SIMPLE WAYS TO DECLUTTER YOUR ROOM

When I was younger I hated tidying my room, as I’m sure the majority of children did. Though recently, I can’t stop! I’ve been throwing tons of things away and I definitely feel much better for doing so. Being in a clear and clean environment is much better than a messy and unorganised one; I always feel like I do better quality work on a clutter free desk. Attempting to sort your room out after letting the clutter build up for a while can seem like a bit of a daunting task. You might have an overflowing wardrobe and have no idea what clothes you actually own. Either way I may be able to help you!

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When starting to tidy your room, prepare yourself with some bin liners or boxes to help sort all of your clutter into. It’s also best to start in one area, for example your dressing table, and then work your way clockwise around the room. Doing it like this means you focus on one task at a time which will probably mean it gets tidier quicker! You can use the boxes and bags to sort all your items out. One can be for things for the bin, one can be for storage and the other can be for items you can donate to your local charity shop.

Wardrobe

First things first, get rid of everything you know you don’t wear and won’t wear again. If it’s in good condition and can be worn again, put this in the donate pile. Otherwise, chuck it out. For those things you aren’t 100% sure on but don’t want to get rid of, I’ve picked up a handy little tip. Take your hangers out of your wardrobe and turn them the opposite way, so that the hook is facing you instead of the back of the wardrobe. Then, each time you take something out and wear it, place the hanger back in the correct way. Then, in 6 months or so time you can go back to clearing your wardrobe out and those items with the hangers that haven’t been put back to normal, you know you don’t wear so these can be either donated or binned! To keep your wardrobe organised, you could store all the clothing that can only be worn in a certain season away. If you wanted to be super organised, you could put your clothes into sections. For example, skirts, jeans, tops, jumpers, shirts and jackets etc. I find this is really easy when picking out an outfit or looking for a certain item. You can do the same for your shoes.

Dressing Table

If you’re anything like me you’ll have all sorts of beauty products stored away in your dressing table, though there’s only a certain selection that you use on a regularly basis. To combat this, every couple of weeks pull out a couple of products and place them in an easy to reach place, maybe in a basket or box on your dressing table. Work your way through the products and you can either throw out or give the items you don’t like to your mum or sister or realise that the eyeliner you bought 3 months away and never used is actually the best one you’ve ever bought! You can do similar things for bath and hair products you’ve accumulated. Store them together and work your way through these instead of buying new things. You will also come across some new products to review on your blog! Makeup does have expiry dates, so be wary of these when de-cluttering. Mascaras only tend to last a couple of months at most so throw away any that you’ve had and been using for a long time. Powder tends to last a lot longer but it’s down to your own judgement whether it can still be used or not. Try not to hoard just for the sake of it.

Desk

Like I said before, working at a tidy desk really helps me to feel more motivated and think clearer. When I sorted my desk out, I started by emptying each draw one at a time and separating everything into piles: what should be in the draw, what should be somewhere else and what should be in the bin. Anything that should be in the draw can be put back in neatly, and then you should sort the other items out straight away. Being at university, I like to keep all my paperwork in folders. I bought a pack of five magazine holders from Ikea for around £2 and I wrote each unit on the front of the holders. Everything related to that unit goes inside it. I also have a folder for bank statements and pay slips, so that if I need a certain one I can get to it really easily. When you get paperwork or anything in the post, store it away straight away so it’s easy to keep on top of.

General

For the rest of the clutter around your room, ask yourself “Do I really need it?” “Will I use it again?”. If so, put it in the correct place, and if not, donate or get rid of it! Each night, or every couple of nights depending on how tidy you are, spend five or ten minutes sorting your room out. It could be as simple as putting away the makeup and hair tools you used that morning, or hanging any clothes back up. Doing this means you’re much less likely to have to do a huge tidy up every month. After everything is back in it’s place and you’ve taken the bags out of your room, give it a good hoover and a little dusting. I always find my room looks a lot nicer after doing so! I love adding some fairy lights and a few photos around just to make it a little more cosy.

Don’t get me wrong, my room doesn’t look like a show room, I have plenty of little trinkets and things around my room but it’s a lot more organised that it used to be. These are only a couple of tips and if you have any you’d like to add, please do in the comments! I hope that I may have helped you a little bit.