Conquer the clutter the Happy Tails way!

What with this crazy world we are living in at the moment. We have all found our selfs in lock down.

As I’ve seen at the Morrison’s recycling bins a lot of you are using your time stuck inside to have a real good clear out!

I know we have! (We have 3 bags in our car waiting to go to the charity shop when they re open) then I know there is other people who find de cluttering super tricky... so here is our solution to a clutter free house! Happy reading.

Where to start?

Today we have more possessions than our parents, or any generation before us ever did. I know we do! We don't have to save up for things like people used to, but they don't last as long either.

Clothes are cheaper and fashions change faster. There is an electrical gadget available for every conceivable task! (I mean people even have robot hoovers) which as soon as we buy is replaced by a newer model that performs even more functions. Newspapers are thicker, and some come delivered free whether we like it or not, along with tons of junk mail. DVDs and CDs all pile up more quickly than we have time to play them. Things such as Netflix and Disney plus has replaced the good old days picking out a DVD on a Sunday morning.

The question is, how do you know when your stuff has grown to be unbearable rather than pleasurable? Well here is our guide to being clutter free!

Most of us keep far too much stuff that we'll never use again, but which might bring some benefit or pleasure to other people. Friends,

family, schools and charities can all benefit from our unwanted clutter. We can even turn it into cash at a car boot sale or by putting it up for online auction or Facebook selling pages for free!

It's much more difficult to clean when the contents of wardrobes, cupboards and drawers are overflowing on to every

surface. When there's nowhere left to tidy anything away to, cleaning becomes impossible.

Of course no one can tell us how much stuff we should have in our homes, the real test is how the things around you make you feel. If you don't know where to start when it comes to cleaning, the chances are you need to launch a big clear-out. Once you've recognised the problem, it will become much easier to decide what to keep and

what to get rid of.

Recognising the signs of clutter

Does your home suffer from any of the following?

o Cupboards, drawers and shelves are all full to overflowing, nowhere left to store anything.

o You have so much stuff you're thinking of paying for storage Once it's stored do you think you will ever miss it? If not, save the penny’s and and get rid of it.

o Too much furniture, either from parents or previous houses, which doesn’t fit the decor or fit in your space

o Too many clothes that are unlikely ever to be worn. They don't fit, damaged or out of fashion.

o Unused kitchen gadgets that take up surface or cupboard space.

o Children's toys that have been outgrown, broken, or are no longer played with.

An incentive to declutter

If you need an incentive, begin by imagining how you will use all the extra space: perhaps for a home office, a playroom or some new entertainment space. If you're planning to sell something calculate how much money you might raise, and think how much time you'll save by not cleaning and searching for things.

Dealing with clutter has become big business; there are even experts who will happily charge to help decide which things to get rid of! If nothing else, calculate how much money you will save by doing it yourself.

You may have both too much stuff and too little storage - even for the things you absolutely must keep. Don't use this as an excuse to delay having a sort-out. It's easier to think of extra storage ideas. when you've discovered exactly what it is you need to store.

Getting started

Don't try to reorganised your whole home in one go. If you tackle it one room at a time, you're more likely to see the job through.

It's sometimes easier to start with one of the least cluttered rooms because you'll have an incentive to keep going.

Before you start:

o Prepare to declutter by stocking up with bin bags and boxes.

O Set a time limit for the session and put on some of your favourite music to help it go quickly. When the time is up, stop.

O It's very easy to get sidetracked into reading old letters, looking at photographs or reminiscing. Avoid this by putting together things that need further sorting, and tackling them later one at a time.

Sorting clutter: Happy Tails traffic light method:

Take three boxes and mark them red, yellow and green. These traffic light colours will help you decide how to proceed with every item

stay, wait or go.

RED-stay or keep. These are the things you use regularly. They are important to you and must be given a permanent home where you

can find them easily.

YELLOW-wait These are the things you instinctively want to keep,but actually haven't used for over a year. These things need to be

repaired, returned, finished or new homes found for them.

GREEN-go or recycle This is stuff you haven't used in over two years.

Anything broken that will never be repaired, anything you don't like, and anything you'll probably never use again.

Empty every surface or cupboard you declutter into the three categories. Put anything that is obviously rubbish into bin bags. Once the space is clear, vacuum it and wipe it clean.

Examine the red/keep items. These are the things you use regularly and must hang on to. Group everything associated with the same

activity together: jewellery, stationery, photography, travel, sports, etc

Create a permanent home for each of these groups.

Now the yellow/wait items. This is probably a large and daunting collection of things that grew rapidly. Start with the broken items.

If you're unlikely ever to get round to fixing them, put them into the rubbish or recycling.

If you're unlikely ever to get round to fixing them, put them into the rubbish or recycling.

Next make plans to return anything borrowed.

Set a deadline for all half-finished projects, for example by the end of next week, and put a tag on them with the date. If you miss the

deadline, promise you'll definitely get rid of it next time you declutter.

Finally the green/recycle items. It's time for these things to go. You might have decided to raise some cash from your clutter. Work

out where to sell each item, for how much, and set a deadline for its disposal. If you haven't managed to sell everything by, for example the end of the month, consider giving away what's

left to a charity shop to sell.

Donate anything you know you won't be able to sell (old paperback books are a good example) and recycle anything that isn't saleable.

Recycling centres are free to use and

are a good way to avoid simply putting everything into household rubbish, which mainly ends up as environmentally damaging landfill. Our local one at Crowndale is even open late and 7 days a week! No excuses

Staying on top of clutter forever

Once you've spent time sorting out your clutter you'll want to try and keep everything in its place. Most of us are constantly acquiring new

objects so an ongoing routine keeps things under control normally brought from places like B and M or worst so the Poundshop.

The daily ten-minute tidy

Make this a part of your daily routine before going to work, or to bed.

OPick up everything left on the floor. Empty all shopping bags.

ORecycle all discarded newspapers and junk mail.

OPut things ready to go upstairs/downstairs.

OReturn things to their correct homes.

If you live with someone less tidy... cough cough Mr Happy Tails gather their stray things together in a nominated space in a box or shelf.

The weekly tidy

Find just half an hour a week to keep on top of clutter forever.

OPack away anything there wasn't time to deal with during the week.

O Clear out one drawer, shelf or cupboard

Keep in mind our traffic light colours to helP

sort things.

The ongoing tidy

These are the routines you won't need to carry out every week, but they are good habits to help keep on top of your bit.

O Don't pile up unwanted clutter in lofts, sheds and garages.

o Adopt the saying of “one in, one out” (just like a night out in HQ Tavistock) For every new major item you bring into your home.

o When you have some spare time on your hands, pick one room and return things to their correct homes. If you do this regularly,

your home will stay entirely clutter-free.

Happy decluttering

Happy tails x