The New Year is nearly upon us, so what better time to give your home a good going-over and reclaim it from the myriad of clutter that has taken up residence there over the past 12 months?
Decluttering is easier said than done, you may think, as you dolefully survey your bulging filing cabinets, over-flowing pants drawer, a wardrobe crammed with clothes that you just might slim back into one day (even though you or your partner haven't been a size 10 since the 80s), and a loft filled to the rafters with God knows what, which you really are going to car-boot sale one of these days, honest. Sue Kay, founder of professional de-cluttering and organising service, No More Clutter and author of the book No More Clutter - How To Clear Your Space And Free Your Life which was published by Hodder Mobius, says that when tackling clutter, it's better to start small.
She says: 'When deciding where to start with a de-cluttering drive it generally depends on how scared you are. If you've tried in the past and not really succeeded it's best to start small and easy - sort out your underwear drawer or your kitchen notice board, something which can be achieved relatively easily which you can look at as a success at the end, helping you to build your confidence.' Many people, she says, start with the loft or the spare room - prime locations for a mass gathering of junk - and then tend to get overwhelmed and leave everything on the floor in despair.
She says it's very important, on many levels for your personal wellbeing, to keep your home de-cluttered 'It certainly has emotional effects. It's just depressing to look around at unfinished projects, muck, old newspapers and so on.'
'You just can't be organised in a cluttered home. It saps your time and energy. I know someone who had to cancel their holiday because they couldn't find their passports. It's also very common for people to not open their post which can lead to all sorts of problems. Everyone is so busy but spending just a little time getting organised can free up more time for what you really want to do - no-one wants to spend an hour looking for their keys when they could be putting their feet up.'
She says that a cluttered home can cause relationship problems too ' even breaking up marriages - if one of the partners is a an arch hoarder and the other a minimalist. She warns though that the tidier of the two must guard against nagging too much or, heaven forbid, throwing out a partner's stuff without consultation as one client did with his girlfriends shoes!
'It's something you need to talk about before you move in together to see if some kind of compromise can be reached. You can't mess around and chuck out someone's stuff, there has to be respect. You can't fundamentally change someone quickly but you can get them to start to de-clutter by offering rewards - you can have a new shirt if you get rid of that old one you never wear.'
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