If you have a major clutter problem, and you don’t know what to get rid of? These simple declutter strategies can help!
Kitchen Strategies
The kitchen is one of the busiest areas in a home, so clutter piles up quite quickly in this space. If you develop smart habits, you’ll never have to deal with clutter in your kitchen.
Get Rid of Bulk
Although decorations are attractive, too many of them in a kitchen can make the space appear cluttered and tacky. You probably don’t need multiple potholders, hundreds of fridge magnets, or anything that takes up space on your countertops.
Downsize
As a home cook, you’ll only need two pots and two pans as they can serve dual purposes in the kitchen. For example, you can prepare a meal for one or a dinner for four in a big pot or pan, which is why you won’t need every piece in a set.
Before you start eliminating pieces from a set, consider your cooking habits. If you mainly cook meals for a family of four and occasional guests, keep a few medium-size pots and pans in your home as you’ll probably need them during the holiday season.
Reduce the Tableware
Decorative mugs, glasses, bowls, and plates can create clutter in your cabinets. You’ll need only enough tableware for people in your household and a few guests.
Bedroom Strategies
You’ll sleep better in a clean bedroom, and you’ll wake up fully refreshed. These strategies will help you keep clutter out of your bedroom.
Scout the Area
Clutter accumulates gradually in the bedroom, so you should tidy up high-risk zones for half an hour each day. If you don’t have time to accomplish this, focus on specific areas for about 10 minutes throughout the day.
Search your bedroom for clutter while toting a box. The box will help you move unnecessary items out of the space. You may find clutter:
•On the nightstand
•On the dresser
•In the drawers
If you find any items that don’t belong in these areas, return them to their proper location. Then, get rid of every item that you no longer need in the bedroom.
Survey the Closet
Over time, a closet will become a prime destination for clutter. To avoid this, keep your clothing and accessories off of the floor in your closet. If you need help staying organized, buy more hangers for your clothes and bins for your accessories.
Contain Lingering Clutter
If you have many knickknacks in your bedroom, you don’t have to get rid them. You can store these items on small shelves or in drawers or baskets.
If you don’t have space for a traditional storage bin in your bedroom, you can buy furniture that has a built-in storage compartment instead. A bench that’s also a storage bin is very popular. It can serve as a seat when you need to sit down to put on your sneakers and as a storage unit for your towels and linens. Benches and other pieces in this category are available in a variety of colors and styles, so you’ll have no problems finding a sleek product that will blend with the décor in your bedroom.
Bathroom Strategies
There are many important items that you can’t throw away. The problem is that these items also create clutter in the bathroom. You can get started decluttering by following a few easy steps.
Clean Out the Medicine Cabinet
Whenever you buy new medications, check the expiration date on every bottle in your medicine cabinet. If you have any medications that have expired or products that are about to expire, toss these items in the trash. This tactic will help you free up space for the new medications.
Relocate All Items That Aren’t Used Every Day
In a typical cabinet, there are a few products that are only used occasionally. These items include:
•Bandages
•Cold medications
•Itch medications
If you keep these products in a cabinet with your daily items, everything might spill out of the cabinet. You should keep the essentials in the cabinet and all other products in a secondary location outside of the bathroom.
Buy an Organizer for Hair Care Products
Appliances can occupy most of the real estate on a counter in a bathroom. If your counter is cluttered every day because you have no place to store different hair care products, buy an organizer for the appliances. You can attach one on the side of your cabinet next to the sink.
Attic Strategies
To eliminate clutter in an attic, you’ll need a goal. For example, if you want to transform the attic into an office, you’ll need a long-term goal with several milestones.
When you’re ready to tackle the clutter in the attic, move everything out of the space. Because an attic has stability and safety risks, it’s best to sort through clutter on a lower floor.
While the attic is empty, clean every nook and cranny with a broom or a vacuum. Then, sort your products from the attic on the lower floor. Next, toss the products into labeled boxes. Finally, tote everything back to the attic.
Basement Strategies
To get rid of clutter in a basement, set up a staging area. Next, sort all of the items by season. Then, toss the items into clear, categorized storage bins. This will help you see what’s stored in each box, which makes retrieving items later way easier.
These strategies will help you maintain a clean and tidy home throughout the year.
Author bio: Nancy Zafrani is the general manager of Oz Moving & Storage. A day-one employee of Oz, she has 30 years of experience in the moving industry. As a lifetime New Yorker, Nancy also has lots of experience dealing with small apartments and organizing. Nancy has many interests. Her hobbies include painting, hiking and baking