Ok, bare with us. We know its summer time, and sorting out the house is the LAST thing on your mind, but trust us when we say it is worth it.
WHY?
No interruptions with school runs etc
The kids can help
Helps to prepare for new school year
Lots more space
Helps to clear out ready for xmas
Feels good
Could make you some extra money
HOW?
Ok, so we are going to start room by room. There is nothing worse than starting to have a clear out and ending with every room full of crap all over the place. Its depressing, not fun and not what we want to achieve.
Each room could be done on different days, they don't need doing all in one go, it can be overwhelming at first so go at your pace.
If you find the idea of a big clear out too overwhelming, then take a look at out guide to de-cluttering gradually.
Rooms to start with..
Children's rooms
Sort out clothing. Have a pile for charity shop and a pile for bin. Throw away anything that is stained or has holes in. Charity shop anything that just doesn't fit or is never worn.
Toys - As above, have a pile for charity shop, selling/carboot and throwing. Get the children involved in this one, you don't want to give up something that they love, but equally you do have to be ruthless.
Books - Who doesn't love a good book? If not careful, after a while you will find that you still have preschool books when your child is a teenager. Have a good sort out and be realistic on what to keep. There are plenty of phone box libraries around, as well as charity shops or children groups that would be delighted to take them off your hands.
Bedrooms
Start with your bedside tables. Remove anything that doesn't belong there. Throw away or recycle anything that is not used such as empty tissue boxes, dried up pens, labels from clothing. Then do the same with the tops of drawers/dressers.
Clothing - sort through your drawers and wardrobe and pile clothes for recycling and throwing. The average person has over £200 of clothing stuffed away that they simply don't wear (source: Stitch fix UK). That's £200 that could be spent elswhere! This is a tough ask, we all have clothes that 'we will fit into one day' and they have been there for over a year, be realistic and ruthless. You will soon have space in there to put new clothes in that you love..
Shoes - Yep, we dared to say it. These need to be treated exactly the same as clothing above. We know its painful but you will have so much space afterwards and feel satisfied that you've achieved so much. You'll also be helping someone else find their match made in heaven if you donate them to a charity shop.
Living rooms
Cupboards - you know the ones. The sideboards where 'things with no home' go to live. These need a good sort. You need to be honest in here, and throw/charity shop anything that you haven't even touched in months. We're talking about the candles that you bought but don't like, the bits of paper/letters, The 'just in case' items that have been collecting dust for years.
Magazine racks - Do you really need that Mens health magazine from 2006 still, or the xmas 2020 TV guide. Nope. Magazine racks are easy to fill with crap as they still look neat and tidy, but its time to get rid of anything not needed. If you don't want to pop them in your recycle bin, then GP & dental surgery may be grateful for them. (maybe not the TV guide).
Drawers - see cupboards above. Drawers also usually contain lots of random items such as pens, pots of stick glue, batteries etc. Findthese items a new permanent home. For example, get a nice pen pot and pop on a book shelf, get a small box for batteries and cables.
Kitchen
Now were not going to lie, this is the room from hell! Here we are going to start on the sides and work our way to the cupboards. Clear the sides of anything that doesn't belong in the kitchen. Kids toys, random pens, clothing, you know what we mean. Put them all in the places they belong.
Now for the drawers. Like with the front room, drawers are renowned for holding onto marbles, bits of thread, safety pins and lots of random things, and that's fine, we ALL have a junk drawer. Unfortunately, this is the worse drawer to sort, but needs must. Like before, bin anything that you know you don't use or that is broken and try to put other items in a permanent place.
Cup cupboard - The dreaded cup cupboard. So you have hundreds of cups. Ones that have been bought for birthdays and xmas? We gaurentee there will only be 1 or 2 that are your favourite and that you use regularly. Were not talking about your nice 'guest' mugs here but the ones that came with an easer egg, or the Star Wars cup your mother-in-law bought you years ago. It's time they went. Now were not saying to bin the wonky cup that little Johnny made you for mothers day in 2009, but realistically there are going to be a lot of cups and glasses that are just not used or needed - get rid!
Bathroom
Start with any cabinet that you have in this room. Medicine cabinet for example. Check best before dates on creams and tablet boxes and bin anything that is out of date. Next throw away anything that you know has been open 12months. Most items have a 6-12 month shelf life once opened.
Go through your shower gel and shampoo bottles. Recycle any bottles that are empty and throw away anything that you have no intention of using.
Now relax. Well done
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