Also divide all things into your own and others'. Country vacation is a family vacation, and each member of the family brings things dear to the heart. You don’t need to throw away the frying pan that your mother brought, even if you have 5 of them, or your husband’s old fishing pole without asking him about it. You can freely dispose only of your own things, you will have to negotiate with the owners about the rest.
Step 2. We conduct an audit
One of the most important steps. At this stage, you need to clearly distinguish between categories of things. Two systems will come to the rescue: Japanese 5Sand american .According to 5S, all things must be divided into:
- always needed;
- needed sometimes;
- unnecessary.
During sorting, a sticker indicating the category is glued to each item, then a decision is made.
By flylady, To determine the degree of need for a thing, you need to answer the following questions:
- Do I love this item?
- How long has it been in use?
- Is there a suitable replacement for her?
- Do I need both? (if there are 2 similar ones)
- What emotions does this thing evoke?
In my opinion, it is more rational to use 5 S. Just add a couple of points to it to get the following:
- always use;
- use sometimes;
- I do not use and will not (for waste);
- can be sold;
- can be donated;
- you can remake and breathe a second life (meaning in the near future, so that the thing does not automatically equate to trash, after waiting until the hands reach);
- thing is not mine, I need to consult.
Step 3. Determine the storage location of the desired
When the categories of things are distributed, places are determined to store everything you need. It is very important to stick to this distribution. We decided that the threads and needles are in the box, the rags and napkins are in one of the kitchen drawers, and the tools are on the rack, so be it. If things are mixed again, then the repeated process of cluttering will gradually begin.Step 4. Deciding what to do with unnecessary things
Everything is not so difficult here. Throw out the unnecessary. What is marked with a “sell” sticker can be sold either through acquaintances or through an ad on well-known sites. Things marked “give away” are handed over to friends or those in need. There are also a lot of sites dedicated to the topic “give it away for free”. And, finally, if you are a fan of handmade, then you know very well that original crafts can turn out from old things, and sometimes quite functional things. The main thing is not to delay the process of redoing. Here is a selection of posts for inspiration:2. Firewood.
Firewood does not have to be stored in a shed, it is quite possible to arrange a woodpile under some kind of shed, but I preferred a closed woodshed. Our climate is damp, in autumn it rains with a strong wind, everything is flooded, so it is somehow more reliable to store them inside. We go into the woodshed (in the photo it is the left side of the utility block) through the terrace.
The wall near which the firewood is stacked is divided into two equal parts. What for? The townspeople, who first encountered village life, are surprised to find that freshly bought firewood does not want to burn. It turns out that they need to be dried first. Winter felling firewood dries for 6-8 months, summer - at least a year. On the right I have dry firewood, on the left - the KAMAZ of new logs dries. While I burn what is on the right, they will reach the condition, I will start using them, and I will put new ones in the vacant place.
In cardboard boxes are dry chips prepared for the winter for kindling. Pricking them in the dark and in the cold, returning home from work on a winter evening, is below average pleasure. I want to eat and sit in LiveJournal to relax, and not to rush about with an ax around the site, scaring the neighbors. Therefore, I always prepare these sleds in the summer. One box with a tail is enough for the season.
The walls in the woodshed should be with cracks, then a draft always walks inside and the firewood dries quickly.
3. Tools for working with the earth.
I also keep them in the woodshed. We look:
In the corner is a stand for shovels, rakes, flat cutters, etc. Here it is close-up:
Sold the same design, but angular. The choice depends on where you have a place in the barn for them; in operation, they are no different.
On the IKEA rack there are buckets with small tools: scoops, rakes, etc. All hose connectors are collected in one large plastic bucket: adapters, connectors, sprinklers, watering guns, etc. Always only in it - look for the right little thing throughout the area is not necessary.
