Archive for category: Decluttering

Do you look around the house and wonder what happened to the space and order that was once there? If so, the clutter you see day after day can feel overwhelming and be a significant source of stress. In this case, it’s time to declutter the home.

Why Clutter is Stressful

When you have excess possessions, why exactly does it put you on edge? A big reason why is that just looking at all those things reminds you of the future project to do to sort through it. That weighs on your mind amidst an already-busy day.

That type of environment is tense rather than serene. Clutter, therefore, makes relaxing at home more difficult.

Not only that, but it is also likely difficult to find things when you really need them. Looking for something last minute and being unsure where it is in the home is stressful.

Finally, being in a residence that is not orderly can make surprise visits a source of embarrassment. You may feel guilt that you have not organized the space better yet and stress after the guests leave that they will judge you for the mess.

Finding Remedies that Work Well for You

Knowing how clutter triggers stress helps light a fire under you about how to help remedy the situation. The best solution will depend on which room you are focusing on, the extent of the clutter, your lifestyle, and other factors.

If the clutter has spread across the house, for example, choose a specific room to start and involve everyone in the household in improving it. Assign each person an area in the room to declutter or, if you live alone, begin in one area and finish it before moving onto the next. That way, you will not feel overwhelmed by the project because you are taking small steps to complete it.

The process also involves deciding what to keep and what to toss or donate. Our professional organizers help make this step easier by asking you questions to determine if it’s something you need, want, or use. If none of those three things applies to the item, then toss, recycle, donate, or sell it.

The sorting process can be an emotional one if many of the possessions evoke memories. Our organizer helps you make decisions that clear the clutter using a supportive, non-judgmental approach.

When Clutter Interferes with Daily Life

If clutter is stressing you out at home, you might find you have less energy and motivation. That can negatively affect your relationships, as well as your work performance.

You might also find yourself coping with the situation in an unhealthy way. Overeating is one example.

Rather than reducing your quality of life and living in a continual state of stress, reach out to our friendly team for guidance. We have exclusive tips for clearing away messes and organizing the home.

Decluttering is what we specialize in, and we look forward to helping you. You don’t have to let physical clutter get the better of your mental health, and you don’t have to tackle it alone.

If you need a boost during this time of the year, you’re not alone. The cold, dark days of winters can leave many people feeling “blah” as they stretch on seemingly forever. Along with bundling up and getting outdoors for some light exercise, another way to boost your mood is decluttering around the house.

A Fast Start

So many of us are stuck indoors most days during the pandemic, which may make the winter blahs worse than other years. But a positive way to look at it is that you’re already there, likely working from home, so tackling clutter is something you can start to do today.

The next question is, “Where to begin?”

Focus on the Area that Stresses You

Is there a particular spot in the home that you get annoyed just thinking about, let alone looking at it? Maybe it’s the messy top kitchen drawer that has been accumulating random things for months or the overflowing bedroom closet.

The stress and anxiety that comes from this clutter are no doubt contributing to your winter blahs. That’s especially true if it’s in plain sight every day.

When you clear away the mess and organize the space, you will likely feel a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction. Also, staying busy can help combat feelings of overwhelm and tiredness.

Be sure to focus on only decluttering one small area at a time, though. Otherwise, you might find the project feels like too much. In this situation, you’re unlikely to finish it because you quickly feel defeated and give up.

After completing the small project, take a moment to reflect on a job well done before moving onto the next one. This positive thought process can counteract winter doldrums.

Clean the Windows

Finally, pull back the curtains and clean the windows in the area you’ve been decluttering; then do the same in other rooms at home. Doing so can help welcome in light and refresh the living space.

Maximizing the amount of natural light inside the house can go far toward improving your mood. Plus, looking out clean windows rather dirty ones helps the home look better. Enjoy the view too on those days when you don’t have the time to get outdoors!

Clutter Happens: Be Kind to Yourself

For most people, accumulating clutter happens gradually over time without barely noticing it. But when it gets to the point that looking at the mess brings down your mood, it’s time to make a change.

