New Year Declutter

The hallway acts as the arteries to all the other spaces in your home, a cluttered hallway is going to disrupt your ability to get around the house.  If you must keep items in the hallway, designate an area where everything is kept preventing item being dumped across the floor. Common items like footwear are worth storing in a shoe rack, this will keep them off the floor as well as stop any tracked in dirt from getting on flooring or carpet. For items like umbrellas where there’s a chance of them dripping water on the floor, create a drop off point right next to the door. The best way to do this is with an umbrella stand.  

The bedroom should be a stress-free area for relaxation and recuperation. If you’re combating a lack of storage space daily, it’s time to declutter and upgrade. Start by looking at your wardrobe & drawers, go through your clothes and give away items you no longer want, need or fit in. These can be given to charity. Removing these will help free up more space. Add in hanging storage compartments. These organisers attach to the wardrobe rails adding extra space to store items, they are ideal for items like bags, shoes, hats and smaller clothing items. For your drawers, it's beneficial to organise them by type. Using a drawer divider will help you find what you’re looking for quickly and makes putting washing away easy. Squeeze some more space out of your storage by packing off-season clothing into vacuum storage bags. Your clothing items will take up significantly less space and can be conveniently stored at the bottom of drawers or neatly tucked away under the bed. 

Bathrooms while normally the smallest rooms are commonly the most cluttered rooms. It’s easy to let toiletries accumulate in your bathroom so the first port of order is to clear out all old, empty and unused bathroom products, shampoo and shower gel bottles. For everyday use items consider storing them in plastic storage baskets, these will keep your toiletries together and allows you to separate items out by person. 

If you keep your makeup in your bathroom or en-suite bathroom, your cosmetics can take up a lot of space. Coming in various bottle, container and brush shape and sizes, your makeup can create a messy looking area. After sorting through your collections and throwing out what you no longer want or need, consider adding in a makeup organiser, this will allow you to neatly contain and protect the remaining items. 

As one of the most active rooms in the home, it’s no surprise that the kitchen can become cluttered, from being used as the family dumping ground to the build-up of food packets, ingredients and utensils in the cupboards and drawers. One quick step to clean your kitchen is to remove any items that don’t belong there, clutter attracts more clutter and kitchen counters are renowned for accumulating items. Any essential kitchen items that aren’t utensils can be stored on the counter in a storage rack/trolley.

Organise your cupboards by storing dry goods in storage jars then labelling them up. This will make it easier to sort, maintain and replenish food produce. If you are lacking on available cupboard space, try using a shelf riser, this will create a whole extra level to store items on.

Tucked away areas like garages and lofts are overlooked in their potential to become more efficient storage spaces for other than to gather DIY tools, gardening items and Christmas decorations. Start by organising your garage by item type and designate an area for each. Additionally, scout the house for any items that can be packed away in these spaces. Once all the items have been, sorted consider storing them in stackable storage boxes, not only will this keep all your items together, but they will also protect them against damage and wear caused by moist, damp and cold conditions. By using stackable boxes, the amount of floor space used is also reduced making these areas easier to navigate.