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It's time to declutter & organise

Last Updated 13 February 2014, 14:24 IST

Why is decluttering so painful and agonising? Doing away with the paraphernalia that you have owned for ages can naturally create some anxiety and edginess in your mind, often arising from a magnitude of conflicting thoughts and feelings.

“Should I throw it or keep it?” This is perhaps one of the most perplexing questions that many householders face everyday. The fact remains, that there are only a few apprehensions that need to be identified and dealt with, yet decluttering becomes such a painfully back-breaking task.

Thought matters

One of the most common validations that we give ourselves is, “Why throw it? It’ll be of use someday”, and on this pretext, we keep on accumulating extra clothes, furniture and other household stuff. “It had cost me a bomb!”, “Oh! That is ancestral!”, “That was a gift! So rude of me to let go of it!”, and the excuses start taking the better of us. So the moment the idea manifests itself, that you need to declutter, ‘Just go for it!’

You need to remind yourself about a handful of things. One, that you can always resell your expensive, unused belongings and to some extent cover up the cost you paid to own them. This way it does not burn a big hole in your pocket. For example, that old unused Chinaware adorning your crockery cabinet for ages can surely be done away with and will attract a lot of buyers too.

Two, what is redundant and not required by you, might actually be very useful to your friends. They might, in fact be pleased at your gesture of giving and you can bask in the momentary adulation you receive, rest assured that your things will be used and taken care of.

Take for instance that designer T-shirt that you struggle to fit into or that expensive pair of skinny jeans thats just idling its time away in your cupboard, somebody can surely use these better. Three, you have nearly every time pulled through the lost, misplaced or spoilt stuff, even the articles that were very important like that gorgeous table top glass that’s broken now or even something like your misplaced cell phone. Hence, it is just this one moment of weakness that you don’t have to give in. Tell yourself, that you can live without it, its just a materialistic possession.

Once you are done with disposing off the unwanted stuff, it is time to organize and arrange what remains. You can, in fact, very efficiently organize your belongings in the most surprising places. Here are a few storage solutions that can really come in handy.

Storage spaces

Rolling out drawers fitted under your beds can easily stack up your bed sheets, blankets and even clothes. A smartly planned stack of drawers can substitute a conventional staircase in case of bunk beds, and all the kiddo stuff like toys, clothes and even books can be put away neatly in them. Ironing boards these days can be put away in pull out drawers, all you need is ingeniously designed cabinetry.

A staircase can actually turn out to be a very unique storage space with a couple of risers turning into pull out drawers where you can stash up shoes, cleaning supplies etc. Fitting in a power strip board at the rear end of a drawer can let your electronic wiring be unseen. The space below the kitchen sink which we often resign as unusable can in fact be fitted in with hardware to accommodate your sink pipe, or rather hide it and have room for all your cleaning supplies.

Benefits of decluttering and organizing are numerous, both physically and mentally. Sleep will come by easy and peaceful once the house is clean and free of clutter. You will feel more energised and will be able to deal with life better. Because you will spend less time cleaning, you will be able to take out time for your hobbies and interests and shall be able to instill in your children, the good habits of cleanliness and organisation.

The stuff you give away will surely come in use to someone and the best of all, your entire home will just look prettier and sparkling clean.

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(Published 13 February 2014, 14:24 IST)

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