We’re moving house this weekend, and as well as move the things we need, we’re also going to get rid of the things we don’t need. I envisage a major de-clutter, and I’m looking forward to it.

The Plan

It’s always good to have a plan, and even better to stick to it. But first, before the plan, it’s good to have a look around and get an idea of what’s going to stay with us in our new home, and what isn’t. Rather than go around the whole house and try and sort everything at the same time, the plan is to do one room at a time. This means the approach is a lot more efficient, because we can clear a space in the middle of the room for all the sorting.

How do I sort?

Well I’m aiming to get everything down to the essentials. Anything left over is for the charity shop, classifieds, recycling or the bin. How do I distinguish between essential and non-essential? Well that gets tricky. I will have an undecided pile, and because this is a team job, hopefully things can get decided by consensus. So firstly, we sort out the first bedroom, using the bed as the space for throwing everything on. Then we literally comb the entire room, separating things we’re going to keep from things to go. The “things to keep” pile then goes into the removal van and the rest goes into the garage storage system we’ve hastily assembled, for further separation into an individual storage solution for charity shop, re-selling, recycling, and the bin.

Making the decision

It sounds simple, but the actual decision of what you’re going to keep or get rid of can get tricky. It’s just not always that easy, which probably explains all of the clutter in our house in the first place.

One of the best ways I’ve found to decide between what to keep and what not to, is pick one item up at a time and make an instant decision. Consider the last time you actually used the item – if it was over a year ago then it’s probably time for it to go. Exclude the seasonal merit of the item; so if it’s a winter jacket, consider its worth in the context of the season it’s intended for.

This process can take around 4 hours per room of your home. The great thing about de-cluttering like this is that it’s not just good to do before you move house. You can incorporate it into your spring-cleaning, or just when you feel the house needs a good tidy up. Simplicity is often the key to a good home. Too much clutter and you can feel burdened, de-clutter and you feel back in control of your own home, and life. This method can be used for organising everything from home storage to tool storage, chucking away the stuff that’s in your way, and re-discovering the usefulness of having less. In essence, an affordable and fun type of home improvement.

Author Bio: ENDS Stephen Richards- StorageMAKER’s garage storage kits are specifically designed for organisation and storage solutions. Industrial shelving, bike racks and garage hooks are all included in these kits. Contacts For interviews, images or comments contact: Stephen Richards Online Manager Storage Maker http://www.storagemaker.co.uk

Category: Home Management
Keywords: Garage Storage Solution,Garage Storage Kits,Home Storage,storage solution,home storage situation