Questions to ask yourself … to declutter your home and organise your life

What is it that frequently bothers me about this place?

Carry out a thorough examination of your home, moving from room to room, taking note of your impressions as you go. Record what you enjoy, what you dislike, and what modifications could be made. In the living room, for instance, you might adore the colour scheme, yet find the bookshelf stuffed with toys to be unappealing. If you were to acquire a more suitable piece of furniture to conceal them, you could unwind in the evenings without being reminded of them. Alternatively, you might continuously lodge the washing in the front room instead of clearing out the available space upstairs, or there may be an oversized chair that remains unutilised, effectively consuming valuable space. In either case, redistributing or disposing of it could create a more spacious atmosphere.

How much room do I have available – and how much room will I require?

Be truthful with yourself because generally, it's not that you don't have enough room, it's that you have too much stuff. Be practical when considering the furniture you have for the size of your space: if you have a one-bedroom flat, you should live like you have a one-bedroom flat, not a three-bedroom house. You may have all your shoes on display just inside your front door. If you had stored your summer and spring shoes elsewhere and only kept your autumn and winter shoes on display, your shoe rack would look more orderly and your hallway less cramped.

Do I enjoy it, do I employ it, do I require it?

Consider whether it truly has a place in your home. Do you have the space to accommodate it? If not, you should ask yourself why you're holding onto it.

What's deserving of a prestigious or sought-after location?

Contemplate treating your house like a valuable property. Does your slow cooker rightfully occupy the prime spot next to your cooker, or could it be relegated elsewhere since you only utilise it a few times during winter? The cupboards that are easiest to access are the most prized locations, so they should be devoted to the essentials like colanders, graters, and sieves – the things you frequently use.

What is your typical weekly routine?

A lot of people have a sitting room they rarely use, but still claim they struggle to focus while doing their main job from the kitchen desk. Your full-time job is surely more important - why sacrifice your downtime to accommodate rarely-visiting guests? What you spend five days a week doing is far more significant than the occasional stay of friends or family - make that the top priority.

What's the most suitable method for storing this item?

It's vital to get your storage sorted. Consider the layout of your home and what makes sense in terms of where things go. Ask yourself, for instance, is it sensible to put all my heaviest coats in my wardrobe? No, not really – they'd take up too much valuable room, and your wardrobe is somewhere you want to keep for more essential items.

If you can't increase the storage capacity, you'll have to cut back on the number of items. Alternatively, you could consider purchasing additional storage. If you're struggling to find space in your galley kitchen, you might assess whether adding slender shelving for preserving jars or placing shelves above your fridge for cookbooks would be beneficial. Make the most of any idle spaces by adding storage.

I'm not sure what you're referring to. Could you possibly provide more context or clarify which supermarket item or product you're thinking of?

Consider categorising items into "zones", so you might designate a breakfast zone in the kitchen, where essentials like spreads, bread, protein powders, and teabags would be stored. If you're unsure how to group items, draw inspiration from a typical supermarket layout – you wouldn't typically see tins of tomato sauce near peanut butter or washing powder next to dried pasta, for example. When sorting things in your home, arrange them in a way that makes sense and ensures everything has its own designated place.

Do I have access to all the necessary materials to undertake this project?

People tend to stop decluttering halfway because they give up after starting, and other things take priority. In reality, the path to decluttering is to remove everything from the area you're tackling, clean it, sort through it, arrange it, and then replace what you're putting back. Allocate sufficient time for the task, make sure you're uninterrupted, and make sure you stick to your plan so you can do it efficiently.

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