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Create a relaxing clutter free home |
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Lifestyles,
Holidays
and Celebrations: Practical storage solutions at Great Little Trading Company Articles:
If you are looking for more detailed help
on how to sort out your paperwork or indeed your whole home, why not check
out Sue's new book "no more clutter - how to clear your space and
free your life" It's due to be published by Hodder Mobius in
March 2005 but you can pre-order your copy now from Amazon. It's full of
easy, practical tips on how to banish clutter from your life forever!
Click the cover picture to find out more.
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Create a relaxing
clutter free home Sue Kay- no more
clutter When you walk around your
home do you feel relaxed, in control and surrounded by things you love and
that reflect your life today? If
not, then probably your home is being taken over by clutter. As a clutter consultant,
I work with clients to banish clutter and reorganize their homes. So what is
clutter? Clutter is things you no
longer use or love. It’s
things that remind you of a difficult time in your life.
It’s things you liked ten years ago but your tastes have changed. It’s those gold shoes that you wore once and can’t bear
to part with because they cost £100.
It’s broken TVs. It’s
piles of unopened junk mail and old newspapers.
It’s hundreds of plastic yoghurt pots that might come in useful
one day. It’s pots of dried
up paint or nail varnish. All
these things are clutter. So how do you
deal with clutter? First don’t panic.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and to walk away and have a coffee.
Here’s some tips to help you on your way.
Procrastination
is the major obstacle to decluttering.
So start now.
Say
you decide to sort out your sock drawer.
Set a timer for 15 minutes. Put
on some upbeat music and you’re ready to go.
Then completely empty it and give it a quick clean.
As you pick up each item ask yourself why am I keeping this. Are
you keeping old holey socks you no longer wear because they used to be
your favourites? Either
decide to mend them or let them go. Odd
socks are peculiar, I’ve had clients with dozens of these.
Set aside a further 15 minutes and scour the laundry basket, the
washing machine, dryer, wherever. If
your can’t find the matching sock then let it go. Old textiles can be
recycled, check with your council.
Well
done. You’ve made a great start. If
you feel energized then keep going. But 4. Letting go of
old stuff Once
you have decided to let things go, it’s crucial to get them out of the
house as soon as possible. Unwanted
items can be given to charity, friends or family or recycled.
Or you could sell them at a car boot sale or second hand clothes
shop or advertise in your local newspaper.
As you put things in the bin or charity shop bag, you may feel
great and feel a huge sense
of relief. Or you may
feel guilty that you are wasting money by throwing things away.
You may also feel guilty that you are letting go of unwanted
presents or baby clothes. I
know many people feel it is wrong to ever discard a photo, even if it is
blurred or brings back unhappy memories.
i.
Sentimental items Be
sentimental but selective. Choose
a beautiful box in 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 the others go. ii.
Broken things Give yourself a deadline for broken items
to be fixed, if not discard them. iii.
Presents – if someone gives you an unwanted gift and there is
no polite way to refuse, accept gracefully and respect the other
person’s feelings. But remember it is your home and if you do not
like something, it will drag your spirits down every time you look
at it. So dump the guilt and
let it go. iv.
Paper Be ruthless
with paper. Put junk mail
straight in the recycling and decide how long you will keep newspapers
For example in Barnet we have kerbside recycling so every Thursday
I go though my house and gather up any newspapers read or unread. Remember
no-one has time to read everything. v.
Fear The “what
if” thoughts are some of the hardest to deal with.
I call these clutter thoughts.
I recently bought a new light weight hoover.
Then the thought crept into my head, what if the new one breaks
down. Perhaps I will keep the
old one. But I overcame my
wobble and gave away the old one. A
useful tip is “one in, one
out” If you really feel panicky about letting go of something then store it for 6 months in the loft or shed. Put the date on it. If you haven’t used it in 6 months then give it away.
Once
you have decluttered and decided what to keep, then it’s time to look at
storage. To maintain a
clutter free home it is essential that
everything has a home, so
it’s easy to find. So store
like with like, such as all vases together.
We use 20% of our possessions 80% of the time so put this 20% in
the most accessible places. Treat
yourself to storage items such as a filing cabinet, a shoe rack or a
pretty box in which to keep sentimental items.
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.
Enjoy the lighter feeling you get when you look around.
Next time you indulge in a little retail therapy you’ll have a
much clearer idea of what you own and what you actually need.
no more clutter is a professional
decluttering and organizing service for your home and office For more information contact Sue on 07974 076 675 sue@nomoreclutter.co.uk www.nomoreclutter.co.uk © 2002 no more clutter
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