10 strategies on how to find unnecessary things in the house and get rid of them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

These tips will help you find junk that you don't even notice.

1. Extinguish hot spots

The very term "hot spot" (from the English hot spot - "hot spot") came from the philosophy of "FlyLady". It is an effortless home cleaning system.

A hot spot is a place where all rubbish accumulates by itself. For example, you have a nightstand next to your front door. Households turn out the contents of pockets and bags on it, and put in it what it is a pity to throw away. And it very quickly turns into a mountain of scarves, checks, newspapers. Some of the things in this heap will still come in handy, and the rest of the place in the trash can.

FlyLady offers to regularly extinguish hot spots, that is, to clean up problem areas. It will take literally a few minutes, but it will eliminate the chaos that tends to spread from the hot spot throughout the apartment.

Identify the places where rubbish accumulates in your home and disassemble them, for example, in the morning. Set a reminder so you don't forget.

2. Throw out a certain amount of things every day

This is also FlyLady's idea, however, they propose getting rid of 27 things (the figure is related to Feng Shui). You can choose an arbitrary number. The point of the strategy is that every day you go through the house and throw out a certain amount of things. There are also candy wrappers and, say, boring trousers.

Of course, if you have 35 pieces of paper on your table, you do not need to count out 27, but leave eight for tomorrow. Rather, the secret is that one day you will have to look for unnecessary things to fit into the limit. And then you look at the objects in the house with different eyes.

3. Test things for joy

Japanese Maria Kondo, who has amassed her fortune out of her obsession with cleaning, offers an alternative approach to sorting things out. According to her method, you need to take an object in your hands and think if it brings you joy. If not, let him go to the trash can.

Do not rush to throw away the vacuum cleaner and the folder with receipts for housing and communal services. Common sense should come first. But when it comes to clothing, home furnishings or tableware, this approach definitely makes sense. Why do you need things that do not bring joy?

4. Get an insulation box for things

Sometimes the hand does not rise to throw something out. Try to create a temporary shelter for such items. Find a large box or bag, and when you clean up, put things in there that you doubt are necessary. Then hide it away.

If within the next six months (three months, a year - choose the period yourself) you need something, you just get this thing. And throw out the rest together with the box.

The main thing is to suppress the desire to look there again and sort through the contents. There is a great risk that a lot will return from the box back to the shelves.

People with a will of steel can take things apart in order to sell part, distribute part. But it is important to determine the period during which this must be done. If you don't meet it, take the junk to the landfill: no one needs it.

5. Enter a temporary ban on purchases

Identify the product group in which you have the most questionable items. For example, it can be clothing, home furnishings, or cosmetics. And try not to buy anything new for a certain period. Let it be at least six months, a month is not enough.

During this period, you will understand what you really need and what did not come in handy. At the same time, you will have time to demolish, smear or break part of the existing one. And if not, at least there won't be more things.

6. Play Find a Pair

Remember the game where picture cards are laid face down? They must be turned over. If the same images come across, then these cards are removed. At home, and especially in the wardrobe, it often happens that things completely duplicate each other. They don't necessarily look the same, but they serve the same function.

Let's say you have blue straight jeans and blue straight jeans with a mother-of-pearl button. They play the same role in the images. Stylistically, there will be no difference between them, and they take up twice as much shelf space. Or you have two graters of the same size - one, probably for a rainy day. Or a mobile phone of 2005 - suddenly the smartphone breaks.

Stockiness is a good quality, but measure is needed in everything. So find the backup items and remove one of them from the playing field.

7. Take apart one place at a time

The idea of cleaning the whole apartment at once and sitting on the sofa with a clear conscience is attractive. But high speed can interfere with the quality of the decluttering. Disassemble one cabinet, but properly. Get rid of unnecessary things, neatly arrange the necessary things. Items that should not lie here, but should not fall into the trash can, for a while, put in a box. You will distribute them in places as you move around the apartment.

The next cabinet does not have to be disassembled on the same day. Remember, quality is more important than quantity. Yes, the process will be slow, but effective.

8. Make decluttering conscious

Even though we are talking about things, the emotional component should not be underestimated. It happens that an object lingers in the house, because it is associated with some kind of memories for you. Or you realize how much you spent on a thing, and you cannot get rid of it. To overcome emotional attachment, it is worthwhile to approach the matter rationally. Now it is just a thing that does not benefit, costs nothing and clutters up the house.

All sentimental items should not be thrown away: memories are important. Just limit the amount of memorabilia. For example, allocate a small box for them. If souvenirs no longer fit there, it is worth getting rid of some of them.

9. Use the camera

Finding trash at home is not always easy. You look at the room, and it seems that it is in complete order. But if you take a picture of her, some imperfections will surely catch your eye. There is a ball lying behind the sofa, the bedspread does not fit into the interior, there are clearly more items on the shelf than needed. A glance through the camera will not always help to find unnecessary things, but it will definitely indicate those that are not where they should be.

Filming will be equally effective at helping you sort out your wardrobe. As long as you hold the item in your hands, it may seem great to you. If this impression persists in the photo, it was not by chance that she appeared in the closet. But it is possible that you will be disappointed looking at the pictures. And things that are not pleasing have no place in your home.

10. Prepare for the move

It is not at all necessary to move, just consider all things through the prism of whether you would drag them with you to a new life or not. Not only cracked plates and a collection of fridge magnets, but also furniture and appliances can get under the distribution.

The approach, in which you can leave only the most important and necessary, makes it easy to find outsider items in your apartment and life.