If "stuff" or big "bulky" furniture is taking up too much space, it is time to be ruthless and take your excess to the op shops/charity shops or throw away. Think about who lives in your house, think about how those of you who live in the house use it. Do you all congregate in one room? Do you all use the space in all of the house? Things to consider when sorting out "stuff" particularly if storage space is an issue in that, either there is no way it can be incorporated and that you may need to hire a storage unit.
For most people, myself included, decluttering can be such a daunting and/or dreaded task.
People wonder where to start; as with any task/s prioritise, in the realm of decluttering ask yourself, which area, room, draw, space needs to be decluttered first; once you have decided where you are going to start, make 3 piles Pile 1 - to keep, Pile 2 - Op Shop/Charity Shop and Pile 3 - throw away. You can use containers, storage boxes, plastic bags and mark as above. One room at a time, not all in one day, pace yourself, give yourself a deadline/time frame to have so many rooms done by a particular time.
Many people are hoarders to the extent that it is an illness. Fortunately I do not fall into this category, what I am is a sentimentalist, I love to keep things that hold special memories, or presents and cards from family and friends, thank you cards from family members or directly from my clients from my social work days. For such cards, I put them in frames and display them as pictures, that way they are no longer in the bottom of a drawer or cupboard.
Being the sentimentalist that I am I still have the babygro/stretch suit that my now, almost 32 year old son wore the day I brought him home from the hospital, I still have his christening romper suit, socks and shoes!! If you are a sentimentalist like me, shadow boxes such as in the pictures below, are a great way to keep your keepsakes:
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Those memories tell your story, and my philosophy with Interior Design, is that your home should tell ‘your’ story, not what the trends are dictating how you should have your home, I always say “home is where the heart is, not where the trend is“.
The picture below in the blue frame is the wedding card that my son bought for my husband and I. I have it on my bedside table, the picture on the wall is in a clip frame, it was a birthday card of mine from my Mum and Stepdad, it is a very Mediterranean looking picture, so I placed it on the wall in one of our guest rooms, the “Coastal” room, I felt that it was very fitting. Both are keepsakes, and the wedding card in particular has very special memories due to the day itself and the fact that the card is from my son.
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There are many articles on decluttering that can be found on the World Wide Web, what I have written about are my own tips on and experiences of decluttering.
A particularly difficult time for people to declutter, although in this sad circumstance, I prefer to call it “letting go of belongings” and this is when someone is having to clear out a deceased love one’s belongings, this is gut wrenching, and people will have all sorts of emotions going through their mind, and of course so many memories will come flooding back, in such a sad circumstance, first and foremost do not do this alone. Again, there are many articles on the web, and there are many books written on the subject, dealing with grief is no easy task and everyone deals with it in a different way.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information, decluttering is something that iNZspire can help you with.
In the mean time, to sum up on decluttering, I refer to the following quote:
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