Top 5 Tips For Decluttering Your Home In 2023
Is your home starting to look messy? Is your bedroom feeling claustrophobic? Perhaps you are increasingly weary of opening that one closet nearly overflowing with irrelevant items. If so, it might be time to take an inventory of your possessions. Yes, clutter is a real concern affecting millions of Americans every year. The Simplicity Habit reports that over 50% of people are stressed out by the amount of it in their houses, but 80% don't know how to fix the problem.
Fortunately, we are not going to let you be one of those people. While clutter can be due to a variety of factors, there are both simple and comprehensive solutions to overcoming this problem. So if you are ready for an honest reevaluation, we have some solutions to make this process more productive and less stressful. So with that, here are five tips for decluttering your home in 2023.
Reevaluate your space
Whatever the reason, the beginning of the new year is an appropriate time to reevaluate your relationship with your home and belongings. Does every room still serve the same purpose? Is it time for your abode to reflect your current life circumstances? These are the questions you should be asking yourself, and your answers will help you narrow your decision-making regarding what to do with your property.
Domino reports that nearly three out of four homeowners remodeled after their kids went to college. Common renovations include replacing the child's bedroom with an office or redoing it as a guest bedroom with the luxury finishes the parents had always wanted. Clearing children's belongings can open up space for a proper office or extra storage space and tremendously help a home. Earth claims that the disposable mentality around clothing has played a substantial role in worsening clutter. Many items of clothing are worn less than a dozen times before being thrown away, a decrease of almost 40% in the last two decades.
Throw a yard sale
When you take this hard reevaluation, you will likely find old books, pieces of art, old furniture, kitchen supplies, and other miscellaneous items you no longer wish to have. A yard sale is a wonderful way to address these concerns and find a new home for your belongings without taking them to the dump. This is a beneficial method for decluttering when you have a busy professional life and do not have a lot of bandwidth to organize a dump-off at the local trash or post to Facebook market listings for your irrelevant home items.
Encyclopedia notes that Americans host over 6 million yard sales every year. They can also be a source of some genuine income, as these types of sales annually generate close to $1.8 billion in revenue across the country. You will be surprised by what you find while putting on the sale, and it can be an enjoyable family activity to work on together.
Install built-ins
Sometimes, clutter can manifest primarily in our key storage spaces. Areas like our bedroom closets, pantries, and garage are often where we feel the home overwhelming us the most. But sometimes, it isn't a matter of volume but simply organization. Fortunately, you can do something about it with specific furnishings. Built-in shelving can be an excellent solution to organizing your storage spaces and creating a renewed sense of harmony within the house.
Bankrate notes that built-ins can vary anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to over $8,000 in installation costs. A tailor-made bookshelf, for example, would land on the more expensive side of installations. Built-ins can add resale value to a property, mainly if customized or extensive. Although they are most common in transitional and bungalow-style homes, built-ins, when done correctly, can be utilized in a variety of architectural styles and help streamline the overall aesthetic and functionality of a property.
Refurnish your home
Refurnishing a home is a costlier endeavor, but it can be a highly effective method for decluttering a property. Whether it be unjamming a living room from a non-fitting L-shaped sofa or replacing a bulky dining table, this is quite a common option among first-time homeowners. Younger homeowners often move their old furniture and belongings into a new space, agreeing to eventually furnish and replace things over time. But life gets in the way, it doesn't always happen, and the house feels stuffy, congested, and unpleasant. Dark furniture, specifically, when not color-coordinated and used excessively in an older home with low lighting, can exacerbate this problem significantly.
House Method notes that nearly 40% of furniture used by first-time homeowners are hand-me-downs. Thus, these homes often try to fit too much into their key spaces instead of only keeping what works or getting rid of what doesn't. If you have the budget and a vision for your forever home, redesigning your furniture selection can be a masterful way to make your house feel decluttered and new again.
Reorganize the kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and sometimes the heart can get clogged. Whether it be a build-up of boxes, dirty countertops, or miscellaneous items, the kitchen can be one of the main areas that suffer when our house becomes overstuffed. Oh So Spotless notes that we only use roughly 20% of our belongings, which applies to the kitchen. So if excess utensils, bowls, and cooking devices are taking up valuable space and resulting in clutter for no reason, it might be a viable solution to get rid of them.
Adding utensil shelves or performing a pantry makeover can be other viable ways to make the kitchen feel decluttered. Going through your pantry can be an educational experience. There are often snacks, drinks, and forgotten purchases that no longer serve us, and cleaning this area will make your kitchen feel refreshed and relaxing. While it can be time-consuming, it is worthwhile and will open up space for other items.