10 Decluttering Secrets and How it Can Improve your Life

Getting your hands on a coveted luxury bag, a rare antique piece, the latest cashmere sweatshirt, or any new item that can be part of your collection is an exciting and fulfilling experience. Although acquiring things for pleasure is not a bad thing, it becomes a problem when you’re running out of space to store them and your living area is becoming cluttered.

10 Decluttering Secrets and How it Can Improve your Life
If you want to downsize or save space, here are 10 secrets to getting rid of items that you don’t actually need.

1. Sell them.
Decluttering is a good way to earn extra cash and you can do that through selling the items that you no longer need.

If you have high-value pieces that you want to take off your hands, you can take them to Biltmore and make extra cash out of them. Biltmore buys valuable pieces such as antiques, luxury bags, jewelries, watches, artworks, and memorabilia. Once you sorted through your collection, you can take your items for appraisal and if the offer’s good enough for you, you will receive cash right away.

Decluttering or downsizing is one of Biltmore’s Four D’s, which are situations that they can help you with. Other D’s include Debt, Death, and Divorce.

Get in touch with Biltmore if you want to know more about the items they buy and the loans they give. You can call or pay a visit at their office in
Scottsdale, Arizona.

2. Don’t try to do it all in one day.
Decluttering your belongings is not an overnight thing. It’s a journey. So don’t beat yourself up and try to do everything in one day because you will just end up stressed and frustrated.

What you can do is allot a certain amount of time each day for decluttering a particular area in your home. It could be 30 minutes or a couple of hours—it’s all up to you. Dividing the task in small chunks is less taxing and allows you to attend to other important things in your schedule.

3. Sort things into categories.
When you sort through your items, have at least four boxes for these categories:

  • Things you love and will keep
  • Pieces that you will sell
  • Items that you will donate
  • Things that you’re still undecided with

Make sure to label the boxes accordingly. Sorting your items in categories will give you direction on what to do with them next.

The most crucial is the “undecided” lot. While the goal of decluttering is to save space, it doesn’t mean that you should just toss out items—especially those that can still be of use to you. So try to keep the “undecided” box for a year, seal it, and leave it unopened unless there’s something in it that you need. Once the year is over, toss out the remaining items in it. If you didn’t open the box at all, chances are you already forgot its contents, which goes to show that the stuff in that box are actually things you can do without.

Meanwhile, if you choose to donate some items, make sure that you take them to charitable institutions right away. Don’t procrastinate on this because if you do, this pile may end up collecting dust again and may take up space that you could’ve used for things that you want to keep.

4. Don’t buy storage boxes right away.
Storage boxes are a must when you’re decluttering, but don’t purchase them unless you have cleaned up and sorted through your things and know much you need to store.

When you buy storage materials before you even begin organizing, you may get more than what you need and end up with unused boxes. Not only will these containers take up space, they can also be a source of stress when you can’t find any use for them.

5. Toss items that you haven’t used in a year.
If you have clothes or appliances that you haven’t used in one year, maybe it’s time to get rid of them. You can either give them to someone else or sell them.

Unless an item is a family heirloom, something that has a sentimental value to you, or a piece that you think will accumulate in value in the coming years, just let it go.

6. Wait for 30 days before buying an item that caught your eye.
If you went to the stores and there’s a piece that caught you fancy, wait for 30 days before you actually decide to purchase the item. If you still want it after the waiting period has passed, then by all means, splurge on it. However, if you nearly forgot about it, then it’s something you can do without and doesn’t deserve a space in your home.

Living an organized life is not just about getting rid of items that you no longer need, it’s also about knowing when to buy or pass.

7. Set realistic expectations.
If you’re newly decluttered home or space still doesn’t look like the photos you normally see on Pinterest and home magazines, don’t think that you haven’t done a good job. As long as your things are organized, cleaned, and stored properly, you’re doing just fine.

8. Maximize electronic tools.
Thanks to technology, items such as documents, notes, books, photos, movies, and music can now be stored electronically. If you want to save up on space, you can go for electronic versions of those things and store them in hard drives and devices.

If you prefer to hold on to actual books, video tapes, or documents, make sure that you clear up space for them and you have the budget needed for their upkeep and storage.

9. Give them away as gifts.
Gifting is a good way of letting some of your items go and making sure that they will be taken care of, especially if they are of high value. For instance, if you have an antique piece that you no longer want to keep, you can give it to a friend who has an interest in rare items. Not only will you make his or her day, but you can also be assured that the piece will be in good hands.

10. Keep in mind that being organized is a way of life.
Decluttering is a continuous process. Once you have organized your things, you need to take the necessary steps to keep them in order. Schedule regular clean up times, so that you can avoid clutter and dirt from building up again.

How Decluttering Improves your Quality of Life

Decluttering or downsizing has several benefits in different aspects of your life. It can improve your health, boost your savings, and help you earn extra cash.

Decluttering can help promote overall wellness. An organized space can increase your productivity, reduce negative emotions, allow better air circulation, avoid build-up of dirt, and help you feel more relaxed.

Downsizing can also help boost your savings. Because you need a smaller space for your things, you can save up on rent, utilities, and other necessary expenses for the upkeep of your collection.

More so, selling items that you no longer want can help generate cash, and you can use the money towards your financial goals.

Decluttering can be challenging, but it can do wonders to your health and finances. With those ten tips in mind, you can take the first step to keeping your living space organized and say hello to a more peaceful way of life.

10 Decluttering Secrets and How it Can Improve your Life Infographics