If you need a reason to declutter, let me give you one major purpose – quite simply it’s to FEEL BETTER!

Of course there are many other benefits…. you could also…..

• Get back control of your life
• Gain more physical space
• Be less stressed, because you can find things
• Feel calmer and more relaxed
• Be able to clean properly
• Stop being embarrassed by clutter
• Feel able to move on in life

We operate within a 30 mile radius of Exeter, Devon. 

Since the housing market collapsed, we’ve realised we need to make the best of the homes we live in. And the secret to falling in love with your own four walls is to clear out the clutter. Here, ROMAINE LOWERY, founder of The Clutter Clinic, shares her tips for making your home a cleaner, happier place.

BE BRAVE

Most people find it hard to throw away stuff, but you can’t attach sentimental value to everything you own.

When your house is cluttered, nothing looks good. So, as you go through your possessions, ask yourself which of them you actually love or use. If not, why not?

Maybe it’s a wedding present you secretly hate, a dress that doesn’t suit you. Let it go.

ONE ROOM AT A TIME

Flitting between rooms makes de-cluttering a much bigger task, one almost impossible to complete.

So set aside a day to do one room and commit to finishing it.

Stack everything that lives elsewhere into cardboard boxes to deal with later.

MAKE A MESS

To clear up your home, you have to turn it into a proverbial bombsite first.

The best de-clutteringmethod is to pull every single item from your shelves, drawers and cupboards and lay it all out so you can see exactly what everything is.

This tactic works well for clearing out your wardrobe; as well as gathering rags to chuck, you’ll ‘re-find’ clothes you’d forgotten about.

GET LOGICAL

When it comes to reordering your house, there are two basic rules. First, store like with like: all batteries should live in one place, so when you need a new one, you know exactly where to find it.

Second, keep belongings in the room where they are used because when things migrate around the house your home becomes a black hole and you’ll never find anything.

As an extension of this second rule, store things as close to the place you use them as possible: washing powder next to the

washing machine, tea in the cupboard above the kettle.

Follow a logical layout for your house and it will stay uncluttered.

SECRET SPACES

Think vertically and you solve the problem of storing things you use only occasionally, such as Christmas decorations.

Stash these things in your attic and bring them down only when you need them.

Going vertically again, store back-up bathroom supplies such as toilet roll and spare bottles of shampoo at the top of your linen cupboard.

Holiday items, such as sarongs and ski jackets, can live in suitcases under your bed, freeing up your living space.

NOT ALL CLUTTER IS JUNK

Clearing out your home needn’t turn you into a robot. We’ve all got treasured mementoes that might not look much to other people yet they mean the world to us: cinema ticket stubs from your first date, your first Mother’s Day card, a lock of baby hair.

Top tip? Pack your keepsakes in a special box rather than leave them scattered all over the house.

STORAGE SOLUTIONS

It’s tempting to splash out on pretty storage boxes before you’ve started decluttering. One word: don’t. You’re better off sorting your trash from your treasure and then assessing what storage solutions you need.

Aplaceforeverything.co.uk is great for items such as stackable shoeboxes and wicker bathroom baskets.

TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN

Children can behave like Tasmanian Devils, charging around the house, trailing clutter wherever they go.

To encourage youngsters to develop good habits, make sure you have something in which they can stash their toys. A few big, lidded containers are easier to manage than lots of little ones that can overspill.

GET RID, FEEL GOOD

For the sake of your mental health, don’t add up the cost of the money you’ve wasted.

Instead, focus on how decluttering makes you feel good: offer things for free on Freecycle (www.uk.freecycle.org) or donate items in good condition to your local charity shop.

As a reward for all your hard work, make money selling the best of your unwanted goods on eBay.

And if that’s too much hassle, www.stuffusell.co.uk will collect your goods, sell them and send you a cheque minus their 20 per cent.

RELAX

Without clutter clogging up your home, you’ll find it is twice as easy to relax. It’s even a pleasure to clean and decorate because you’re not staring mess in the face every day.

Be warned: you could enter a second honeymoon period with your ‘new’ home and decide you never want to move out, even when the property market picks up.

You may think that everything in your house is essential but it’s not! Get rid of clothes you haven’t worn for years, declutter shelves, cupboards and under the beds, take the contents of you attic or garage to a car boot sale and you may even make some money.

Most of us hoard things and stash them away – whether it’s old clothes, letters, newspapers or plastic carrier bags. But you know it’s time to organise or declutter your home when you’re spending far too much time looking for things and realise that you’re living in a chaotic sea of clutter, most of which is of no use to you on a day-to-day basis. In the long run decluttering will save you time and stress and help create a more relaxing home.

Top 10 decluttering tips

• START NOW! Putting off the task off decluttering is the number one obstacle to a more organised home.
• FIX A TIME SCHEDULEeven 15 minutes a day will make a good start.
• START SMALL whether it’s your bedroom, spare room, kitchen cupboards or `wardrobe. That way you won’t panic at the enormity of the task.
• SET A DEADLINE for each room to act as an incentive to get it decluttered by a certain date.
• DON’T EXPECT OVERNIGHT RESULTS decluttering is a slow job and short cuts will be counterproductive.
• BE REALISTIC will it really come in handy one day or is it just gathering dust?
• DON’T TRANSFER CLUTTER to another room – you will only have to deal with it properly another time.
• BE SENTIMNTAL BUT SELECTIVE by choosing to keep the most important items (and memories) but getting rid of the rest.
• INVEST IN NEW STORAGE ITEMS such as a new bookcase, filing cabinet, shoe rack, photo album or letter box.
• PUT UNWANTED CLUTTER TO GOOD USE. Before you throw things in the bin, make sure they can’t be recycled, given to charity or sold at a car boot sale or second-hand clothes shop.

Staying decluttered

Decluttering is a way of life, not a one-off chore. To stay decluttered you will need to adopt new habits such as ‘one in, one out’ – every time you buy something new then make sure you let something similar go. Even simply establishing a routine for when you come home – so that you hang your keys in a certain place and deal with junk mail by putting it straight in the recycling bin – will help you stay clutter-free.