If you walk into your house after work and find yourself experiencing a strong sense of claustrophobia, it may be time to de-clutter. Your house is your respite away from all the stresses and pressures of life, a place to unwind yourself after your day’s wound you all up. Here’s a few tips to reclaim the calm in your home:
Get Rid of All of Your Stuff
Okay, so maybe you don’t have to get rid of everything, but another honest look at all the things you own, and whether they're really necessary or beneficial in your life would be a good place to start. As we’ve all heard time and time again, there’s a big difference between want and need. Often, it’s the things that we actually use day after day that are necessities, and most of the stuff we have we hold onto because we spent money on it once, and just can’t part with it. Maybe we bought something we don’t need, and that’s fine. Everyone does that, trust me. Or maybe you purchased something you needed for a while, but now it just sits around and collects dust. If you’re like me, you don’t like to see things go to waste. So rejoice with me that there’s so many options for giving things away to people who actually need them, or in repurposing stuff that can’t really do any good by itself. If you want to avoid the hassle of a yard sale, or if you’re living rural, then look around a bit on the internet or ask some friends where you can donate your clothes, your furniture, or anything else that you don’t use anymore that you think someone else could use.
Stock up on Baskets
There’s an awesome trend going on that involves wicker baskets. Lots of wicker baskets. What’s awesome about it is wicker baskets look great, and come in tons of shapes and sizes to suit your style and storage needs. Of course, if you’re not much of a basket person, there’s other options. For example, you could get (or make!) a couple of fabric covered boxes to use. There’s as many styles as there is of fabric, and they usually go for a good price. You can always mix and match, depending on your decor. If you get your hands on some cubby shelves, the decorative boxes can be just the pop of color you need in your home. Wicker could be just the accent to your room to give it a more rustic, or a more personable feel. You never realize the power a box or a basket could have over you until you change the mood of an entire room with it. HERE’s a great guide to wicker baskets; and HERE’s a great guide to your own DIY decorative boxes.
Get Multi-Purpose Furniture
It’s not just the cabinets, or the closets, or the dressers that should have all the fun of storing things. The whole idea of multi-purpose furniture is taking something that’s known for one use - say, a couch - and redefining it into something that can accomplish many things at once, while still retaining its original purpose. Minimalism is trendy lately, and I think it’s one of the best trends to come around. Or, really, come back around. It’s an age old practice, and one that brings a lot of calm and restfulness into your home, due to all the open spaces and organization. There’s so many different styles and types of multi-purpose furniture to choose from, and a lot of them are very well made and look fantastic. They’re valuable, so the price tag may go up, but remember that what you’re getting is essentially two or three pieces of furniture in one. It may just come out to be quite the deal. And you’ll feel better about conserving the space, too.
Hopefully this small list has helped you in some way. I know for me, de-cluttering has helped me unwind much easier, and it’s been so nice to be able to come home and start to relax the moment I walk in the door. Even on days spent indoors I feel more peaceful seeing everything organized and spacious. It makes me happy, and what’s better than that?