When Does Clutter Become A Problem

How much clutter you have will depend on how you live and what you perceive as clutter. It doesn’t have to look like your house is bursting at the seams with the number of items you have, it’s about how much of these items in your home that you actually need and want. It only becomes a problem when you have too much and not enough room to live comfortably in your home.

• Don’t allow piles to form in your home
• Put things away where they belong
• If you replace something, get rid of the old item
• Do you need multiples of the same item?

If you are looking for a more detailed plan on how to declutter your home the beginner’s guide, check out this article: How To Begin The Process Of Decluttering

Why Tackle It Now?

We all know what the holiday’s bring. More things into our homes and outside it’s often cold. If you have so many things in your home that it becomes a problem to heat your home, it makes sense to start getting rid of the excess, you don’t want your home to become a fire hazard. Not only is it possible to make some extra money to pay for the holiday season but it will make you feel good too. Making space in a drawer or room is a great morale booster.

How To Declutter Your House

First, you need a plan. I think a plan is the perfect way to start any project. It allows you to think about what you want to achieve and the end goal you want to reach. Do you need to think about what you want your home to look like when it’s completely organized? What items need to go, and where they need to go.

What To Do With Clutter

There are so many different things that you can do with the items you no longer want or need. Just because it’s become clutter to you, doesn’t mean it’s going to be clutter to another person. For example: If you have one child and they are growing quickly and need new toys, their old baby toys will potentially be clutter, however, what you do with them is the most important decision.

• Sell them
• Clean and store them, you might want another child and these toys would then be required
• Throw them away if they’re broken or recycle them if possible
• Give them to charity or a friend who needs them

It’s about looking at what you need and want for your home to work and making a plan on how to get there!

How To Get Rid Of The Clutter

It’s about finding the right places for the items that you need to let go of. What’s important is that you take action and get those items to their designated place before they become part of the problem again. A simple idea for getting the clutter out of your home:

Try storage boxes like these! Add labels for places you can donate and when they are full you take it to the place named on the label. Then use them again when they are empty.

Don’t Purge Without A Plan

There is no point pulling items out that you no longer want or need without a plan as to what to do with them. If they are left sitting in the way they become even more annoying with nowhere to go. They become part of the problem again and this doesn’t solve anything, it just adds to the stress.

Emotions Run High

Don’t pull out too much out at once to declutter, it’s an emotional time, items will hold memories and this disrupts the process of decluttering. You’ll be surprised how much time it can take to go through the things that you own but no longer need; it is often the emotional feelings towards the object that is the hardest to deal with or to let go. It can remind you of a memory from the past and this makes it difficult to purge the clutter. Don’t feel bad about how difficult it is to purge your home from clutter, everyone will have issues at some point.

Take Your Time

This is why it is important that you do this task in small batches; it’s emotional and can bring back memories that can hinder the process of getting rid of the clutter. If those memories are too strong and you aren’t ready to let, go just yet and you still have space then hold on to the item but only until you are ready to face the memory. If you don’t have space you might just need to let it go, but before you do remember those feelings and acknowledge them, even take a photo of the item it will help you remember those memories. Pushing feelings down and burying them can have an impact on how you feel, talking about those feelings and memories with a loved one can help.

Why Purge Before Christmas

It’s that time of year where you know you will add more to your home, getting rid of those items you don’t need helps to free up space. If you are in need of more storage for children’s items, it is difficult for children to let go of toys willingly. I found that when my children were younger it was easier to purge their toys at this time of the year because they’re caught up in the season and what’s coming that they were even willing to help with the sorting process.

Talking About Letting Things Go

It is important, too, for children to understand that they don’t need to have a lot of possessions and that it is good to give them to other children who might enjoy playing with the item that is no longer suitable for them. But don’t get rid of your child’s things without them, it can make it even more difficult for them to let go of stuff in the future!

Purging Your Clutter

It is not about emptying your home but just getting rid of the excess that you don’t need, what you do with the items is a personal preference. If you need extra money often it is a good idea to sell these items you don’t need, as a way to bring in some extra income. Something that we all might need at this expensive time of year! However, if you don’t need the money and the item is still in good condition you might consider giving the item to a charity. This is great because it allows someone to buy it at a reduced rate from the charity shop, enabling them to have something that is affordable for them and helping a charity at the same time too.

The Positives From Purging

By purging your clutter before Christmas, it will give you more space for the items that you receive as gifts at Christmas. However, there are more benefits than just that, there is less cleaning to do if there is less stuff around and this is always a bonus especially at this time of the year. But also, less stuff allows you to see your home, you don’t need it filled to the rafters, it’s OK to have drawers and shelving that are empty! It will mean that when Christmas is over you are not looking for more storage to store even more items because you will have the space already and waiting.

Why Purge And When To Purge

If you need more storage and you are not increasing the size of your family, you might just need to purge what you have, reducing the need to increase your storage options and saving you money long-term. This is an ideal time to start a pre-Christmas purge.

Let’s Recap…

Why should you consider decluttering your home now?

• It will allow you to free up space ready for the new items that will appear on Christmas morning.
• It might help towards some of the costs of buying presents if you are able to sell the items or it might just help someone who is in need and can’t afford the item new.
• Whatever the reason, if you need to purge your clutter before Christmas, it is one item to cross off your to-do list.
• Remember decluttering is not something that is going to happen overnight, it takes time and is emotionally draining too.

Source: https://howtogetorganizedathome.com/how-to-purge-your-clutter-before-christmas/