5 Steps to a Clutter-free Home: Day Four – Blast the Spare Room
Courage people, it's time to hit the spare room! It's the big beast of our week-long decluttering schedule, but worth conquering
The spare room is a tough challenge. After all, the greater the space, the more rubbish it can hold. Then again, the greater the rewards for tidying it, too. A cluttered spare room is not just an eyesore, it’s a criminal waste of an entire area. So reclaim a whole heap of space and treat your guests to a pleasant stay by tackling this often neglected dumping ground.
Set a goal
If your spare room has been a dumping ground for too long, you may have lost sight of its potential. Think about how you want this space to look once it’s clutter free. Work out how you would like to use it, too. Will it be an office and guest bedroom combined? Should there be storage in here for items that have no other home? How often do you plan to use the space once it’s organised? These questions may sound obvious, but they are valuable. If you have a clear notion of what you’re trying to achieve, you will be able to focus on the job and its most important elements.
If your spare room has been a dumping ground for too long, you may have lost sight of its potential. Think about how you want this space to look once it’s clutter free. Work out how you would like to use it, too. Will it be an office and guest bedroom combined? Should there be storage in here for items that have no other home? How often do you plan to use the space once it’s organised? These questions may sound obvious, but they are valuable. If you have a clear notion of what you’re trying to achieve, you will be able to focus on the job and its most important elements.
Ask is it useful or beautiful?
As you begin to sort your items into piles, keep these criteria in mind. If a piece is beautiful, then display it, here or in another room. If it’s useful – and that means you’ve used it in the last year – keep it, but perhaps store it under the stairs or in the loft. Some stuff won’t need this kind of scrutiny. These no-brainer bin-them-now items include old newspapers and magazines (messy and a fire hazard), games or puzzles with pieces missing, paperbacks you have no desire to reread, outmoded technology such as cassettes or videos, and soon-to-be outmoded items such as CDs. If you really must hold on to any of these things, pick the best examples and display them creatively.
As you begin to sort your items into piles, keep these criteria in mind. If a piece is beautiful, then display it, here or in another room. If it’s useful – and that means you’ve used it in the last year – keep it, but perhaps store it under the stairs or in the loft. Some stuff won’t need this kind of scrutiny. These no-brainer bin-them-now items include old newspapers and magazines (messy and a fire hazard), games or puzzles with pieces missing, paperbacks you have no desire to reread, outmoded technology such as cassettes or videos, and soon-to-be outmoded items such as CDs. If you really must hold on to any of these things, pick the best examples and display them creatively.
Add an incentive
Imagine your boss – or your favourite film star – is coming to stay the night at your home. What would your spare room say about you? Seeing your mess through someone else’s eyes can fire you up to tackle it and help you make decisions about what to chuck and keep. It can help you work faster and smarter, too. After all, now you have a deadline, because Brad Pitt is coming to stay and will be here any minute…
Imagine your boss – or your favourite film star – is coming to stay the night at your home. What would your spare room say about you? Seeing your mess through someone else’s eyes can fire you up to tackle it and help you make decisions about what to chuck and keep. It can help you work faster and smarter, too. After all, now you have a deadline, because Brad Pitt is coming to stay and will be here any minute…
Get arty
Walls are the biggest single surface in a room, so make the most of them. Stuff stored in baskets under the bed could become a work of art. Or at least stick up some shelves and get some clutter into boxes and up there, off the floor.
Discover how to create an artistic wall display
TELL US...
Do you have a spare room? How do you keep it clutter-free? Share your tips in the Comments.
Walls are the biggest single surface in a room, so make the most of them. Stuff stored in baskets under the bed could become a work of art. Or at least stick up some shelves and get some clutter into boxes and up there, off the floor.
Discover how to create an artistic wall display
TELL US...
Do you have a spare room? How do you keep it clutter-free? Share your tips in the Comments.
It can be all too easy to assign sentimental value to items that simply don’t deserve it. Remember that getting rid of useless items does not destroy the memories you have of enjoying them. So be brave and use the classic decluttering trick of organising items into three piles: one for things you definitely want to keep, one for things of no value that you can throw away and one for items you intend to sell or give to charity. Go with your initial instincts, too. If you let yourself ponder for too long, you waste time and lose sight of your decluttering objective.
Learn how to overcome mental obstacles to decluttering