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I thought I'd resurrect this thread as it has some great tips for anyone looking to declutter.
We don't have a lot of storage space in our house, so we have to use our space wisely. Although everything is neatly stored in plastic containers (all labelled to state the contents), there are so many of them that it can feel heavy.
This weekend, I decided to go through the bins containing tech bits and pieces, and home bits and pieces.
The tech bins had a multitude of charging leads, cables, USB-powered things ... just so much stuff. I made three piles - throw away, donate and keep. In the 'throw away' pile went anything that had seen its best days - frayed, marked, damaged in some way. In the 'donate' pile went anything I don't think we'll use. In the 'keep' pile went things we might need one day - spare laptop and charging cables, extension leads, power strips, etc. I took the time to wrap up what was remaining carefully, using rubber bands so they look far neater, and made up an inventory list which I attached to the (now smaller) plastic bin.
The home bits and pieces bin was a mess ... it contained batteries, light bulbs, picture hooks, etc., all scattered in amongst each other. I sorted the batteries by type, putting them in small plastic containers to then sit within the larger one; and I did the same with lightbulbs and other like-products. The end result was the same volume-wise, but it was far neater. Plus, I made an inventory list and attached that to the front too, so we can see at a glance what we have.
I'm motivated to continue, but I'm planning to focus on just one area every couple of days so I don't lose interest (which I tend to do!). Next up will be my pantry ... I normally keep food in its packets (and fold over the packaging using a peg), but I bought some great container sets on sale the other day which I'll transfer already-open food items into (and label the containers with my Dymo label printer afterwards). I'll also attack my kitchen at some stage later in the week ... I have a heap of old cups and glasses which we don't use (which I'll donate), and which I could really use the room for to store other things.
How's everyone else getting on?
We don't have a lot of storage space in our house, so we have to use our space wisely. Although everything is neatly stored in plastic containers (all labelled to state the contents), there are so many of them that it can feel heavy.
This weekend, I decided to go through the bins containing tech bits and pieces, and home bits and pieces.
The tech bins had a multitude of charging leads, cables, USB-powered things ... just so much stuff. I made three piles - throw away, donate and keep. In the 'throw away' pile went anything that had seen its best days - frayed, marked, damaged in some way. In the 'donate' pile went anything I don't think we'll use. In the 'keep' pile went things we might need one day - spare laptop and charging cables, extension leads, power strips, etc. I took the time to wrap up what was remaining carefully, using rubber bands so they look far neater, and made up an inventory list which I attached to the (now smaller) plastic bin.
The home bits and pieces bin was a mess ... it contained batteries, light bulbs, picture hooks, etc., all scattered in amongst each other. I sorted the batteries by type, putting them in small plastic containers to then sit within the larger one; and I did the same with lightbulbs and other like-products. The end result was the same volume-wise, but it was far neater. Plus, I made an inventory list and attached that to the front too, so we can see at a glance what we have.
I'm motivated to continue, but I'm planning to focus on just one area every couple of days so I don't lose interest (which I tend to do!). Next up will be my pantry ... I normally keep food in its packets (and fold over the packaging using a peg), but I bought some great container sets on sale the other day which I'll transfer already-open food items into (and label the containers with my Dymo label printer afterwards). I'll also attack my kitchen at some stage later in the week ... I have a heap of old cups and glasses which we don't use (which I'll donate), and which I could really use the room for to store other things.
How's everyone else getting on?