Keeping Your Home Clutter-Free This Fall
It’s been a few months since most people’s annual spring cleaning, and the clutter has likely started to pile back up around your home. While this is perfectly normal and is habit most people have, it can quickly add up and cause additional stress in your home life. Nobody wants to come home from a stressful work day to see piles of items taking up space. Here are just a few ways you can control the clutter in your house and make your space feel more open, calm, and conducive to self-care.
Sort Through And Store Your Stuff
When you really think about it, it’s incredible the number of items most people keep in their home. Imagine trying to count out every single item in your home, from silverware to picture frames. The clutter can add up remarkably quickly. Take some time every day or so, even if it’s in small increments, to sort through your stuff and decide what you regularly use. For any items you don’t use regularly but don’t want to part with, figure out a way to store it where it will be well protected. Artwork should be stored between 60-75 degrees, electronics should be stored between 50-80 degrees, and wood materials such as furniture or instruments should be stored between 55-85 degrees.
Reconsider Retail Therapy
A shopping trip every once in a while can be fun, but this often results in purchasing more items to clutter up your home. This includes online purchases as well – as of August 2017, women’s apparel was the number one top-selling item on the internet. When tackling your home’s clutter, you might want to set aside closets and clothing for a separate day. It might be tempting to hold onto that one cocktail dress or nice suit jacket, but consider whether it’s really worth the space it takes up for the once a year you might wear it. Additionally, look for other activities you can include in your routine in place of regular shopping trips – you’ll cut down on the number of new things you’re bringing into your home, and you’ll save some money along the way too.
Bright Ideas For Larger Living Space
Sometimes, a home might not necessarily be as cluttered as you think. The way a room is set up can contribute to the sense of business and clutter, with one of the largest components of this being lighting. A brighter room tends to feel more open, so look at changing out your light bulbs to LEDs if you haven’t yet. LEDs use only 15% of the energy a standard halogen light uses, and provide up to 85% more light output. Also, look for other ways you can brighten up a room – everything from window treatments to flooring materials can impact how bright a room is. Light-colored polished concrete flooring, for example, reflects light off its shiny surface, which can save you up to 30% on your lighting bill since you’ll need fewer lights to maintain brightness in your space.
Don’t Be Afraid To Donate
We all have those one or two items that have been sitting on our shelves forever, even if they don’t get used very often. If you’re really struggling to store all your items in an effective manner, it might be time to part with those. However, that doesn’t mean you need to throw them in the trash. Plenty of non-profits and other organizations accept donations of everything from clothing to home goods to electronics, so look for an organization near you that could put your belongings to good use.
Decluttering is often easier said than done, but the end result is almost always a more welcoming, calmer environment throughout your home. The process can take some time, but you’ll feel refreshed and much more relaxed once it’s taken care of, making it a great and worthwhile method for self-care.
