Feeling Stressed Out? Try Decluttering Your Home
I recently had a chat with a fellow mom friend about how much happier and more organised she felt when she has a tidy home.
Not necessarily a perfectly clean sparkling home, but one where things are relatively in order, minimal and where they should be! And I 100% agreed – I love coming home to a clean inviting space. It could be argued that the reverse is more relevant. That the happier and more organised you are, the tidier your home is.
No one wants to come home and clean up after a long stressful day or during a challenging time of their life, so if your emotional health is at a low, maybe that could be reflected in your home or surrounds too.
Either way, a decluttered home and mind seem to work hand in hand!
Our home should be our oasis.
Our safe and easeful space. Unfortunately, if we let clutter build up it can become overwhelming to know how to sort it out and where to start. But here is a list to help you out!
Tackle one small task every day for 30 days.
In the words of Elsa, if something is broken, mismatched, worn out, useless, expired, no longer needed, outgrown, duplicated or unused, let it go!
You could donate, bin it or give to a friend or loved one. If it is useful or sparks joy – keep it! Easy!
Ready to declutter your home and your mind in the next 30 days? Start with these:
Parfait Lingerie1. Clothing
If it doesn’t fit, or hasn’t been worn in over 12 months, why do you still have it? Donate it!
2. Clean out your bag
If your bag is anything like mine, it seems to have a bottomless pit!
3. Inside your fridge
Check out all those jars and sauce bottle expiry dates too.
4. Shoes
C’mon, I know you don’t really need 174 pairs of shoes!
5. Accessories/jewellery
I also know you don’t need to hang on to those neon beads from 1988…
6. Toys
Get the kids involved. What have they outgrown? What could they donate?
7. Games
If you haven’t played a game in the last year, do you really need it anymore?
8. Pantry Contents
Check those spice labels!
9. Junk drawer
We all have one somewhere.
10. Photos
If you have photos stored on multiple devices, pop them all on one hard drive. Don’t forget to make a back-up copy.
11. Laundry cupboard
When was the last time you sorted through your cleaning products?
12. Medicine
Check those dates, keep everything in one locked drawer or high cupboard.
13. Books
Any books you are finished with would be gratefully received by someone else!Linen cupboard – How many mismatched sheets or towels do you have. Consider donating them to a local animal shelter.
14. Linen cupboard
How many mismatched sheets or towels do you have. Consider donating them to a local animal shelter.
15. Freezer
Do you even know what is in the bottom of your freezer?
16. Desk
Empty those drawers and clear some space for fresh ideas!
17. Magazines
If you’ve read it you don’t need it anymore.
18. Sporting equipment
I know you had good intentions when you bought that ab roller 10 years ago, but if you’ve only used it twice, it probably should go!
19. Makeup/body products
Wrong shades, empty bottles, old and expired makeup, products you didn’t like…
20. Movies
Put anything you want to keep on a hard drive to save space.
21. Kitchen drawer
Last time I cleaned out my kitchen drawer I found no less than 7 medicine syringes. Two is more than enough!
22. Social Media
While you are decluttering, unfollow anyone who no longer sparks joy in you.
23. Car
Clean it out, freshen it up!
24. Email subscriptions
There is no need to keep subscribing to the site you signed up to just for a discount code in 2011!
25. Gifts
Yes, those things that someone very kindly gave you. Just because it once was loved, doesn’t mean you need to hang on to it forever.
26. Kids creations
Have you kept every drawing they have ever made? Consider taking photos of each one (if they spark joy!) and compile into a digital collage instead.
27. Receipts and bills
When was the last time you cleaned out your filing cabinet?
28. Craft supplies
There’s no point keeping dried up paints and half-finished projects!
29. Plastics cupboard
You know the one that you have to throw the Tupperware in and then shut it really quickly?
30. Underwear
Hmmm, if it has holes, bin it!
Parfait LingerieAs you work through your home, take note of how it makes you feel. Do you feel a little less overwhelmed? More organised? Maybe you notice new things coming your way once you have let go of some of the old. If you want to read about more ways to declutter your home and mind, check out Marie Kondo’s Konmari Method, in ‘The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up’.