It’s important, though, that you’re not too hard on yourself when it comes to making improvements around the home. Recognize that most people have at least one area in their house that has clutter. It also takes time to clear it away, and sorting possessions doesn’t come easy for everyone.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone. One of our professional organizers can help you start to declutter your home virtually, or in-person when it is safe to do so.

Start to feel productive as you clear clutter and find places to store things that make sense. Your winter blahs are going, going, gone!

If the idea of decluttering one or more rooms in your house overwhelms you and you’re not sure where to begin, this guide is for you. Our professionals provide insights into how best to organize areas of the home that are prone to clutter, such as the pantry.

Sort the Pantry

When the kitchen pantry is well-organized, you can see right away what you have and what needs replenishing, from rice to pasta and cereal. That means you will be more likely to use everything and save money because you won’t buy duplicates.

When you start to put things away after a grocery trip, our experts encourage you to group similar items. For example, put the pasta into one basket or bin, and stack soups in another area of the pantry. That will make it easier to find what you’re looking for at mealtime.

Improve the Kitchen

One of the busiest rooms is the kitchen, which means it can get cluttered quickly. Sort your kitchen utensils drawer easily by using an expandable utensil holder. Create a long drawer organizer for a second drawer that holds serving utensils, can and wine openers, meat thermometers, and scissors.

Each drawer ought to serve a specific purpose and functionality, as per our organizational pros. So, one drawer could be for baking prep, another one for pots and pans, another for bowls and plates, etc.

We can also help you determine how best to use cabinets above the stove and other places that might be awkward to reach. Add storage space by making use of vertical space, such as a wall by the oven where you hang pots.

Tidy the Bedrooms

There are a lot of places to tackle in bedrooms, whether it is a child’s room or the master. There is the closet area to sort, as well as dresser drawers and beneath the bed. You might also need different zones within the bedroom, such as an office nook or kids’ play area.

In your closet, make it easier to find what you’re looking for in the mornings by colour-coding hanging items. For example, group yellow clothes together, red ones together, and so on.

Hang a dry-cleaning bag in the closet too that you can easily add items to as you wear them that need cleaning. Keep a donation bag in the closet too that you can fill over time with clothing you don’t wear anymore, rather than putting stress on yourself to do it all in one sitting.

Organize the Bathrooms

A great way to remove clutter from bathroom counters is using trays to group items while keeping them easily within reach. As for the under-the-sink area, use clear containers to sort things according to their purpose, such as “shaving” and “hair products.”

If there are no shelves in your bathroom, a tiered shower caddy provides an easy way to keep items organized. Keeping items there rather than at the side of the bathtub also prevents mildew from forming beneath bottles.

Create more usable room too with an over-the-toilet shelving unit. Add baskets to keep things tidy or conceal personal care items that you use regularly but don’t necessarily want guests to see, such as deodorant.

Reach out to us for help with your decluttering project, whether it is one of the areas described above or another part of your home. We offer in-person and virtual services for your convenience.

When you look in the refrigerator at home, do you sigh at how disorganized it looks? If so, you’re not alone. Many people are dissatisfied with clutter in their homes, including inside the fridge. While guests might not see it, you know it’s there, plus you want to see quickly what is on the shelves. To help you finally tackle this project, try the suggestions here.

Think about Food Safety

Have you ever thought about organizing the fridge according to how you cook different foods? If not, our professionals encourage you to do so. This approach puts food safety as the focus of where to put things within the refrigerator.

For example, group items together that do not require cooking at all. That includes leftovers and ready-to-eat foods like yogurt and cheese.

The no-cook dishes go at the top of the fridge, while those that need cooking to be safe to eat are at the fridge’s bottom part, such as raw chicken. This organizational approach helps prevent cross-contamination as foods high up dripping down to lower shelves won’t jeopardize your health.

What about the Fridge Door?

Compartmentalizing the door makes it easy to see where the item is that you want, which saves you time. To help you do so, put labels on the door by where you put each type of item, such as “salad dressings” on the first shelf.