4. Hoses.
Hoses are a sore point. I already wrote that I have a highway laid all over the site, to which, if necessary, short lengths of hoses can be connected (“About watering”). But these segments need to be stored somewhere. There are special drums (I have them), but I don't use them. One hose can be wound on the drum, but I have several of them of different lengths and different diameters. Winding five or six reels is too much, they take up too much space. Short lengths of hoses I just wind up and put in ... tanks. Here are the green tanks that are visible in the photo to item 3. One tank is plastic, the other is made of synthetic fabric. It's easy to put them in and take them out. But you still have to wind up, alas.
5. Power tool.
Now let's go to the house. View from the entrance:
This rack is the main treasure. It contains a drill, a screwdriver, a grinder, a circular saw, a grinder, an electric planer, an electric jigsaw, an electric chain saw, a circular saw, extension cords, a box of wrenches of all calibers, a box of drills for wood, concrete and metal, and my favorite box that says " Irons":
I throw ... pieces of iron into it, what do you think? Which? But different. All sorts of details are unclear from what with an unusual configuration. Or understandable from what, but unnecessary right now. If you knew how often they help out when solving non-standard tasks. For example, it was necessary to come up with a way to mount a tablet on the wall, and such a mount to hang and remove it in one motion. On the tablet, as you know, there are no holes and eyelets for which it can be hooked. Why hang it on the wall? And to watch a movie when I run on a treadmill.
The problem was solved very quickly thanks to this magic box. There was a reciprocal bar from a broken lock in it. The plank even had holes for self-tapping screws. It remains to put the nuts between the bar and the wall so that there is a gap in which the cover from the plastic cover of the tablet exactly fits. The hanging tablet looks like this:
And the bar without a tablet is like this:
Its color is uniform silver, it is from the flash that the edges seem to be shattered. The size of the bar is small, it does not attract attention. But I digress, let's go back to the change house.
Above the power tool - oil. It is different: for two-stroke (trimmer) and four-stroke (lawn mower) engines, winter for a snow blower, transmission for lubricating a chain saw. Every little thing is nearby: a miter box, a level, measuring cups of various sizes, whetstones and sandpaper.
6. Hardware and small tools.
This picture usually leads to a stupor all the men who entered the change house. A workbench (on it was an electric grinder and a vise), above it are narrow shelves made from the remnants of a lining. On the shelves are plastic jars with hardware. The top row - nails, then go bolts, nuts, washers, below - self-tapping screws. There are also bits and different tips for a screwdriver, household oil for lubrication, adhesive tape. Orange shelves with tool holes bought from OBI. Very convenient - they have screwdrivers, pliers and all that.
Shelves with hardware close-up:
Just yesterday, a neighbor who looked into the change house froze, looking at this wall.
And I have such a mess ... - he admitted sadly, coming out of tetanus.
When I asked why he didn’t do something like that, because he probably has lining or boards, and plastic cans can be collected (I mostly use food packaging) or bought in a disposable tableware store, he honestly answered: “Not I know".
It's really incomprehensible. After all, you need to do this one and only time, and then use the order forever!
Hacksaws for wood and metal, protective masks, goggles. They hang from the ceiling, they take up almost no space. The price of the issue is a piece of board and a few self-tapping screws. If it were possible to screw self-tapping screws directly into these walls, then the board would not be needed. But the walls in the change house are made of thin sheets of fiberboard, and inside there is emptiness. I had to fix the board first.
Global cleaning with the removal of trash and sorting of things should be carried out at least once a season, and preferably monthly. This will make sure that we really accumulate a lot of unnecessary items, and will help us learn to live easier. But after all, a mess in an apartment is a mess in your head, and in order to acquire something new, you must first make room for it.
Of course, there are pathological cases. In the United States, TV shows are being filmed about people who have brought their home to such a state that it is already difficult to move around it. This is due to psychological problems, fears and syndromes. Such people need to work only with medical specialists. If the neighbors littered the apartment, what to do? In the event that the situation is really critical, and the garbage interferes with other residents, you need to contact housing stock or to local community leaders.
