Perhaps the action that has had the single biggest impact on keeping an organised home is a concerted effort to declutter my life and home. Although I did one enormous declutter back in the very beginning, it’s been an ongoing process to keep on top of the amount of stuff that enters our home every month.
With kids growing at a rapid rate, there always seems to be more clothes that enter the house than leave it and with 4 kids now officially homeschooling, there’s always a high turnover of books and learning resources.
Add to that 8 birthdays, sport and music interests, the change of seasons and a product-based business, and the need to stay on top of clutter is real.
If you’re kind of looking around the house and wondering where on earth to start with this whole getting organised thing, may I suggest: start with a declutter.
Why is this so important?
Every single item in your home requires cleaning, maintenance, organising, repair, replacement – no item just sits there requiring nothing from you. So best to get rid of what you don’t actually need or use!
Not sure where to start on your decluttering journey?
Here are some of the physical things I’ve decluttered over the past 5 years. These might give you some inspiration for where to start in your own home.
- Film cameras
- Old magazines and newspapers
- Surplus craft supplies
- Fabric I no longer loved
- Projects I no longer wanted to finish (particularly sewing projects)
- University text books
- Old electronic goods
- Used colouring in books
- Excess linen
- Clothing (oh, the clothing!)
- Furniture that didn’t serve a specific purpose
- Broken items that I knew I would never fix
- Cookbooks – although I’ve kept a few favourites, 9 times out of 10, I find myself searching online for a recipe
- Old make-up
- Pictures and frames that I no longer displayed
- Travel books (the 1970s paperback travel guide to Vietnam is just no longer relevant!)
- Road maps and road directories
Non-tangible things that I’ve decluttered have included:
- Events that I really didn’t have time for
- Ongoing commitments that created more stress than joy
- A sport that the kids didn’t enjoy
- Subscriptions to e-newsletters I no longer read
- Recurring subscriptions to online programs that I had used but no longer required
If you find yourself stuck in that “can’t-get-going” rut, I hope this blog post gives you something practical to make a start with. I would love to know how you get on with your decluttering – just tag #simplelifepeacefulhome on Instagram.
Next week, I’ll be sharing some simple but seriously helpful strategies for keeping on track with your new journey to a more organised home and life.
