8 Ways to Cut Clutter and Get Organised

When someone mentions clutter, what comes to mind? Is it the pile of laundry you’ve been promising to fold and put away since last weekend? Is it the pile of shoes and backpacks taking up space by your door? Although clutter can mean different things to different people, we love the more cerebral view of abstract artist Hans Hoffman who defined organization as…

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

And that is really the heart of the task—removing the excess, the unnecessary, so the things you love most can shine through.

As Sydney’s most trusted storage experts, we happen to know a thing or two about getting organised, so we wanted to share 8 ways you can cut the clutter in your home, get organised, and allow what is necessary to sing in your home.

1. One Bite at a Time

What we mean is this—go slowly and go in stages. You’ll do yourself no favors if you try to organise your entire home at once. More likely, you’ll end up making a tremendous mess…as if some cranky giant picked up your home, gave it a good shake, then set it back on its foundation.

Plan on tackling one room at a time. Trust us…it will take longer than you think, and you’ll be glad you can close the door should any tasks be left unfinished at the end of the day.

2. Everything Goes

That being said, once you’ve selected the room to tackle, you should remove everything—and we do mean everything—from the space. This will allow you to take stock of what was living inside the room and create a plan of attack for getting it all organised.

3. Clean

Now is the perfect time to give the room a thorough, deep cleaning. Start at the top and make your way down. Clean any light fixtures or fans hanging from the ceiling. Wipe down the walls, windows, and ledges. Clean doors and door frames. Give the windows, blinds, and curtains a good washing. Shampoo the carpet and clean the dust from closet shelves.

4. Go Through the Room Contents

This is where the magic happens…but it will require effort on your part. Go through the items you removed from the room and have a frank conversation about what should stay…and what should go. This step can be difficult for some and decidedly painful others.

Channel your inner Marie Kondo and ask what items bring you joy. Divide everything into 3 piles: things that are staying, things that are going but are still in working order, and things that are broken and destined for the rubbish bin.

Move all the trash to the…well, trash. Collect working items you no longer want and save them for your next garage sale or take them to your local donation center.

5. Decide Where Each Item Should Live

Are there things in the bedroom that belong in the kitchen? Are you cramming your closet full of holiday decorations that could stay in the garage? Take anything out of your “stay” pile that can live elsewhere and move it to the proper location.

6. Organise Like with Like

Gather like items (photo albums, shoes, accessories, etc) so you can see exactly what you need to further organise each set. Perhaps you have enough shoes to warrant a new shoe rack. Your photo albums can go on a closet shelf in a labeled box. And a basket makes the perfect storage vessel for scarves, gloves, and other accessories.

7. Organise According to Your Habits

Having a mail receptacle in the kitchen will do you no good if you always drop the mail on the table by the back door. And a jewelry caddy in the bedroom closet will not help if you remove it in the bathroom.

Accept your habits and organise according to them. A lidded box by the back door provides the perfect place to tuck mail away, and a catch-all dish will corral jewelry in the bathroom until you can transport it to its permanent home.

The bottom line is…work smarter, not harder.

8. Consider Renting a Storage Unit

As you survey what needs to stay, you may realise you have more stuff than you do space. This is common for families with lots of heirlooms, art collectors, and those who just love stuff. Rather than parting with something you love, consider renting a storage unit where your items can be safely kept until you have room for them.

If you’re looking for a quality storage facility that will care for your belongings as if they were our own, we hope you’ll contact us at Holloway Storage.

Get organised the right way…with Holloway.