6 Quick Tricks to Clear Clutter from Your Home

Home clutter is bad for your mental health, puts a dent in your wallet, and definitely isn’t good when you’re trying to make your house look better than the other homes for sale in Nanaimo BC. So, to keep your mind and your bank account happy – and to help get your home sold fast – here are six quick tricks to clear clutter from your home in Nanaimo.

#1 What would you buy first if you had to start over again?

Working in reverse is a great way to start decluttering your home. Start with a blank slate, then list in order of importance what items you’d buy if you had to start from scratch.

A good way to make your list is by trying to remember what you have. So, instead of making your list at home, go someplace quiet like your favorite coffee shop or park to start with your declutter list.

#2 Decluttering isn’t like running a 10K

It’s easier to clear clutter from your home if you think of the job as a sprint instead of a long distance run. Rather than spending the entire day sorting and sifting through your things, try decluttering in 30- or 45-minute bursts.

It’s easier to stay on track when you don’t tire yourself out. Working in decluttering sprints also helps to keep frustration and emotions from getting out of control.

#3 Utility comes first

Another quick trick to clear clutter from your home is to think of utility first and sentimental value second. Ask yourself three questions:

• Does this item do something for me that another one doesn’t?
• Is there another item that does the same thing the same, or better?
• Does this item have sentimental meaning?

If you ask these three questions about every item you own, making your home clutter-free will be much easier and help your house sell faster than the other homes for sale in Nanaimo BC.

#4 Keep, donate, store, and toss: the magic four-box method

Set-up four boxes, one each for things you’re keeping, donating, storing, and tossing. To help decide what item goes in which box:

• Keep things you use all the time and have space for
• Donate (or sell) items that you don’t use but might be valuable to somebody else
• Store those things that you use every now and then but don’t need immediate access to
• oss items that are broken, that you never use, or that you know in your heart of hearts you’ll really, truly will never use

One word of caution: be ruthless when deciding which items to store. It’s a gray area, so don’t fall into the trap of storing instead of decluttering!

#5 Digitize as much as you can

Photos, documents, videos, and music all fall into this category. Digitizing your things and your life is an easy trick to clear clutter from your home.

Photos and documents can be scanned and uploaded to the cloud. Upload music and videos too, or store everything on a small thumb drive. Digitized items are much, much easier to find. And it’s OK if you want to keep the originals just in case you ever need them – that’s what the box marked “store” is for!

#6 Avoid the container stores

Stores that sell containers make it their business to make you feel like you’re organized. But making your home clutter-free is about much more than just buying cool looking boxes to put all of you ‘stuff’ into.

It’s alright to buy storage containers. But before you do, ask yourself if the things you plan on putting in the containers are items that you’ll actually use.

Old habits die hard

Now that your home is decluttered and organized, be sure to keep it that way. It’s tough to change old habits, but you only have to do it while your home is on the market. With your home completely clutter-free, it won’t be on the market for very long!