Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home

In the new year, get organised and reduce the mess in your living space with these easy tips.

Declutter Your House

The new year may be a good time to organize and de-clutter your home from getting rid of unsightly piles of paper to recycling old bottles that may be gathering dust in the storeroom. Shruti Choudhari, director; Soul Space Projects, and principal architect, Chrysalis Design Studio, shares easy tips on how best to go about de-cluttering your home.

Where to Start

Choose a space that has been bothering you in terms of clutter. Kids rooms, play rooms and family dens tend to accumulate maximum clutter. Make a list of essentials and the not-so essential. If you have not used it in the last six months, you are NEVER going to anyway. 

"Papers can be rolled and put in jute bins in a room;

This also adds color and a fun element"

Figure out what is being used or is in good condition. What you require and what you don't. Throw out what is not in use even though you are not inclined to do so.

Organizing the Clutter

Papers can be rolled and put in jute bins in a corner of a room; this also adds color and a fun element. Big center tables with concealed storage boxes can greatly cut down clutter in a living space. The same goes for box beds which are great to store bedroom linen.

A storage bench at the foot of a bed is a great functional idea too. Always partition large shelves cabinet spaces so you don't end up storing stuff one on top of the other. Dressing table littered with earrings and accessories can be a problem too. Hang them on a decorative cork-board or place on divided trays.

Pop art, kitschy boxes that are great conversation pieces can be used in a family den to store papers and magazines. Wooden, jute storage boxes can double up as side tables. Multiple remote controls in the living room or family den can be a great nuisance. This can be streamlined by placing them on a colorful tray or placing them in a eye-catching box on a table.

To clean your closet

Try the 'Oprah Winfrey Closet Hanger Experiment'. To identify wardrobe pieces to clear out, hang all your clothes out, hand all your clothes with the hangers in the reverse direction.

After you wear an item, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the correct direction. After six months, you'll have a clothes you can easily discard. This experiment could also be applied to a number of clutter areas in your home (cleaners, toys, linens, tools, hobbies and craft items).

Get Creative and Recycle

Jars can be refused to plant herbs and create a little "Jar herb area" in the kitchen or utility area. Old mason jars can be used as tea-light holders. Subsequently, bottles or jars can be painted or left bare and used as planters that can be mounted on a wall to create a quasi-green wall.

How to declutter your home