During this time of global uncertainty, your home truly becomes the one thing that feels secure. While spring is the perfect time to clean and declutter during normal circumstances, right now it’s more important than ever to do so, in order to feel a sense of control and comfort and to help keep your mind and body busy.
Letting go of things you don’t need also means that everyone in your home will have a little extra space for activities that bring them joy. Although decluttering may sound like a big, intimidating task, you can start small, set a timer and take it day by day, room by room with these simple tips:
Kitchen
The kitchen is where the messiest action happens daily, so it’s vital to keep the space as efficient as possible to minimize the amount of work it needs after each meal prep.
Clear the counters down to just essentials. This means putting away small appliances that you don’t use at least once a week. Also, put away that bottle of olive oil in a cool, dark place so it doesn’t go bad sitting next to the hot stove.
Hide your cookbooks inside the cabinet to keep them clean and neat.
Audit your drawers. Prioritize keeping necessities like silverware, tongs and meat thermometers inside top drawers and move your “junk drawer” to the bottom.
Clean out your fridge of expired condiments, unlabeled leftovers and expired produce. Place extra cheese and butter in the freezer, if you don’t think you’ll use them fast enough. If you keep a box of baking soda to deodorize your fridge, it has to go if it’s been open for more than 30 days as it’s no longer effective.
Reassess what’s on your fridge. You may have to part with some magnets and papers as those are a quick way to make your kitchen look cluttered, even when the rest of it is clean.
Living Room
The best way to declutter a living room is to “reset” it. Grab a box and temporarily put away all of the small décor pieces like picture frames, souvenirs, candles and other knickknacks. Put it out of sight for a few days to get the feel for what pieces you really miss and what you can live without.
Part with books that you won’t give more than three stars to and make room for new reads to keep you entertained. Recycle old issues of magazines and outdated newspapers.
We get that it may have taken you a long time to acquire that impressive collection of DVDs, but with the boom of streaming services, now’s the perfect time to free up your shelves.
Bedrooms
A seating area always makes for a cozy vignette, but you may have to eliminate it from your bedroom if you tend to pile your clothes on it at the end of each day. If it’s not being used for what it’s intended, it may make your bedroom feel more cramped.
Be honest with yourself about throw pillows too. Do they bring you joy, or do they contribute to you dreading to make your bed every morning? Though a couple of decorative pillows can really make a difference in getting that polished look, if it’s taking you too long to put it together, consider downsizing.
Closet
Treat your closet like its own room, even if it’s small. Take out every piece and accessory you own and ask yourself how long it’s been since you’ve worn it and how it makes you feel.
If you have kids, take out winter clothing that they won’t fit into next year and pass it along to someone who could use it instead.
As you’re hanging things back that you’ll be keeping, part with cheap, wire hangers. Order wooden or space-saving velvet hangers online that will not only be more pleasant to use but will also make your closet look cleaner giving it a cohesive look.
Bathroom
Go through your cabinets. Throw away everything expired, nearly empty and that you haven’t used in more than 6 months.
While it may sound that a medicine cabinet is meant to store medications, it’s actually the opposite. The humidity in the bathroom isn’t a good environment for remedies, so you may need to find them a new home in a dry, dark place like your nightstand or kitchen cabinet.
To clear up your counters, add a magnetic strip to a wall or inside the cabinet to hold bobby pins, tweezers and other tiny things.
Embrace baskets and trays to store essential products under the sink or on the shelves, so you can pick them up and move easily when you’re cleaning.
Consider ordering in a nice and unified set of bathroom accessories like jars and dispensers to minimize visual clutter from colorful product packaging.
Home Office
The trick that professional stagers use to make any home office look put-together is by hiding everything that’s smaller than your average breadbox. So, pencils, paper clips, business cards and chargers should get tucked into drawers, while larger items like legal pads, books and plants may stay on your desk and shelves.
If you often run into a problem of burying your desk with paperwork and mail, hang up a clipboard and attach anything you want to save onto it. Set a few minutes once a week to go through the clipboard so you don’t have to worry about organizing your papers right away, if it feels daunting.
If you’ve also been waiting for springtime to find a new house, we’re here to help you find your dream home from the comfort of your current (and now decluttered!) one. You can tour all of our models virtually and our sales teams and lending partners are available to connect with you over the phone and can handle all paperwork electronically.
Yours Truly,
Signature Homes
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