Avoid storing items like milk that easily spoil on the door as it is a warm spot in the fridge. Instead, store the jug of milk in the middle of the fridge, which has the most stable temperature.

Add Storage Bins

Just as you would use storage containers on shelves elsewhere in the home to stay organized, you can do so inside of the fridge too. For example, try keeping fruit in bowls or eggs in a plastic container.

Clear bins make it easy to see what you have already in the fridge so you’re less likely to buy a duplicate next time you go grocery shopping. You can even have a container for snacks for the kids after school that holds yogurt, grapes, and mini cheeses.

Declutter the Freezer Too

When organizing the fridge, pay attention to the freezer section too. Create areas in it for certain foods, such as bread, leftovers, vegetables, and more.

Make it a habit to label and date everything that goes into the freezer. This way, you will know what everything is and what you’ve had in there a long time. Then decide what to use up first and avoid having mystery bags of foods that you cannot identify anymore.

Final Words on Organizing the Refrigerator Well

The tips above will not only save your sanity but also help reduce food waste. You may find that your grocery bill is lower than usual because you can eat more food before the expiry date, as you know what is in the fridge and freezer.

Get more creative tips for organizing your kitchen by reaching out to our professionals today. We can help you organize any area of the house to increase its functionality and so that you enjoy a decluttered space.

Rather than offering you a list of suggestions for how to declutter the house, we thought it would be more helpful to provide a list of what NOT to do during the decluttering process. These tips come from our professional organizers, and some of the decluttering mistakes they’ve seen might surprise you!

Decluttering Mistake #1: You Take on Too Much

While you’re raring to go, it’s important not to take on more than you can reasonably organize within a short time. If you plan to organize the whole house in a weekend, for example, that is a big project that is likely to overwhelm you and might not be done by Sunday night.

That sense of overwhelm might stop you from even starting the project. Or, you could get halfway done and then return to work Monday, coming home to piles of stuff everywhere. That’s sure to stress you out.

Instead, choose a smaller project that you are likely to finish soon, such as decluttering the bedroom closet or beneath the bed. Taking small steps will enable you to do more in the long-run, rather than getting exhausted.

Decluttering Mistake #2: Trying to be Perfect

Magazines are full of stunning home interiors. But your living room and closets do not need to be picture perfect.

Instead, what matters is that they are functional, look appealing to you, and are uncluttered. When you get them this way, know that they are good, and that is enough. Organizing is not about being perfect.

Decluttering Mistake #3: Start Another Project before Finishing the First

It’s tempting to start a few of these projects at once. While you have lots of ideas for bettering the homestead, be careful not to get ahead of yourself.

Instead, conquer a smaller project that fits in your schedule so that you can feel a sense of accomplishment before moving on to the next one. For example, tackle the cluttered bookshelf in the home office and then call it a day. After completing one task in full, you’ll feel empowered next week to conquer the next one!

Decluttering Mistake #4: Not Assessing Your Progress

Our experts also encourage you to take the time after completing a decluttering project to look back at the accomplishment. Be proud of what you’ve done, especially if you have been putting off the decluttering process for a long time.

Rather than looking at what still needs to be done, focus instead on how far you’ve come. Clearing away clutter takes time, and every step you take is a great benefit to you and others in the household.

Decluttering Mistake #5: Buy Storage Containers Right Away

Don’t do it! Instead, declutter what you have first. While you have great intentions, getting storage bins to put everything into before decluttering anything is a misstep.

Only after you go through the clutter and make decisions about what to toss or keep can you know what storage containers are needed. You will likely have far fewer things than when you began. At this point, you can make accurate decisions about what sizes and shapes of storage baskets to get for the home.

Learning from These Decluttering Mistakes

When you’re decluttering an area of the house, try to keep these common errors in mind as they can derail your project. If you’d rather not do it alone, reach out to our professional organizers for helpful suggestions about how best to tackle disorganization in your unique home.