By Sue Kay

1.        Be honest with yourself

Have a wander around your home and ask yourself how do you feel? Does it feel like a relaxing space free from clutter or does it feel stuffed to the rafters with things you no longer use or cherish? If it’s the latter, then it’s time to take action.

2.        Start today

The biggest block to decluttering is procrastination. When faced with piles of odd socks, papers stacked high and plastic toys in every room, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So start small and choose a specific area to deal with such as a sock drawer or your bathroom cabinet. Do start with your own things and then you can model good habits to your children (and your partner!). A good way is to set a timer for say 15 minutes and get going.

3.         Ask yourself these questions about each item

i.        Have I used it recently 

 ii.        Do I feel good when I look at it 

 iii.        Does it reflect my life now

Unwanted items can be given to charity, friends or family or recycled. Or you could sell them at a car boot sale and put the proceeds towards something fun such as a family day out or holiday.

4.        Be sentimental but selective

Choose a beautiful box into which to keep sentimental items. Keep a few cherished baby clothes and give the rest to someone who will use them. Put photos into albums, only keeping the best ones, and let go of the others,

5.        Kids rooms - involve your child

Remember one person’s clutter is another person’s treasure, so get your child involved in deciding what to keep and what to hand on. This can be a good time to teach your child about giving to others. For old schoolwork get a bankers box and allocate a folder for each year. Your child can have fun personalizing this box.

6.        Let go of guilt

Many people hold onto things they don’t use or even like because they were a wedding or birthday gift. Or sometimes it’s an expensive mistake such as a £100 pair of shoes you’ve worn only once. The problem with holding onto them is that every time you look at them you feel a dip in your spirits and your home becomes cluttered. Remember it is your home and you deserve to have only useful and cherished things in it.

7.        Getting stuff out of the house

Once you’ve sorted out your unwanted things get them out of your home as soon as possible. This is crucial - someone I know had a hall full of black bags for three years. If you’re a real hoarder, you’ll be getting everything back out of the bags before you know it. Lots of charity shops collect as do specialist furniture schemes – check yellow pages or your local paper. If you do decide to do a car boot sale do it within a fortnight of decluttering and never ever bring the unsold goods back into the house – take them straight to a charity shop or to your local council tip.

8.        Storage

Once you have decluttered it is time to look at storage. If you want your child to be tidy then you have to help them. So give everything a place to live. A new toy or game needs to be allocated its place. Decide on a routine such as five minutes tidy up before bedtime each day.

Get child-friendly containers to keep toys in that are at the right height and can be labelled with pictures for little ones or words when they get older.

9.        The benefits

There are so many benefits to decluttering and letting go of old stuff. A more relaxing home where you can find things when you want them. Less emphasis placed on having material goods creating more space for your children to express their creativity and natural sense of fun.

10.        Getting help

Finally if this all seem a bit overwhelming and you don’t know where to start I run no more clutter a professional decluttering and organizing service (London) for your home or office. Contact me on .

E-mail sue

www.nomoreclutter.co.uk

© nomoreclutter 2002