In last month’s blog post, we passed along a number of suggestions for how to cut the clutter from your home in 2021. This month, we have even more tips for how to minimize your belongings and help transform your home space from suffocating to streamlined.
• Cut the clothing
Most of our closets are brimming with clothing items, many of which we either have never worn or we hardly ever wear because deep down, we really don’t like them as much as we thought we would. If you want to whittle down your wardrobe, remember with the 80:20 rule: We wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time. So go through your clothing and focus on thinning out the other 80 percent you don’t wear. You can toss, donate or consign kids’ clothing that no longer fits. Or maybe you’ve lost so much weight with your New Year’s diet that your own clothing is too loose. Whatever the reason, don’t be afraid to say goodbye to clothing that’s only taking up space. The goal is to reduce what’s in your closet, not just rearrange or organize it.
• But when you do organize…
Look for simple ways to control the items you do choose to keep in your home, especially if they’re smaller. Maybe hang your car keys on a hook by the door or use a lazy Susan turntable to organize a pantry or a laundry room. Use drawer dividers and bins and baskets to group smaller items in bathrooms and linen closets. Add storage space to a crowded room with a new shelf.
• Create home-organization kits
Think about creating small kits that contain items used for a specific purpose or task. For example, you could create kits for shoe shining, bill paying, manicuring, etc. Just buy clear, plastic, shoebox-sized containers and then find convenient but nonintrusive locations to store them around the house.
• Follow a schedule
De-cluttering is not a one-day event. It’s a process, and the best way to keep clutter from accumulating in the first place is to stay on top of it on a day-to-day basis. To that end, you might create a schedule for when to reassess certain areas of your home to see if they need a thinning out or reorganization. For example, kitchen counters need a daily decluttering. Other areas like desk drawers, cabinets and closets might be revisited on a weekly or monthly basis.