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Spring is almost here! As we celebrate the days gradually getting longer, the temperatures warming up a bit and the sun reappearing from behind wintry clouds, it’s time to blow away the last of those winter cobwebs. For some of us, those cobwebs are literal as well as figurative!
Spring is a great time to do a deep clean and declutter your home after being hunkered down inside for the winter months. It’s the season of fresh air, fresh linens and a fresh start. So read on for our top tips on how to declutter your home for spring.
Tip 1 - Use, Store or Dispose?
Do you ever feel like maybe you just have too much stuff? It’s easy to just let things accumulate in your home over time, and sooner or later you find you’ve run out of places to store them away neatly. The first rule to declutter your home is to take a look at your belongings and divide them into three categories: Use, Store or Dispose.
Going through your home at least once a year is essential to keep things tidy and keep your home storage working for you. Spring is a great time to do this. Taking a few days to go through your possessions with a fine-tooth comb can save you from the worst of the clutter - and remind you of things you’d forgotten you owned!
Divide up your items into three piles; the things you use regularly, the things that are useful but can be stored away out of sight, and the things you no longer need. This way, you can maximise the space in your home and live a clutter-free life.
Tip 2 - The 6-Month Rule
Something that can help when you’re working out what to keep and what to throw away is the handy ‘6-month rule’; quite simply, ‘have you used this in the last six months?’
There are things to which this rule does not apply, of course, such as items you use infrequently but are essentials (sporting equipment, family heirlooms and memories, expensive jewellery etc). It’s not a rule to be applied to everything in your home! But for every day, inexpensive bits and pieces, it’s easy to let these build up in your home because you think you might use them ‘someday’.
The 6-month rule forces you to look closely at the items you have in your home and whether you actually use them, or need them. You may decide there are items you rarely use but need to keep - but often you’ll find there’s plenty that can be donated or disposed of, giving you a tidy and uncluttered space.
Tip 3 - Spring/Summer vs Autumn/Winter
If you’re living in a small house or apartment but you have a loft space or shed, then a great way to keep your home clutter-free and tidy is to rotate your clothes, shoes and other accessories with the seasons.
Investing in a set of durable storage boxes or clothing storage bags means you can store away your winter clothes once the weather starts to warm up, bringing out your spring and summer favourites ready to wear. This way, you don’t end up with your wardrobes and chests of drawers stuffed full with items you won’t need again for another six months, meaning you keep your bedroom tidy and decluttered, with everything in easy reach.
Tip 4 - Secret Stashes
An easy way to declutter your home is to introduce more subtle storage space. Chest of drawers or units with drawers or cupboards are a great way to do this. A new piece of furniture can change the look and feel of your room, bringing positive vibes and updating your home for the new season - while offering additional hidden storage space for your bits and pieces.
Investing in a sideboard, for example, gives you a flat surface to display your favourite photos, candles, houseplants or other decorative items - or even somewhere to mount your TV - while underneath, cupboards and drawers provide neat spaces to store away your less aesthetically pleasing items. Voila! Your guests will never know what’s behind those doors or drawers…
Tip 5 - Storage, Storage, Storage!
You’d be surprised how a few small changes to your storage routine can make a big difference to the amount of clutter in your home. A few storage solutions, like boxes or baskets here and there, can update your home from ‘mess’ to ‘minimalist’ in minutes.
Think about areas of your home where clutter tends to build up. Perhaps that’s on the stairs, or beside your sofa? By the front door or next to the TV? We all have our favourite places to leave things. You don’t have to change your routine - just change your storage.
Well-positioned baskets or boxes help create order from chaos. Maybe you have a pile of bills or letters that need to be dealt with? Storing these items in a box keeps the pile neat and tidy.
Do you leave things on the stairs to ‘take up with you when you go’? A basket with handles makes it easy to carry these things upstairs at once and keeps your stairwell safe and free of clutter.
If your TV remotes are usually tossed casually on a coffee table or sofa arm, why not keep them in a small case so you can always find them?
Little things can make a big difference, and that’s never more true than when it comes to storage.
Tip 6 - Change of Materials
During the winter months, we all like to hibernate in a safe, warm and cosy space. For many of us, that means plush, fluffy blankets, lots of pillows, warm and soft materials that make us feel comforted and protected from the harsh weather outside.
Unfortunately, while these items offer additional warmth when we need it most, they also make for extra clutter once the weather improves. So switching out the materials you use in your home ready for spring and summer can make a huge difference to how cluttered your home feels.
Replacing soft fleeces, rich velvets and textured wools with light linens, sheer voiles and classic cottons naturally brings a more minimalist feel to your home and accentuates the light in your space. As the days get longer, we naturally want to make the most of the daylight, so replacing heavy curtains with sheer panels (in living spaces, not bedrooms) can make your entire home feel lighter, brighter and more spring-like.
Tip 7 - Little and Often
The key to a home that remains clutter-free all year round? A daily dose of spring cleaning.
After you’ve worked through our first six decluttering tips, number seven is easy. A little organising each and every day can keep your home neat and tidy all-year round.
It may appear that those with sleek, minimalist, clutter-free homes simply have less ‘stuff’ than the rest of us, but in reality, they’ve just worked out smart ways to keep the mess at bay. From savvy seasonal management to stylish storage solutions, keeping your home clutter-free doesn’t need to be a challenge.
Bin-bags and boxes at the ready? It’s time to declutter your home!
For more inspiration on how to style up your storage, check out our blog post and discover a whole host of solutions ready and waiting for you.
