While the world continues waiting for the pandemic to wind down, you could take the opportunity to tidy away any clutter that you inadvertently built up in your home back in “normal” times.
This responsibility could feel especially pressing if you have a relatively small home that therefore struggles to accommodate surplus items alongside the obvious essentials. Here are a few measures you could take to clear your residential space and revitalize your mind as a result.
Deposit Unwanted items into a “Donation Station”
This tip comes from decluttering expert Lizzie Grant – who, in an article on the Good Homes website, describes a donation station as “a space in your home where your unwanted belongings can live temporarily until you have time to get them out of your home”.
The objective here, she says, is to prevent your home’s clutter from getting worse before it gets better. She suggests using an under-stairs cupboard or under-bed space as a donation station.
Always Check the Pantry Before Doing Grocery Shopping
Writer Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell recently revealed on the Reader’s Digest website that she and her husband live in a house measuring only 480 square feet, therefore easily qualifying as “small”.
Fivecoat-Campbell, who unsurprisingly lacks enough pantry space to stock up on groceries for months at a time, advises: “Avoid buying things you forgot you already had by doing a quick scan before you go grocery shopping.”
Prevent as Much Junk Mail as Possible from Reaching your House
You can do this through, quite simply, removing your household from as many mailing lists as you can. The likes of credit offers, catalogs, leaflets, and so forth that have landed on your doormat over the years could, in many instances, be attributed to mailing lists you never proactively left.
If you are unsure where to start, you could – as advised in another Reader’s Digest piece – ask the Direct Marketing Association to stop its members sending you junk mail.
Where Possible, spend on Experiences Rather than Things
Here’s another good way to avoid things accumulating untidily in your home: not buying yourself or anyone else in your household too many things in the first place.
So, if you want to treat the family, you should probably splash out on tickets to a music gig rather than, say, a CD from the same music act. Similarly, you could attend a film screening instead of buying a novel. After all, a ticket could simply be shredded when no longer needed!
Use your Loft as Storage Space
If that loft currently isn’t suitable for the purpose, you could ask professionals to help you with suitably converting the space.
Many households in the United Kingdom, for example, could take advantage of the award-winning loft boarding service from Instaloft. By having this loft boarding put into place, you could potentially double your residence’s floor space without sacrificing any insulation or wiring.
You could even increase your home’s value – as, after all, future owners of your home could benefit from this converted loft, too.