And too lazy, but clean enough people can always find out the prices for cleaning apartments in Moscow or any other city, so as not to do such a tedious task on their own. Now employees of cleaning companies can not only wash the apartment, but also make the space more organized, dismantle cabinets and throw away the excess.
Where to start cleaning
How to quickly remove cluttered apartment? You need to decide how often you will conduct an "audit". Even in a relatively clean home, there is always something to get rid of, so it is better to carry out general cleaning not only with the change of season, but more often. Don't try to do everything at once. Take one room first, and when you're done, take a break. Only after that, with renewed vigor, move on to another. You need to move gradually. General cleaning of heavily cluttered apartments is not carried out in one day.
For cleaning, you need to prepare inventory. It will take a lot of packages: for garbage, for unused things that can be given to someone, sold or left for the time being "for a trial period." You will need felt-tip pens, labels, tape, boxes, dust rags and a timer. All things after decluttering will be laid out in bags and boxes, so as not to get confused in them, it is worth signing each storage location. The timer is needed to literally not drown in the garbage, but to stop in time. You can set it for one hour and start cleaning. In the process, you need to act quickly and not be distracted by anything.
If the apartment is completely cluttered, it is better to start work from the entrance to the room and move clockwise. After cluttering up one place, you can proceed to the next. If you jump from place to place, then you will only lose strength and time. The rubbish accumulated over the years needs to be disassembled into several boxes. You can leave something, it’s time to throw other things into a landfill, and something usable, but not personally needed by you, can be given to those in need or sold. In the process of putting things in order, do not immediately put the thing in its rightful place, but for now, just put it in a box labeled "Return to its place."
After the garbage bag is filled with unnecessary things, you need to immediately tie it up and send it to the landfill. You should not start looking at things and think that something else might come in handy. Better not look inside. The box with the inscription "Give away" needs to be reviewed and decided what to do with each specific thing. For example, children's clothes that have become small can be given to a friend whose family is expected to replenish. There are orphanages and shelters that will also not refuse good, albeit worn, things. Some of the junk you don't need can be sold. These can be vases, souvenirs or books in good condition.
Search for unnecessary
Before proceeding with the removal of garbage from the apartment, you need to separate everything from the necessary things. To do this is very difficult. It turns out that knickknacks that you have long forgotten about warm your soul, and old things can come in handy for a trip to the country. But it's worth looking at the truth. Small souvenirs only collect dust, and old clothes will remain dead weight in the closet. But how do you decide what you really need to throw away? You can take several photos of the apartment and view the result on a large monitor. Everything that is out of place and looks like trash will immediately be revealed.
You can apply the chronological principle of ejection. It is worth getting rid of everything that has not been used for more than a year. These are half empty perfume bottles, spices with expired shelf life, old medicines, jars with cream residues, and so on. It is these things that create a mess in the apartment. It is necessary to clear the dwelling from stale things more boldly. You can focus on the available space. You need to decide in advance what and how much you will store. If these are children's drawings, then you need to select a box of a suitable size, and when it is full, sort through everything and throw away the excess to make room for new drawings. So you can learn to store things in the available volume.
Decluttering the wardrobe
Often the apartment is cluttered with clothes. Putting things in order in the wardrobe is one of the most interesting, but at the same time the most difficult tasks. First you need to decide what exactly you have to leave. Usually this is the basic wardrobe. The minimum of women's clothing usually includes: a black dress, which is appropriate for business negotiations, and at a party, and in nature, a neutral-colored raincoat, a beige or white blouse or shirt, a skirt, black trousers, classic dark blue jeans, a jacket or blazer , a high-quality cardigan and two sweaters, beige high-heeled shoes, sneakers or sneakers in white or black, a down jacket, elegant ballet flats, at least two bags (one small and elegant, and the second roomy). These things are quite enough, but, of course, every woman has her own basic wardrobe. All this must be left.
