So, when it comes to clearing the clutter, resolving to clear or empty those busy spaces in one go is not the ideal way to do it!

For most people weekends and evenings are the time when this work will be done and it’s not really an inviting thought.

Are you really going to spend a whole weekend or every evening when you get home from work just de-cluttering and packing boxes? I think we all know that unless you desperately need the space for something immediate, the answer is no.

So do it a little at a time. Set yourself realistic goals – do a space / room / cupboard at a time.
Prioritise areas - that way, you’ll have everything in the main living spaces sorted before you start heading up to the loft or into the garage.

Here are some small projects you can do to start your de-cluttering process:

Cupboards

Kitchen  cupboards are notorious for being full of bits that they haven’t used for years! Empty a cupboard at a time and decide what you use, frequently, infrequently and never.

Once you’ve removed the items in the ‘never’ category make sure you put things back so the most frequently used things are easily accessible at the front of cupboards.

All the ‘infrequent’ items taking up your valuable space can be packed up & put into storage.

Wardrobes

If your wardrobes are bursting at the seams, it’s time to have a clear out.

Sort your clothes and other items into seasons. If it’s spring, heading into summer, pack up all your winter stuff and put it into storage – you’ll be amazed how much room this frees up. Once this is done, consider the way your wardrobe is organised. Baskets and hooks on the backs of doors are great for organising smaller things like belts and scarves. Often, more space can be created by being a little more organised.

Books, CDS & DVDS

If you’re a book lover, it can be hard to part with your books, but if you’ve got piles of them on the floors or layer after layer on the bookshelf so you can’t see what books are at the back, it’s time to be realistic and get sorting!

It’s the same with your music and film collections. Catalogue and pack your treasured items and pop them into storage. That way you’ll know exactly where they are and in which box when you want to find them.

Photographs

Lots of people keep all their photographs on their phones or computers but there are still many of us that like to sit down with the photograph albums every now and then and reminisce.

What we’re not so good at nowadays is printing them and putting them into albums on a regular basis.

Those little envelopes of photographs can be found in disorganised piles in many houses, which means when we want to look at them or find something specific we’ve got to go through every packet to find what we want! Put them into albums. If you buy a few albums of the same size it will also be easier to store them, and lots of albums now have an area to write alongside the image so you can even tell your story as you go along! Great for later generations to understand what was going on.

Don’t forget, just because you no longer need something it doesn’t mean it’s bound for the bin. If it’s in good condition there will be many places you can donate or recycle it.

Alternatively, if you do feel the need to have one huge clear out, a self storage unit can help. You can put everything in to your storage unit and spend as much time as you need going through it all without having to clutter up the house.

Here at Selfstore London, we have storage units of all sizes - offering you your perfect storage solution.

If you find you have a short or long term storage problem, get in touch – we’re here to help.