Organise your kitchen, bathroom and bedroom
Spring is almost here, the time of year many of us tackle a deep clean of our home and attempt to organise the clutter.
Decluttering can seem like a daunting task, so rather than trying to do the whole house top to bottom, it’s best to focus on one room at a time. The most popular three for a Spring clean and declutter are your kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Here are our top tips for sprucing up and organising each room.
Organise your kitchen
Our kitchens are usually overflowing we things we don’t regularly use. To organise your kitchen, get rid of any expired food first – it’s easy to lose track of the tins at the back of the shelves. Then give the shelves a proper scrub to get rid of all the grease before returning your items, and don’t forget the tops of the shelves too.
Also, how many kitchen gadgets do you have that you don’t regularly use? Anything that’s on your worktop taking up space, have a think about whether it’s really necessary. If it is, consider tucking it away in a cupboard. Coffee stations have become popular built into your units and hidden away in pantries, so as not to take up valuable worktop space.
Similarly, how many one-time-use gadgets do you own and never use? The quick fix egg poacher? Do you need the big bread maker, or can you make it in the oven? And we’ve probably all bought a hard to clean wooden honey dipper, but realised using a spoon is far easier.
Look at how many duplicate items you have too. More than one tin opener? Chuck them. 10 bottles of ketchup? Get rid of those too. Go through the fridge and throw out any old jars or mouldy veg and give it a good clean. If there’s anywhere you’re going to invest in storage, the fridge is a good place. Plastic containers keep everything visible so you can cut down on your food waste.
To clean and organise your kitchen post-declutter, don’t forget the oven. To make grime easier to shift, try steam cleaning it. Put a large oven-proof dish filled with cool water in the oven, put the oven on high with the door and leave for around 60 minutes (or longer if needed). Then turn off the oven and let everything cool completely. The steam should soften the grease for easy cleaning. Then go about cleaning or deep cleaning your oven as you normally would.
Organise your bathroom
The bathroom can be a minefield of unused products cluttering the sides of your bath and sink. Create a one in, one out policy, so you’re only really buying things you need, rather than having lots of half-empty shampoo bottles.
If you’ve got surplus products in your bathroom that you want to donate, Beauty Banks has been set up to end hygiene poverty in the UK. These are the top 10 items they want: soap, shower gel, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, disposable razors, shaving foam/ gel, shampoo, conditioner and sanitary pads.
For beauty products you want to recycle but can’t be recycled at home, Boots will take and give you reward points in return.
Clearing out your medicine cupboard with any out of date medication should also clear space quickly. Most pharmacies will take back any unused medication to dispose of it safely.
Sun lotion becomes less effective over time, so if it’s old, find a suitable place to recycle it.
Organise your bedroom
Of all places, the phrase “a tidy space, a tidy mind” rings true in the bedroom. Keeping clutter here to a minimum is key.
Think about having seasonal storage. Can winter and summer duvets be kept in dust bags under the bed and switched out when you need a higher or lower tog? The same with seasonal clothing. You don’t want heavy winter coats filling your wardrobe through the whole of the spring and summer season. Why not neatly fold them and keep them in plastic boxes in the attic? The same goes for hats, scarves and winter gloves.
Although the top of the wardrobe can seem like a good storage space, it can make a bedroom feel very cluttered and hard to sleep at night. Having clear tops of your wardrobes will make more difference to your relaxation than you might imagine.
Opt for underbed storage instead. Dunelm has some lovely yellow ticking stripe soft underbed storage boxes for £14.
Next up is bedside tables, mantlepieces (if you live in a period property) and bedroom chairs are another culprit of being piled high with clothes and causing stress. Maybe think of getting rid of the bedroom chair, if it’s impossible not to throw things over it.
The wardrobe is obviously the big one when it comes to decluttering your bedroom. A top decluttering tip for your clothes (and when out clothes shopping) is to try each item on before you look in the mirror, then you’ll know how the item makes you feel and whether you should keep/buy it.
Take any unwanted clothes to your local charity shop or make some money from them by selling them on Vinted. The buyer always pays postage so all you’ll need to do is pop anything you sell in an envelope in the post.
Once your wardrobe is decluttered, give it a good clean. Think about investing in uniform hangers and organising your clothes by category when you hang everything back up.
Throw away old underwear and have a huge clear-out of holey or odd socks. Edit down each category of item as well: how many t-shirts or pairs of socks do you really need? And how many are just taking up drawer space?
Once you’ve cleared enough space, invest in some drawer organisers. A big trend for bedrooms in 2024 is pared-back bedlinen, so now is the time to declutter the cushions, blankets and throws from your bed.