Tips to Declutter and organize your life this year

If you, like me, strive to live a more minimalist, stress-free life then read on. Last year I started reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo and it is simply that… life-changing. I got stuck at step 5 of the sorting process (sentimental items), but am in full swing this year to get my de-cluttering strategy up and running again and trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle. With the schools starting this week, I am planning to set some goals in my Ask Ashe planner for each morning to get little bits done at a time and stay motivated doing so.

The principles and advice that Marie shares is truly inspiring and it is relatively easy to get started with the process. It basically follows 4 steps that I have outlined below. Step 2 is then further broken down into 5 categories of items to de-clutter that you need to follow in that order.

So here it goes – Tips to Declutter and organize your life…

STEP 1: Visualise the type of space that you would like to have

Visualising my space was really easy.. Most spaces that I see on Pinterest and Instagram is exactly what I envision my space to look like. Wide, airy, open and bright spaces with little furniture or items, but each item beautifully curated. If ALL my rooms could look like that, I would be totally happy. My my entrance hall, bedroom, home office, Bathroom and kitchen is also already done and dusted and I am really proud of these room make-overs!

STEP 2: Declutter

There are 5 categories that Marie covers when it comes to tiding up that you need to do in this specific order.

1. Clothes
I literally threw all my clothes on a heap and started sorting them based on the KonMari method. An app that has really assisted me with my wardrobe and keeping it sorted is an app called Cladwell. This app is free for a limited time only and is really really worth downloading! (Only available for iOs at the mo)

The basic features of the Cladwell App is that after you have uploaded your closet to the app (which is way easier than it sounds) it looks at the weather based on the location you select and recommends 3 outfits a day for you to wear a day. There is a recommended shopping list that allows you to maximise your cupboard depending on the preferred closet size that you set for your desired wardrobe (e.g. a small, medium or large cupboard). It is total FUN and reduces my stress levels of choosing what to wear every morning!

2. Books
This one was easier than I thought it would be for me. I literally threw out almost all my books as I realised I was holding on to them for what reason?! I also decided that I needed to work through my old DIY and Craft magazines instead of simply adding to the pile every month and will going forward rather purchase the online editions.

3. Paper
When it comes to paper, I am guilty! I keep everything from old payslips to bills to Birthday cards, Invitations and more. One basically just need the essentials on file (with pretty free file labels off-course).

An easy way to start with this process is to see whether you can’t switch to receive bills via email instead of the post? This way it makes them easier to file electronically and you save some trees at the same time! Most of the banks and utility bills can be received via email these days. We shared this Desktop organiser free download that you can use as background on your pc to get your desktop looking lovilee.

4. Komono
These cover all the miscellaneous items that includes kitchen items, decorative items, craft supplies and basically everything that the other sections does not cover.

5. Sentimental Items
Photos…. I have loads and loads of photos, not printed but on my computer and mobile which I always vow to sort but never get round to doing. So this year I have decided to start and already got through some whilst on the way to the coast for the December break. I remember the joy my sister and I had paging through our photo albums, nowadays we have more photos but no one ever gets to see them as they are filed in a pile somewhere on a hard drive.

I decided that it is time to get them printed and after looking at a few options to create photobooks. I also recently purchased some craft scrapbooking albums on sale at Typo and want to get some prints done to create a photo album for both manny and the princess.

STEP 3: Organise by category (not location)

This is where the fun starts, although the idea is not to have loads of things in storage, you can ensure that what you do need to store is stored really pretty. One of my favorite spaces in my home is my home office and especially my pegboard. I love that I can find everything that I look for and don’t waste time on it. If EVERYTHING in my home could just be this organised!

My dilemma now is getting the rest of my family to also buy into this process, which is not that easy. Lets hold thumbs that me getting more organised and de-cluttering my life rubs off on them… Do you have any Tips to Declutter and organise? Share them with me PLEASE!

Let's get social

Instagram: @lovilee_za
Twitter: @lovilee_za
Facebook: @lovileeblog
or subscribe to never miss out on any new articles in this link.