Do you struggle with clutter in your home? Are you grappling with having too much stuff but just don’t know how to start getting rid of it all? Maybe you have a partner or a housemate who simply cannot throw anything away, or maybe you have kids – and as a direct consequence of that, you have more toys, paraphernalia and supplies for keeping your kids fed, watered and entertained than you ever thought you would need.
No matter what situation you’re in, if you have a cluttered home, it may be causing emotional distress.
The idea of living a life uncomplicated by clutter is an attractive option for many people. When you own fewer possessions, you can enjoy life with less stuff to clean, less debt, less stuff to organise, and more money and energy to spend and invest on things that are really meaningful.
Sounds great, huh?
The only problem that so many people face is: “Where on earth do I begin?” And that’s where we come in! At Box Factory, we have been part of some major decluttering experiences over the years and have supplied the storage solutions necessary to make decluttering simple. So it would make sense that we’ve picked up a thing or two along the way, and we’re going to share them with you here.
Tip One – Give Away an Item a Day
There are a number of blogs and guides which are dedicated to showing you how to declutter your life, but one of the simplest approaches is by giving away an item a day. Perhaps you own too many clothes or know that you have way too much Tupperware. Whatever it is, if you don’t need it; donate it, sell it or give it away to a friend.
Tip Two – Fill a Box
If you have an area of your home that is particularly cluttered, you might want to start by getting a box and filling it full of items that you don’t need anymore. Then when you’re done, simply take the box down to your local Vinnies or charity store to donate to people in need.
Tip Three – Pick a Category
You might want to start with your kitchen, but we recommend that you start with a category. So things like books, sheets, knick-knacks, toys; whatever you choose to start with, don’t stop until you are done.
Tip Four – Change Your Perspective
You might see all the clutter as something that defines you in your life, but the truth is that the things that define you aren’t items that sit on shelves and gather dust. In fact, putting too much value on material objects could cause inner conflict. Studies have shown that material possession love can cause everything from loneliness to social isolation. So why not use your decluttering experience as a means to shifting your focus from the material onto the important – and look at what you love in your life that doesn’t come from a store.
Tip Five – Use the Four-box Method
In each area you want to declutter in, bring four boxes: Rubbish, Donate, Keep and Relocate. While you might take you time deliberating over what goes in each box, the ultimate goal is to have everything allocated.
We know that it can be tough to let go of things that you think precious, or things that might come in handy. But the reality is that so many of us have the big houses or apartments which are simply filled with STUFF.
A study has shown that there are nearly 300,000 items in the average American home (stats for Australia could be assumed to be pretty similar, given our obsession with the USA-way), and the size of the home has tripled in the past 50 years. But even with that in mind, the fastest growing segment of the commercial real estate industry was found to be off-site storage, which means that we are buying more and more stuff and not even using it! And finally, it was found by the Wall Street Journal that (much to the delight of marketers everywhere, no doubt!) Americans spend $1.2 trillion on non-essential goods. That is, items that they do not need.
Don’t live with mess or unnecessary items in your life any longer. Get smart with your home, get rid of the clutter.
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