Now for the things to get rid of. This is all that does not fit in size, things that are obsolete and worn out. They need to be distributed, thrown away, given to an orphanage or a community assistance center, and tried to be sold. You don’t need to throw it away yet, but you should put aside clothes that need repair, things that you don’t like yourself in, on a separate shelf. Good products that do not suit you personally are best sold, and everything that needs repair is repaired. A separate category is things that should have been thrown away a long time ago, but they are so dear to the heart that they lie just like that. We need to gather strength and throw it all away.
First you need to start sorting out your things, and only then decide what to do with the clothes of your children or husband. Men usually clutter up the wardrobe is easier. They can almost always select from the whole mass of shirts and T-shirts those that are comfortable. If these things are in good condition (not worn, do not require repair), they can be left. This is half the job done. It remains only to leave jeans, shorts, trousers, 2-3 sets of clothes for going out and for every day, home clothes (two sets are also enough). It is better to buy socks in several identical pairs at once, throw away shabby borsets, and replace a bunch of eco-leather belts with one, but of high quality.
Memorabilia
The rubbish in the apartment consists of many items that are not used constantly, but are needed just in case or are stored as a memory. But memorabilia must be able to distinguish from soulless souvenirs. Printed photographs, the first drawings of a child and diaries are precious as a memory, you don’t need to throw them away, but pathologically hoarding is also not an option. A good solution is to allocate a separate box for such gizmos and monitor its filling. As soon as it is full, sort and discard the part to make room. Not every knick-knack has a place in a clutter-free home. You need to remember this.
Appliances
Do not rush to throw away household appliances. Non-working devices should be put in a separate bag. If by the next "revision" the technique still does not work, then there is no need for it. Well, if you can fix the devices. So the functionality of the house will improve, and there will be no items that take up space without work. But where to put the rubbish, that is, old tape recorders, cassettes, non-working equipment that cannot be repaired and will no longer be used? Cassettes need to be digitized (if there are memorable photos, and films can simply be downloaded when needed), very old things can be tried to be given away to nostalgic ones, and non-working ones can be sold for spare parts.
Unused things
Mass gifts in the form of sets, tureens, sets, intricate vases and so on, if they are new, can serve someone and even please. We need to give these things a chance for a second life. Don't throw them in the trash. Can be put up for sale at half the price. The same applies to household appliances, which have been replaced by more advanced counterparts. Cleaning can also make money!
"Special" things
In the apartments of the older generation, you can find untouched sets, bed linen, slippers and towels, which are in case important guests arrive. As a rule, the long-awaited guests never appear, and things become outdated or become unusable, the apartment is cluttered. Any things need to be used, otherwise this is a banal accumulation. A special occasion is every day. It's time to get used not to store the service in the sideboard, but to put it on the table even for a simple evening tea party. The same goes for "going out" clothes and other similar things.
"Graphic Peace"
Do you immediately get rid of labels on shampoo, toothpaste and other personal and home care products, on products and clothes? This only works with clothes (and even then not always). It may seem that the idea is strange and even crazy, but in fact, any label contains a lot of unnecessary information and eats away at the eyes. Against the background of satiety with information, this does not benefit at all. It is worth accustoming yourself to get rid of the labels immediately after leaving the supermarket, so as not to waste time at home. These are extra things that distract.
Rational storage
The main rule of organized storage is that in the end it should be comfortable and spacious. The more free space in the room, the better. Although this conflicts with the habitual and even natural for many people the ability to complicate things, as well as with a passion for hoarding and shopping. But the world around has become more technologically advanced: there are fewer wires, instead of a mountain of papers, you can store scanned copies in electronic form, all volumes of the encyclopedia fit on a flash drive, and for storing, for example, fur coats, there are special services that will make sure that clothes survive the warm season intact. , safety and security.
After removing the garbage from the apartment, you need to decide where and how to store the necessary things. It is worth sorting objects into "hot" and "cold". The former are used every day. These are household appliances, clothes, shoes. "Cold" things - a home library, seasonal clothes, Christmas decorations, gizmos dear to the heart, and the like. To store them, it is better to organize the system somewhere in the corridor so that there are fewer cabinets in the living room. It is better to minimize open storage, and if you already have an open rack, you can additionally buy fabric or cardboard boxes to hide document folders, photo albums and other things that are not used every day from prying eyes.
