everything you need to know about decluttering
three things to get rid of right now
We understand that life happens, and some things get tucked to the wayside. But at some point those “things” add up and become clutter in your homes and in your minds. So it’s important to take time to clear out the clutter! And the unuseful…here are three things you need to get rid of TODAY!
Expired goods
We can’t tell you how much expired food we end up taking out of clients' houses. This takes up space with items that you clearly don’t need or are using. Do yourself (and your family/stomach) a favor by checking your pantry and fridge for expired foods and toss! If it's recently expired, consider dropping off at your local food pantry.
Socks with holes
If you’re reading this, I am here to tell you that you deserve socks with no holes in them–one more time for the people in the back–you deserve socks without holes!! For some reason we always end up finding holey socks when sorting through closets, specifically men’s closets. We might not be able to convince men to get rid of their high school t-shirts, but we can try to encourage them to get rid of their old socks. This one’s for you dudes, throw ‘em out!
Koozies
Koozies are one thing we tend to find in excess while organizing kitchens or pantries. They take up space and somehow end up everywhere! Set a goal and try to edit these down. P.S. We won’t tell if you get rid of that koozie from your best friend's bachelorette, and chances are she won’t notice.
how-to declutter 101: junk drawer edition
Ah the infamous junk drawer–your nightmare and our favorite space to tackle. To most, this drawer is a complete headache, but also a place I'm sure you visit multiple times a day. It’s time to take the ‘junk’ out of the junk drawer. Read on for tips on how to turn your junk drawer into your organized drawer.
Take it all out
Step one is to remove all the goodies, categorize contents into piles, and wipe out the drawer.
One category at a time
By this point I’m sure you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed and thinking I just made a freaking mess but don’t be discouraged! It always gets worse before it gets better! Take it one pile at a time and edit. This will be the harder part, deciding what you need to keep, throw away, or move to a different area of the house.
Place product
Because most of the contents that live in your junk drawer are small, we highly recommend investing in drawer organization. We love the bamboo option from the Container Store, it gives a nice custom look, and comes in a variety of sizes.
Put back into zones
Once you’ve edited your categories and decided what’s necessary for you to keep in your drawer, put items back in your choice of drawer organizer, et vola! You have an organized drawer!
how-to declutter 101: photos and memorabilia
Photos and memorabilia can be one of the hardest categories to declutter for our clients, and ourselves included. We’re here to tell you that it doesn't have to be a daunting project. Here are a few tips to make this process a little bit easier.
Take it one step at a time
You don't have to get everything done in one day. Give yourself some grace here, this is most likely years and years of memories saved up. Pick a simple category (photos/childhood toys/children’s artwork) and stay focused.
Set goals
Once you've picked your category (lets use pictures for example) It's important to set a goal of what you’d like to accomplish. For instance, maybe you have three shoe boxes full of pictures from high school and you only want to keep one, there's a visual goal and limit to make sure all the pictures you want to keep can fit into one shoe box.
Quality over Quantity
One thing you may realize when going through sentimental items is that some items might not bring back happy moments or feelings, but guilt. We see lots of clients holding onto objects out of obligation. We encourage you to keep items that are special and bring you value.
