Decluttering your home is often difficult for people because it can be hard to part with our belongings.
However, if you are living in an apartment and storage space is somewhat limited, it’s important to regularly declutter your space.
Organize
The first thing you need to do is make sure everything has a place where it belongs. Clothing and other items like scarves or handbags don’t belong on the top of the couch—hang some hooks behind your front door or invest in a bigger dresser. If you have shoes piling up in your doorway, invest in a shoe bin or rack. The remotes that are usually flung on the couch should be put away in the drawer.
Purge
Once you start to organize, you’ll notice that some things just don’t fit in your apartment. If there is an item that you haven’t used in over a year taking up space that you could be using to store something else, trash it or donate it.
Think Vertical
When space is limited you have to think vertical, says Apartment Therapy. Hang shelving for extra storage, and invest in bins to keep under your bed or couch. To keep mail and paperwork off of countertops and other surfaces, hang bulletin boards or magnetic boards. They don’t require a lot of space and can be extremely helpful.
Keep it Out
Once you declutter and successfully purge, each time you bring a new item into your home, donate or trash an old one. Did you recently pick up a few new pairs of pants to wear to work? Try to get rid of the old ones that you won’t wear anymore. Perhaps you found a great coffee table for a steal at the thrift store. Excellent, bring your old one right back and try to sell it to them. Embrace the idea of balance and for each new item you bring into your home, get rid of an old one.
Create a Method
AllState suggests that in order to keep up with decluttering, you should create a monthly process. Choose a part of your apartment and select one week per month to slowly but surely make sure it stays neat. Attack the kitchen cupboards the first week, your closet the next, your dresser the next and your bedroom the last. Identify where your problem areas are and make sure that you consistently go through them to keep them neat and clean.