Fly lady system
How not to litter the apartment? Things that need to be thrown away will appear and appear again. The only solution that will allow you to maintain cleanliness and order is to make a system out of cleaning. It is worthwhile to carry out global decluttering at least once a season, and do not do general cleaning on Saturdays, but a little bit, but every day. Under these rules, the fly lady system is well suited, which will allow you to maintain cleanliness easily and simply.
Is the apartment cluttered? First you need to throw away everything superfluous, and only then start experimenting with systems to maintain order. The meaning of the system is that the apartment is divided into zones, each of which is given a week. Work in a certain area should not take more than 15 minutes a day, and once a week an hour of cleaning is carried out.
Additionally, hot spots need to be identified, that is, places in the house that need constant “supervision”. Usually this is a desktop, on which mugs and papers accumulate every day. The kitchen sink also needs to be cleaned every day.
It's not too difficult. With this approach to housekeeping, you can once and for all forget about fearsome general cleaning, after which you need to take an extra day off. Of course, the prices for cleaning apartments in Moscow (and even more so in the provinces) are not so high, but it’s much more pleasant to keep your home clean on your own.
Secrets of professional maids
It is worth learning fast and high-quality cleaning from maids in good hotels. They know and use many tricks and tricks in their daily practice to speed up the process. First you need to remove all unnecessary - dirty linen and garbage, so that you start as if from a clean slate. It is better to use microfiber for cleaning dust. Every time you put things in order, cleaning services staff recommend cleaning the curtains. This is best done with a wet or dry towel. The towel should be heavy enough to hit hard, but light enough to keep your hand from getting tired.
Always vacuum the floor before washing. It is usually advised to start from the far corner, moving towards the door. But it’s better to first vacuum the places where they most often go, and only then start from the corner. So you vacuum twice over the most polluted areas. Cleaning the bathroom should be left in the end. This will minimize the transfer of bacteria, which are always abundant in a humid environment. For cleaning, it is good to use ordinary vinegar, which will help to cope with those contaminants against which even super-products are powerless. Old toothbrushes will also come in handy. This will clean hard-to-reach places.
Practical tips for cleaning and decluttering an apartment: how not to clutter up an apartment and sort out unnecessary trash
Before talking about the clutter of an apartment, it is worth understanding what is rubbish? This word refers to items that at the time of purchase (donation) were needed, and after a certain time they ceased to be.
The need for their use has disappeared, and they lie silently reproachfully, taking up space, which is often not much. How to get rid of trash quickly and painlessly?
Why is the apartment cluttered
Why is the apartment in general and the children's room in particular littered? If you are the mother of a boy, then you are familiar with this picture: a basket of cars, several kilograms of Lego, a box with a designer, an uncountable number of soldiers and robots. The girls' mothers cannot remember which doll settled in the nursery, how many houses, clothes and soft toys are on the shelves and under the bed. But there are also educational aids, books, notebooks, paints, pencils, albums, plasticine and moon sand, colored paper and three types of glue, etc. The child brings into our life a lot of things that we did not know about before. Sometimes a house or apartment turns into one big playroom. can be found everywhere, and sometimes in the most unexpected places.
Why do we, adults, adequate and educated people, let toys take over us? Why do we have to resort to decluttering the space so as not to let unnecessary things "evict" ourselves from the apartment?
"All the best for children!". It is with this or a similar phrase that the seizure of the apartment with toys begins. We'd rather deny ourselves a new bed, but buy our child a clockwork robot car that takes up half the hallway. What for? We are sure that everyone noticed that very expensive toys often occupy a child for a very short time. Before depriving yourself of something, think carefully, does the child really need a robot? Perhaps, it is more important for him to have calm, cheerful and sleepy parents on a new bed, who can make any robot with him from a simple cardboard box?
