Simplifying your home can mean a number of different things. You may feel the need to do a deep clean and a ruthless declutter, however this doesn’t always have to be the case. Perhaps you feel that your home has become too busy in its overall appearance and is no longer pleasing you.
Over the course of a weekend, there are different tasks you can do that will help you declutter your home and start to fall in love with it again.
Experts let us in on some of their industry secrets on how to best simplify your home without leaving it feeling bare and uninspiring.
1. Reduce quantity
One of the most straight forward tips has to be reducing the amount of ‘stuff’ that you have in your home. Simplifying something makes it easier to digest, meaning that the story you’re trying to tell in a space will become more clear. You just need to work out how to start decluttering in a way that works for you.
Shara Kay from SK Organizing says that ‘the most effective way to simplify your home is to reduce the number of items in it. Spend the weekend letting go of things you no longer want or need — whether those are duplicates, gifts you received but would never use, empty boxes and other packaging, anything broken or missing pieces that you are not going to repair, apparel that doesn’t fit (especially that you would’t be excited to wear even if it did!) and whatever else isn’t serving you. Sell, give away, and recycle what you can’.
2. Limit your drop zone
What is a drop zone? This is a particular area in your house (it can be more than one) where you tend to discard things and leave them there without putting them back where they belong. A common drop zone that most of us are guilty of using is our entryway storage or boot room.
Try your best to limit this and ‘remove items from your drop zone that aren’t being used regularly. Depending on the space available, you should be left with just one or two pairs of go-to shoes and a single sweater and bag per household member. Everything else can go back in each person’s bedroom closet’, explains Ashley Murphy, CEO of NEAT method.
Storage boxes to help clear the clutter
3. Evaluate your open storage
Open shelving is a modern design staple and for good reason. They are a great way of opening up a space and letting in lots of natural light but at the same time, things can be displayed and stored on them to create a functional and stylish area, whether it's a kitchen, bathroom or living room with open shelving.
CEO and founder of Living with Lolo Lauren Lerner explains that ‘an easy area to tackle decluttering over a weekend would be open shelving. It's easy for this space to become a dumping ground, so taking the time to evaluate what really needs to be on display is a great step’.
Lauren goes on to say that ‘to maintain an aesthetically pleasing and well-organized look for open shelving, it is recommended to stick with a neutral color palette and avoid excessively vibrant or flashy items. Additionally, utilizing baskets on your open shelves provides a practical solution for organizing smaller pieces. Remember, simplicity is key when it comes to open shelving, as overcrowding can detract from its overall appeal’.
4. Create a donation bin
Our homes are there very own eco system and it’s important to think how we can all be more sustainable when it comes to interior design. Try to avoid throwing things away unless they are in an unsalvageable state and instead donate them to charity or a willing receiver.
‘Place a donation bin in a designated location out of the way. This will allow you to collect items that you no longer want or need at any given time, while preventing clutter from accumulating in the corners of your home. Once the bin is full, get in the habit of placing the contents in your car to be dropped off at a donation or recycling center’, says Ashley.
5. Check expiration dates
Weekends are sometimes the only time to relax and unwind so you may not want every hour to be filled with a DIY or organization task. A quick and easy decluttering project you can do is organizing a kitchen or bathroom by discarding any items that are expired or out of date.
‘Oftentimes, the easiest way to reduce excess is to identify and toss food and toiletries that are expired. You may be surprised how much you are holding onto and will likely clear a good amount of space just doing this one task’, explains Ashley.
Waste is never a good thing, so avoid this from happening in the future by organising your kitchen and bathroom shelves properly. Invest in some storage baskets and bins that you can label, which will make sure everything has a home.
