HOW TO TAKE STOCK AND PUT EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHTFUL PLACE

Have your trinkets been transmogrified into tat over the years? As we spend more and more time in our homes, this is the perfect opportunity to take stock of our surroundings and identify those items that have become worn out, are no longer useful to us or that never really fitted into our lives.

Before you start, set out your plan (see main feature) and decide on a course of action, including how long you will spend on the task.

Try to be firm on time limits – it can be tempting to press on when you’re on a roll but decluttering is tiring work.

Having set out four piles – ‘Keep’, ‘Donate’, ‘Recycle’ and ‘Dispose’ – be purposeful as you sort through the area you’ve earmarked for decluttering.

Starting at the top left-hand corner of the area being decluttered, remove each item and ask yourself: Have I used it within the last year?

Would I buy it if I saw it in a shop now?

Do I have a ‘home’ for it?

If the answer to at least one of these questions is ‘Yes’, place it in the ‘Keep’ pile. If the answer is ‘No’, decide whether it should be donated, recycled, or go in the bin.

If you come across an object of immense sentimental value but which doesn’t neatly fall into the ‘Keep’ category, set it aside for now. Return to it when you have the emotional reserves to decide what to do with it. If it’s an object that holds happy memories for you but has somehow fallen into the clutter stream, create a home for it where you can access it more easily: if you’ve been saving that ‘good’ tea set for a special occasion, give it a home in your kitchen and start using it.

Try to make decluttering a regular part of your weekly or monthly routine, not an onerous task to be approached with trepidation every few years.

But for now set to work: all that stands between you and the home that you want is… your clutter!