“I didn’t have such a toy as a child, and I will do everything so that my child has one!”. This is how expensive handmade dolls or helicopters on the control panel appear in the house. We are trying to finish playing together with the children, to make our childhood dreams come true. We are not saying that this is bad, we just want to say that you need to ask yourself in time: “Do I or my child want this?”
"I can't say no!". There are parents who do not know how to refuse their baby and buy everything on demand. This is not very good, firstly, for a child who does not learn certain rules and requirements of society, secondly, for the parents' wallet, and thirdly, to establish the correct distribution of parent-child roles. So sometimes denying your child is a very useful skill.
If you recognize yourself, then it's time to change something!
What is dangerous rubbish in the apartment
Why is the rubbish in the apartment so dangerous and why is cleaning and decluttering the apartment simply necessary?
Doesn't bring joy. We are constantly annoyed when we see heaps of unsorted papers, boxes not thrown away in time, files not organized on the computer. We are tormented by conscience, we are seized by a feeling of guilt, and these are not at all positive emotions, but destructive and interfering with living freely and enjoying ourselves.
Disorganized. Even the most beautiful collection of postcards or stamps, which is gathering dust on a closet or, even worse, scattered throughout the apartment, is not a value, but just rubbish!
Pulls us into the past. Old things that do not evoke positive emotions and pleasant memories are not worthy of being in our house. Why again and again experience the feelings of fear, hatred, shame, pain, hostility that some objects, photographs, things cause in you? The rubbish does not allow us to move forward.
Makes you feel shame and envy. These feelings are rather unpleasant and unconstructive, and trash feeds them every day! We don’t want anyone to see our rubble, we constantly think that a friend’s apartment is smaller, but for some reason there is more space and it’s easier to breathe in it. Yes, we are just ashamed to invite guests!
Affects family relationships. And, of course, does not make them more positive. Quarrels over an unfound hammer, a littered, cluttered cabinet occur very often, but this is so easy to avoid!
Increases cleaning time. Where do you think it's quicker and easier to clean up - in a house where everything is cluttered with furniture, boxes, knick-knacks and the like, or where all this is reduced to an optimal minimum?
Dangerous to health. Storing things requires certain conditions, and when storing rubbish, you hardly think about it, so dust, mold, insects can appear in the house, which, of course, negatively affects the health of all family members.
may worsen your financial position . And we don't mean the lack of cash flow to your house due to clutter in the right corner of the living room, we are talking about more mundane things: repairs, storage, transportation of trash cost money! You can constantly buy some, at first glance, trifles (paper clips, sponges, light bulbs, etc.), because it is simply impossible to find those that you bought earlier in littered and littered cabinets.
steals your time. Time is our main resource, we try to do everything to spend it correctly, but we don’t notice how we waste it, rearranging the old broken one from place to place, going through hundreds of newspaper clippings in search of the right recipe, looking for “the same blouse” in dozens of those that you have not worn for a long time.
The method of cleaning and decluttering the apartment: how to quickly get rid of trash in the house
Getting rid of excess rubbish by decluttering means cleaning the apartment of unnecessary things, objects, clothes, toys, materials, books, etc.
Everyone knows how hard it is to get rid of rubbish and unnecessary things, to tune in and start throwing away, throwing away and ruthlessly destroying, because in the familiar environment we are calm and comfortable. But by starting a process called “getting rid of the old junk,” you make room for new, more useful things and opportunities.
Rubbish steals our time and energy, brings chaos, confusion, quarrels, unpleasant feelings and emotions into our lives. It does not bring benefit, joy and inspiration. Before you get rid of the trash in the house, try to find 27 things in your apartments that you can throw away now! Now your house has become a little cleaner. Boogie 27 Steps is one of the most effective methods decluttering, which came up with Marla Seeley (the creator of the Flylady household organization system).
