Clearing your clutter is one of the most time-consuming and honestly difficult tasks that you’ll ever do. But the longer you leave it, the more annoying it’s going to get in the future because you’ll be sifting through bags and boxes of junk that you might never need again. Being able to clear your clutter can lead to a much more organised life, but it’ll also help you learn to get rid of material possessions that you don’t need. So let’s take a look at some of the smartest ways to clear your clutter.
What does it mean to get rid of your clutter?
When you boil it down, getting rid of your clutter basically means one thing: getting it out of your house. How you get it out of your house depends on a number of things.
- Is it trash? If so, just throw it away or recycle it if possible.
- Is it valuable? Perhaps someone else would want to buy it.
- Is it something you want to keep? Ask yourself if it’s really something worth keeping. If so, there are storage solutions for this.
- Is it something you could hand down? Clothes that don’t fit, games that you don’t play anymore, or even books you’ve read can all be things that you pass down or give away.
So now that we have these basics out of the way, let’s take a look at how you can get rid of your clutter in some smart ways.
Work on one room at a time and don’t overwhelm yourself
Clutter exists in every room, so make sure you tackle it one room at a time instead of trying to do too many things at once. There are a number of strategies for this, but there’s a simple way to get organised if you tackle one room at a time.
First, get a couple of boxes or bags and label them. You generally want two piles; useful or not useful. Useful things can see use or at least have some tangible value. This can include old games, jewellery, or even books. These are the types of items that you want to hand down to someone else, give to a friend or family member, or even sell for a bit of money. Old antiques are a great example of this, but their value can really depend on the condition and history of an item. These items also take a while to sell, so it’s best not to have high expectations for everything.
For not useful things, this can include anything that no longer has any real value. Old bills, broken electronics, and useless cables that you haven’t touched for a very long time. These things aren’t really worth much money (at least in most cases) and they can’t exactly be handed down to someone. This is generally the pile that you want to get rid of by throwing away or recycling.
What should you do with items that you want to keep?
For items that you want to keep, it’s a good idea to consider using a self storage service for larger items, or simply just tidy them up into organised boxes and then store them away in your attic or another storage area. Getting rid of clutter doesn’t mean having a completely empty cupboard or spotless drawers. All it means is that the storage space you have is actually used for a good reason and not just because you have nowhere else to put things.
What should you do with items that you want to sell?
The best way to sell your items is to put them on a marketplace such as eBay. However, there are some situations where you might get a better price by selling directly to a private buyer, or even selling on a specialised website that understands the value of what you’re selling. Selling antiques and old books is usually best with the latter because you have an easier time finding buyers. However, a large marketplace such as eBay is great if you have general items that are popular with everyone, or if you just want to sell to a wide audience.
Recycling or throwing away; what’s better?
Generally speaking, you should always recycle things when possible. This is especially true for electronics that you don’t need, or anything like paper or wood that can be reused. However, if you’re unable to find a recycling service, then there’s nothing wrong with throwing away items assuming they don’t have dangerous components such as batteries.
