The art of De Cluttering

Hoarding a tad too many trinkets and accessories at home? Here’s your chance to declutter the space and bring in positive vaastu while streamlining any personal niche, be it the living room, study, bedroom or storage areas. These tips will air out the not needed and breathe in new  life into personal spaces. 

1 Designate a spot for incoming papers. Papers often account for a lot of clutter. This is because we put them in different spots — Designate an in-box tray or spot. 

2 Start with a zone you want to declutter. Call it your own no-clutter zone. It can be a counter, or your kitchen table, or the three-foot perimeter around your couch. Then make a rule: nothing can be placed there that’s not actually in use! 

3 Clear off a counter. You want to make sure that all flat spaces in your house are clear of clutter. Maybe they have a toaster on them, maybe a decorative candle, but not a lot of clutter. So start with one counter. Clear off everything possible.

4 Pick a shelf. Now that you’ve done a counter, try a shelf. It doesn’t matter what shelf. Could be a shelf in a closet, or a bookshelf. Don’t tackle the whole bookshelf — just one shelf. Clear all non-essentials and leave it looking neat and clutter-free.

5 Schedule a decluttering weekend. Maybe you don’t feel like doing a huge decluttering session right now. But if you take the time to schedule it for later this month, you can clear your schedule, and if you have a family, get them involved too. 

6 Get boxes and trash bags ready, and plan a trip to a charity to drop off donated items. You might not get the entire house decluttered during the weekend, but you’ll definitely make great progress. A simple task can be locating 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned. Or ask a friend to suggest five things they think need to be done to declutter your home and you’ll be surprised at what they think! 

7 Pick up five things, and find places for them. These should be things that you actually use, but that you seem to put anywhere, because they don’t have an appointed place. Take a minute to think it through and always put those things in their designated spots, when you’re done using them. Do this for everything in your home, a few things at a time.

8 Spend a few minutes visualising the room. Think about how you want it to look. What are the most essential pieces of furniture? What doesn’t belong but has just gravitated there? What is on the floor (hint: only furniture and rugs belong there) and what is on the other flat surfaces?

9 Create a “maybe” box. Sometimes when you’re going through a pile of stuff, there will be stuff you don’t use, but think you might want or need someday. Create a “maybe” box, and put this stuff there. Store the box somewhere out of the way. Put a note on your calendar six months from now, to look in the box. Pull it out after six months later, and see if there is anything you really need. Usually, you can just dump the whole box! 

10 Try the Closet Hanger Experiment. Identify wardrobe pieces to clear out, hang clothes with hangers in the reverse direction. After you wear an item, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the correct direction. After six months, you’ll have a clear picture of which clothes you can discard. This experiment could also be applied to a number of clutter areas in your home (cleaners, toys, linens, tools, hobbies and craft items).