So, we clean the cluttered apartment and organize free space! How does your general cleaning or decluttering most often take place: with a decisive but sad look, you pull everything out of cabinets, drawers and bedside tables, start sorting through, reviewing, doubting: “throw it away or it will still come in handy ...”. Little fun! Even the realization that after cleaning it will become better, fresher, freer, does not greatly affect motivation. We propose to radically reconsider our attitude to "decluttering"! If we cannot change the situation, let's change our attitude towards it, turn on the fantasy, fun music and get down to business!
How to get rid of trash: where to start decluttering your home (with video)
So, how to get rid of trash and most importantly - where to start, from which side to step up? We suggest using the proven four-box method. Take four (bags, bags, baskets) and sign them: Throw away, Sell or give away, Keep, Keep.
Watch the video "Decluttering" and then start sorting things and putting them into boxes:
Throw away box. What can be sent there?
- Broken and unrepairable toys. If the toy is good, but something broke off, peeled off, came off, you can take the time to repair it, be sure to involve your child in this activity. But if you find broken parts from something incomprehensible in the toy basket, feel free to send them to the dump.
- Creative materials that are not suitable for use: dried felt-tip pens and paints, broken pens and deteriorated glue, drawn coloring books and old children's magazines (you can pre-cut pictures from them and then use them in applications and games).
- Old, torn and washed clothes. It is about the clothes that cannot be restored, altered or given to someone. By the way, buttons, locks and preserved applications can be cut off from such clothes and used in games and in the manufacture of educational toys with your own hands.
Box "Store". Some things can and should be kept. For example, memorabilia and creative works of children, toys and books that the child has not yet grown up to.
The latter can be placed in a box and sent to a closet or pantry until better times. Well, if these better times” will be marked on your calendar or a reminder on your phone, and on the box itself there will be a sheet with an inventory of all the wealth stored there.
Leave box. Most likely, it will be the largest and most voluminous. Saying "box", of course, we are speaking figuratively. Things, toys and materials that you want to leave in the nursery do not have to be put into boxes, you can immediately look for suitable places for them. By the way, this place does not have to be in!
When you compare what happened before and what happened after the decluttering of the apartment, you will be pleasantly surprised!
Getting rid of old, unnecessary trash: decluttering an apartment - before and after (with photo)
The Give or Sell box can be filled, for example, with things that the child has grown out of. If you are not planning a second baby in the near future, then it is better to say goodbye to small vests and bonnets. For many, it is very difficult, so the most beloved, sweet and dear little things to keep and keep.
Duplicate toys can also go to other hosts. It happens that a child has some kind of game, and they give you a similar one, or you yourself, forgetting and not noticing, buy another dinosaur, car or board game.
Children's things, toys, furniture in good condition can be sold. This is a completely normal practice. There are specialized websites and newspapers. The main thing is that immediately after the box is filled, wash or wash things, photograph them in good light and from a favorable angle (not forgetting, of course, to note all the flaws and scuffs), write a detailed description and put up for sale.
Look at the photo “Before and after decluttering the apartment” - the effect is impressive:
We clean the cluttered apartment: what to do with trash
Having finished decluttering, many are wondering where and to whom they can give unnecessary things and toys.
Several options for where to put the trash after decluttering the apartment:
An apartment decluttering plan is needed in order for the process to proceed consistently, thoroughly and efficiently. Determine exactly what you need to sort out in the nursery: closets with clothes, shelves, a basket of toys, a box of art supplies, folders with children's work, books and magazines, materials for classes, etc.
Another tip for cleaning and decluttering the apartment is to put down the dates by which the planned work must be completed. No need to try to do everything in one day: it will bring nothing but irritation and fatigue. Take from several hours to several days for each object of decluttering.
Write specific decluttering tasks into your plan for the coming weeks. For example: "On Friday, May 30, sort out the top shelves in the closet with clothes."
