Decluttering: how to get rid of the superfluous and live happily

Do you know the secret of the environments you see on Instagram and pinterest and that you love so much? It is very simple: they are houses in perfect order, which transmit well-being and the desire to live in them and above all they are houses that do not communicate a harmful tendency to accumulate objects and things of all kinds.There is instagram, Facebook and Pinterest ... and then there is reality. Often made of overflowing wardrobes, shelves full of everything and furniture and drawers that it would be better not to open. If you too sometimes feel suffocated between the walls of your home and dream of a place made up of livable spaces with only objects you use, perhaps the time has come to dedicate yourself to decluttering.

By continuing to read, you will discover all the secrets of decluttering. Meanwhile, here are some simple chaos-proof tricks!

The KonMari method

Marie Kondo is the extraordinary author of the book The magical power of tidying up which teaches us all the secrets for a tidy house in which to live is pleasant and relaxing. His method, famous all over the world, is called the KonMari method. Marie shows us how to proceed with a gradual and beneficial decluttering through all the rooms of our home following her precious lineup. It starts with the clothes, then continues with all the documents followed by all sorts of objects. At the end of decluttering, we deal with the objects that are most difficult to let go, those that represent an emotional bond for us: memories. According to Marie, to live well we should only keep objects that convey joy and positive feelings to us. The starting point is therefore not so much deciding what to throw away but rather what to keep. You will notice that you just need to reverse the perspective to see things from a completely different point of view: it is much easier to decide what to keep! Marie Kondo then advises us not to proceed to order by room, so one room at a time, but only by category, following the order indicated by her.In Anglo-Saxon countries, decluttering has become a philosophy of life with the power to free us from the past. and open our minds to the possibilities that the future holds.

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Eliminate the superfluous: planning to do it in 6 days

Because disorder makes us unhappy

A house that is too full of objects creates a chaos that turns into a feeling of malaise and can even put us in crisis, occupying our minds with thoughts and problems and depriving us of that lightness and simplicity that is the basis of happiness. We must eliminate the superfluous in a reasoned and conscious way, depriving ourselves of what in reality is useless: God what is not useful to us, of what we do not like or do not need or is not important. This awareness and this desire to get rid of unnecessary objects is the basis of decluttering which means precisely eliminating what clutters our home and creates confusion, depriving us of harmony. But why do we find ourselves full of things? The reasons are essentially three, we buy too much, we have little space and we don't know where to put things and finally we can't find the right place for the objects we own.

If we are not alone in the house and maybe there are children, we must also include the objects of others in the decluttering program!

See also: Practical ideas for keeping the house tidy with children!

© Pinterest Practical ideas for keeping the house tidy with children!

Tidying up: where to start

The first thing to do is to get started. When it comes to decluttering, there is always a tendency to do a little bit as you do for the diet: many good intentions which then translate into a continuous postponement. So after making the decision to order your home (and your life) start right away without making excuses. And remember that tidying up is not enough, what you really need is tidying up your home consistently and methodically, every day. Getting started is the hardest thing: once you find a way to tidy up and keep things in order, you will feel so good that you will be happy to pursue your anti-clutter purposes!

The trick of the bag

Have you been putting off your decluttering for days or weeks and don't know where to start each time? Here is a simple strategy that requires no preparation and will allow you to order your home. Let's make a deal: grab a large bag and take a quick tour of your house filling it with whatever you don't need. When the bag is full, dispose of it immediately! Seen? Now that you have started to get rid of the superfluous, don't stop and proceed in a more schematic and organized way!

Order your home, step by step

Let's start with the wardrobe. Empty your closet completely: choose what you want to keep and what you don't. Focus on the things you've been using in the past 12 months. If you have been wearing that skirt for years, there is a reason! Carefully fold all clothes and store them on the various shelves. Hang only the heaviest items. He arranges everything with care, even the accessories: bags, shoes, belts, underwear and socks. If you have things you like but don't use (maybe you've changed your size or style), it's time to donate it to a friend or to charity.
And now the documents. Empty all furniture and drawers that contain documents: you have to throw away as much as possible. What you choose to keep must be divided and sorted by topic, on the one hand all contracts, on the other all bills, guarantees for household appliances, sheets of all kinds. Organize everything in special containers and identify them with an adhesive label.
Pay attention to the entrance. It is a space at home in which we tend to accumulate more than we think: we absolutely must remove from the entrance of our thing what we do not use at least once a week.
Decluttering in the kitchen. It's time to focus in the pantry, cleaning up anything that is out of date or badly stored. Attention also to detergents and all household cleaning products. We often end up with 4 floor cleaners without knowing it! Knowing what we have in the house is a great way to avoid buying what we don't need.