It’s not that we’re unclean, or hoarders, or messy people. Yet somehow, the space just keeps getting smaller in the home, even after each spring cleaning! We lose our things, have less space for activities we enjoy, and generally return home every day to an eyesore.

So what can we do to preserve our home as though we’d just spring cleaned it? Here are 7 habits you can develop to keep your home spick and span:

1. The 10 minute daily de-clutter

Sometimes, telling yourself to clear out an entire room or facing a mountain of what-do-I-do-with-all-this-stuff can be intimidating. Most times we end up paralyzed and escape to watch our Korean drama. Well, you can beat that psychological barrier with a simple 10 minute clean up every day. Set a daily alarm for a fixed timing every day that you’ll dedicate to simply picking up things, identifying if it should be tossed, stored away or belongs where it is, and repeat for 10 minutes. 10 minutes may not feel like a lot, but across a week, that’s over an hour of de-cluttering. You’ll see results without breaking a sweat!

2. Dedicated Shelves

One of the most common mistakes in cluttered homes are messy shelves. When shelves don’t get a dedicated purpose, it becomes a stowaway place for just about everything. And that’s where you get a messy amalgam of dubious objects. Sometimes, our useful stuff just gets lost in there! Dedicate each shelf to a certain purpose; photo frames ONLY, spices and oils ONLY, bicycle spare parts ONLY, and so on. When you’re done, you’ll find that putting away items are not only easier, but finding stuff when you need it will be a breeze, too! 

Let's face it; this is a lot easier to look at. (Picture Credit: James Truepenny)

3. The 30-day Expiry Box

Create a box with a 30 day expiry. In it goes the things that you can never quite convince yourself to get rid of. These are the things you’ve picked up, couldn’t quite figure if you’ll ever use again, and end up putting it down. It’s understandable that we don’t want to risk throwing something useful away, so put a system to work. Thirty days: if it spends that thirty days in the box and you haven’t thought about it again, out it goes. If you have used it or looked for it, then at least you’ll know once and for all that it has a place; just make sure it makes it to the right place! (See point 2)

4. Properly box the Future Objects

There are some things that simply won’t see use in the near future. Hand-me downs that are months, possibly years too early for your new-born. Inherited furniture that you’d love in your upcoming apartment… that’s due next year end. Don’t leave them laying around the house, that’s just a waste of space. Instead, box them up properly, and hand it over to valet storage professionals like Storagetree. Then when you need them again, simply call and have it delivered to your home again.

5. If it came from A, it goes back to A

This simple rule has been echoed by many a mummy over the generations, but it’s still the one most often ignored. This will save a lot of the work from Point 1, and if one is disciplined enough, there would hardly be any de-cluttering to do at all! If you have children at home, it helps to label the objects so that the children will know where the item is meant to go back to. You can even make it into a game!

6. Regular Drawer Checks

Because the contents of a drawer are out of sight, they’re often out of mind. And because they’re not frequently in the way (unless we’re looking for some missing object which we could have sworn was last seen in said drawer), we’re often content to leave them as a black hole; i.e.: things go in but they never come out. Use some of the 10 minute sessions (point 1) to pull out a drawer and empty it entirely, then sort through its contents. You’ll be surprised how much trash lives at the back of our average drawer – and how many things you’ll find that you thought missing before!

Don't worry, we've all been here. Just make sure not to stay! (Picture Credit: Iain Watson)

7. In/Out box for Papers

I know, I know. It reminds us of the office and who wants to be reminded of an office at home? There’s a reason we use it professionally – it works and it keeps our desk tidy, so why not apply the technology at home? Latest report from the insurer? Inbox. Telephone and utility bills? Inbox. Important letters? Inbox. And when we’re done with our day and ready to sift through our need-to-dos, everything is waiting in one neat place. Bill paid – Outbox. Insurer’s report read – Outbox. Important letters actioned on or noted – Outbox. Then, every end of the month, clear it out! No more papers all over the table, on the dresser, in random drawers. All it takes is a simple desktop tool!

The only thing worse than looking like a work desk is looking like an untidy work desk. (Picture Credit: Jeff Kramer)

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the 7 habits for keeping a decluttered home. For more homekeeping tips, try reading our other tips @https://www.storagetree.sg/articles. If you have items you’d like to store, send us an enquiry @ storagetree.sg!