An action plan called "Getting rid of unnecessary trash" might look like this:
And how to quickly get rid of trash in the house so that this process is easy and enjoyable? To do this, use tricks and techniques that will help bring fun to this activity.
moving. Imagine that you have to move to another apartment, house, or even a fairy-tale land. What will you definitely take from the nursery, and what can you do without? Discuss with your child all the details of the move, draw or make a car for transporting things and start collecting everything you need.
declutter party. If you don't know how to get rid of the clutter in your apartment, you can have regular decluttering parties. Invite guests into a room where you will socialize and celebrate, put boxes of things you don't need, and tell guests to take whatever they want. It will be great if the guests also bring their uselessness, then you can arrange an exchange!
Getting ready for the holiday. In our life there is always a place for a holiday, and at the same time, preparation for it. New Year, Easter, the birth of a new family member - all this can be an excellent occasion to get rid of trash. And you can not wait for the holidays, but create them yourself! Write in your diary or family calendar "junk days" or "house cleanup weeks". Call it whatever you like, the main thing is that at least two or three times a year such events take place in your house! Remember the Italian tradition of throwing old things out the window on New Year's Eve? Make it a tradition every three months to throw away unwanted, old, broken toys and buy one new one.
Do not forget also that cheerful music, good mood and the desire to make your home better are great helpers in the difficult task of “cluttering up”.
What clutters up the house and how not to clutter up the apartment
Everyone knows that it is easier to prevent a problem than to deal with the consequences later. This rule can be fully applied to "decluttering".
Reasonable consumption. Nothing clutters up the house like things that are brought into it "just like that." If we do not bring rubbish into the house, we will not have to get rid of it. What will help us not to litter our apartments and children's rooms? How not to litter the apartment, so that later you don’t have to spend energy on cluttering it up?
The problem of rational purchases is acute for many women. How not to be tempted by an attractive store offer, discount or sale?
This will help simple but effective tricks:
- managing the family budget;
- shopping planning;
- avoiding simple shopping trips (although sometimes you can afford it, but then leave your wallet and credit cards at home);
- compiling a shopping list and strictly following it;
- when purchasing this or that thing, ask yourself a few questions: “Do I have a similar thing that performs the same functions? If so, am I ready to part with it, replace it with a new one? How often will I use this item? Where will I store it? Will this thing bring me joy? Will it make me happier?";
- a note in the wallet: “Do you really want to buy this?”, “Have you forgotten that we are saving for a vacation?”, “Better shut me up!”;
- if possible, throw away packaging, bags, boxes directly in the store.
Smart Storage. Many things deteriorate, break, become unusable and become rubbish simply because they do not have a normal, convenient and suitable place to store them. Proper organization of the space of the apartment will allow you to avoid this. If a new thing appears in the house, you need to immediately find it a “habitat” and notify all households. Do not be afraid to experiment, the modern market offers a huge number of interesting, unusual, but at the same time convenient and functional devices for organizing storage. Baskets, boxes, containers, wicker boxes, racks, choose according to your taste!
Reasonable use. The old joke says that Russians don't read instructions before use, but when something has already broken. Agree, there is some truth in this. In order for things to serve you for a long time, follow the rules for using them, treat things with care and bring up this quality in your children. Use multifunctional things and appliances, this can save both money and space in the apartment.
Reasonable attitude towards things. Modern society is a consumer society. It is important for us to have a huge amount of appliances, clothes, toys, etc. But, even having bought everything you dreamed about, you are unlikely to feel completely happy. Happiness is not in things, but in relationships with family, friends, husband, children, yourself. If you understand and accept this, things will no longer play such a role and will not have such power over you. So, they will not accumulate and become trash!
All of the above principles on how not to litter the house can be attributed to the children's room. Try to be reasonable in the choice of toys, buy only high-quality and suitable for the age and interests of the child. Talk to your family and explain the criteria and properties that are important to you in choosing toys and things for your child.
Create an optimal, convenient and functional storage system that will be easy for you and your child to stick to.
Don't let things take over you! Be smarter, smarter, smarter! Do not let unnecessary trash into the house, and you will not have to waste your time and energy on fighting it!
