. However, seasonal or holiday-specific goods can cause a lot of clutter in your home if you have them lying around throughout the year. This includes anything from Halloween-themed pancake moulds to bunny print aprons, oven mitts and cups and Christmassy mugs, salt and pepper sets, plates and tea towels. If you don’t have enough space at your disposal, you can store them with the rest of your décor. Using a few large containers should be more than enough for your festive items.
Cookbooks
Both aspiring and savvy home-based chefs know there’s nothing like a cookbook to get the inspiration you need. However, you can easily fall into the trap of buying too many of them. Keeping the ones you use most can be a must for some since you might have also developed an emotional connection to them. Conversely, you might think you’ve already cooked those dishes so many times that you already know them by heart. You might have even come up with your own personal spin on them. In this case, keeping them around might seem completely unnecessary.
Buying e-books or digitising the ones you already have with the help of a scanning app can save you a lot of the heartache that comes with sending books to be recycled.
Conscious shopping
Decluttering only works if you commit to becoming a more conscious consumer in the future as well. This means that you stick to buying new things if the ones you already own have been severely damaged and cannot be repaired or if you really need the new thing and know for sure you’re going to use it. For example, nobody needs more than one or two reusable water bottles. If you own more than that, you should consider donating them, maybe to a homeless shelter, since people need resilient containers that can keep food or drinks hot or cold for several hours.
Sentimental items
Many sentimental items and family heirlooms frequently become cluttered because they’re no longer used, which defies their original purpose. You’ve definitely heard your parents and grandparents talking about how things were just made differently back in the day, sturdier and with a longer lifespan. Some would last for decades and would often be passed down. If you like antiques, you know that you can see items that are a century or older that still look as good as new.
Heritage kitchenware can be used as well, and you shouldn’t be worried about ruining it unless it is already very fragile, in which case it should probably not be stored in the kitchen as well. This includes gravy boats, copper jam pans, bone china tea sets and storage canisters.
Multitasking
Even if a particular kitchen item has a designated purpose, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be used any other way. By doing this, you can find a purpose for extra items you’re not ready to part ways with. For instance, glass containers can also serve as bakeware or bowls if you lack extra space in your cabinets. Mason jars can be used to store dried fruit, nuts, coffee beans, rice, pasta and spices. The airtight seal keeps the ingredients fresh longer, preventing them from going stale. They can also be used as mugs to hold hot beverages. Since they’re made of glass, which is non-toxic and nonreactive, they are perfectly safe to use.
Decluttering takes some time and effort but is ultimately a gratifying task. You won’t have to worry about spending hours looking for an item anymore, and it’ll make you calmer and more relaxed overall. Having a lot of stuff around can also be a safety hazard, and if you have young children, you are especially wary of that possibility. Although it can be challenging to get started, you’ll notice that afterwards, it will all just fall into place.
