Bexley/Beverly Hills
Research shows that downsizing and decluttering is good for your mental health and wellbeing. When you’re surrounded by clutter in your home, it can make you feel overwhelmed and stressed out. With less stress in your life, you’re set to live a better and longer life.
The first step to downsizing and decluttering is to get rid of the things that no longer serve you. All of us have things that we’ve kept because they might come in useful one day. But, as the saying goes, “some day never comes”.
This is particularly true when you sell your home and get ready to move. Most people just pack up all their belongings and take their clutter to the new home. This just means that you have to find storage space for all of that stuff that you really don’t use.
Don’t make this mistake when you’re considering downsizing. Instead, prepare early and clear out all those items that you never use. For example, don’t hang onto those golf clubs or fishing rods that never get used. Give them to someone who will use and appreciate them.
Similarly, give away that sheet music for the piano that you no longer have. There are plenty of music students that would love to have it. What about those cake tins that sit in your kitchen drawer and make you feel guilty because you never have time to bake anymore? Give them to someone who will use them. You can always buy new ones if the baking bug bites again.
Deciding to declutter and simplify your life can seem overwhelming when you look around your home at all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the years. Don’t look at the big picture. Instead, start with one cupboard at a time.
Take out all the items in the cupboard and sort them into three or four piles. One pile for items that you use on a regular basis. One pile for items that one of your family members might like and another pile for items that you want to donate to charity.
You might even like to have a fourth pile for items that you might like to sell on eBay or Facebook marketplace. This is a great way to turn some of your accumulated stuff into cash. You’ll also find many ‘pay it forward’ pages on Facebook where you list items that you want to give away. This is really great for larger items because the recipient will come and pick it up.
Another clever way to declutter and simplify your life is to digitise your memories. If you have a lot of photos and mementos that you’ve collected over the years from your travels and happy family gatherings, turn them into digital copies that only take up space on your smartphone or a separate hard drive.
For mementos, just take photos of them and give away the items. You can do the same with gifts that you’ve been given by treasured friends. If the items are just taking up space and taking up your precious time on the weekend to dust them, they’re not serving you well.
When you digitise these items, you can still keep the precious memories but the items can go to a home where they’ll be used.
Digitising is also a good way to preserve old photos that deteriorate over time.
So, start today. Declutter your home and see how much happier you feel.
If you’d like no-obligation expert advice about your home, please get in touch with our team. We’re here to help.
