SANDERSON’S 10 STEPS TO DECLUTTERING YOUR HOME

1. A cluttered home is like an overgrown garden:

Sanderson says it can be useful to think of cluttered homes as overgrown gardens that need weeding, planting and maintaining. The weeding process is about making all those unmade decisions, such as keep, let go, or action. Planting means creating a plan, placing things in a beautiful, harmonious way and optimally organising what you choose to keep. Then maintain what you have created.

2. Create a clear vision: Imagine exactly how you’d like your home to be. Write it down or create a vision board of inspiring images from magazines or Pinterest. Then write down why you want to create space and order – is it for a creative project? Do you want to feel more comfortable inviting people round?

3. Understand the reality:

Look inside all the cupboards, drawers and boxes and establish a clear picture of exactly what you’re dealing with. “This isn’t to discourage you, but so you can effectively plan your declutter project.”

4. Break decluttering into manageable stages:

This can be room by room, cupboard by cupboard, or drawer by drawer, says Sanderson. “I recommend you master one room, then move to another. It’s important to experience successes, even small ones.”

5. Identify obstacles and how to overcome them:

Are you a big procrastinator, easily distracted or likely to get very emotional? Are you going to find it hard to make time to do the work? “Once you’ve understood the barriers you might face, put some clear strategies in place to help you overcome them.” advises

6. Set aside time and remove distractions:Sanderson

points out that if someone really loved decluttering, they’d have done it long ago. “Accept that once you start, other things are likely to be much more appealing than sorting out those piles of stuff,” she suggests.

7. Put some clutter in front of you:

Start a timer, collect your stuff and stack it in front of you – so take out a stack of books, paperwork or empty a drawer into a box.

8. Keep, Recycle, Bin, Donate, Action:

One by one, decide are you going to recycle, sell, keep, bin, action, or donate each item – these are the core decisions that have to be made.

9. Complete it: Make sure you allocate time at the end of the session to complete the job properly – this means immediately taking out the recycling and rubbish, and putting all donations in the ca..

10. Plant and maintain: The next stage is the planting stage, when you efficiently categorise and put everything away, followed by maintaining what you’ve achieved.