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The word ‘decluttering’ was first used in around 1950, when Vogue magazine advised housewives to declutter their living rooms. It's really taken off, though, in more recent years, as households have a lot more ‘stuff’ to get rid of than they did 70 years ago. Compared with 1950, there are a lot more options when it comes to actually disposing of your unwanted items as well.
There are a number of techniques you can use to get rid of items from your home. As experts when it comes to house clearance services in Highgate and across North London, here ASAP Clearances outline some of the ways of approaching the task, and its benefits. We also explain why the job may best be left to a professional house clearance company such as ourselves.
Why Declutter?
There may be specific reasons to do declutter you home – you might be preparing to move (whether you’re downsizing or moving to a bigger property), redecorating part or the whole or your home, or may be preparing for a spring clean. Whatever the reason, there are plenty of benefits to decluttering, including:
- You will have more storage space, and room to live and breathe
- You can identify duplicates and gaps in your possessions
- It can have a financial benefit if you can sell unwanted items on online marketplaces
- It makes your home easier to tidy and clean
- It can boost your mood – it can be irritating if you have to sift through (or avoid) piles of clutter to carry out daily tasks; it can also aid productivity as well, particularly if you work from home
- It can have physical as well as mental health benefits – piles of stuff can lead to a build-up of dust and grime, pet hair and pollen, which could create problems, especially for those with allergies.
How to Approach Decluttering
Decluttering has become a 'thing to do' largely because of all the various self-help books available on the subject, not to mention popular trends and videos on social media and YouTube.
Japanese decluttering evangelist Marie Kondo recommends doing decluttering by category instead of going through your home room-by-room. Her 'KonMari' method of decluttering is straightforward –pull everything out before sorting it out, take in the full horror of your materialism, and keep only things that are useful or 'spark joy' in your life.
Others do recommend decluttering room-by-room, as that way you don’t have piles of stuff all over the house (even though you are going to get rid of some of it). This can be a better choice if you plan to declutter over an extended period of time, rather than doing it all at once.
Whatever method you choose, you will need some criteria for your decision making. For example, if you haven’t used something for six months, do you need to keep it?
Many lifestyle gurus (including Mrs Hinch, a UK counterpart of Marie Kondo) recommend putting items in separate piles – such as keep, sell/recycle/donate (including to friends and family) or discard completely. This last category particularly applies to perishable foodstuffs which might be at the back of kitchen cupboards.
Use ASAP Clearances for House Clearances in Highgate and North London
Another way to approach it is to leave it in the hands of the experts such as ASAP Clearances.
We can do a lot of the ‘heavy lifting’ for you, literally as well as metaphorically - we can take away large items such as sofas, mattresses, fridges and electrical items (taking care to dispose of them legally and ethically). We can also find new homes for smaller items such as toys and books.
We will do all of this in the most environmentally friendly way as possible, ensuring that items go to charities or needy individuals, and as few items as possible go to landfill.
For more extreme decluttering situations (either for yourself or a loved one), we also offer hoarding house clearance services in Finchley and the surrounding area.
If you would like to know more about our house clearance services, follow this link or call us on 020 3475 0508 or 07815 894 511.