January 28, 2022 | Tips & Tricks

Five creative decluttering strategies – guest post by Shirley Martin

If you’re thinking about selling your home, you might be considering decluttering first. Even if you’re not selling your home, decluttering can help improve your quality of life – and you don’t need to hire a professional organizer to get it done! Here are a few fun approaches to decluttering that will make the entire process easier.

Boost your home’s value

Have you decided to declutter because you want to sell your home in the near future? Sprucing up your home and yard and deep cleaning each room can actually enable you to list your home at a higher price. If you decide to take things a step further and invest in other upgrades and home renovations, remember to take “before” and “after” pictures. Hold on to the receipts, too – this will help you demonstrate your home’s increased value for tax purposes.

Challenge yourself with a timer

You’re tired of looking at the clutter in your home, but the thought of spending hours decluttering your entire house makes you feel overwhelmed. Why not break up your work into shorter time blocks? For example, pick a room or storage area to start with, like your home office or your closet. Set a timer and challenge yourself to sort through as many items as possible within that time frame. Place them into bags or boxes labelled “Keep,” “Toss,” “Sell,” and “Donate.” You can repeat this process whenever you have a little spare time! If you have kids, try doing a timer challenge to encourage them to declutter their own rooms.

Digitize your photos and documents

Have you realized that your old family photos or other sentimental items take up a lot of space? You can digitize photos and documents in order to save room. Plus, you’ll be able to easily share these files with your loved ones! To start digitizing, Fracture recommends downloading a photo-scanning app for your smartphone or investing in a physical photo scanner. If you’d rather outsource the process, you can pay for a professional digitizing service.

Host a garage sale

You have donated some of your old belongings, but you’ve realized that you also have some items that could still fetch a decent price if you sold them. If so, why not host a garage sale? Hosting a garage sale is a great way to make a little extra cash as you declutter. Of course, you’ll want to make sure people actually stop by and check out what you’re selling, so let your family and friends know when you’ll be holding the sale. You can also put up signs by your house to alert passersby. Don’t forget to post the date and time in local social media groups.

Set up new storage solutions

You’ve thrown out broken items, made donations, and sold some of your belongings – but what do you do with everything that’s left over? In order to prevent more clutter from accumulating in the future, you’ll need to set up some easy storage solutions. Bob Vila recommends putting up pegboards, installing floating shelves, building under-the-sofa storage drawers or hanging over-the-door organizers for small items.

Whether you want to sell your home or stay put, decluttering your home means you can finally let go of items you no longer need. Decluttering doesn’t have to be boring! With these tips, you can have a little fun as you declutter – and soon enough, your home will be clean and organized.

Are you decluttering in preparation for selling your home? The Wright Sisters Group can help you connect with the ideal buyer. Call today at 416-694-2499 if you’re ready to list your home.

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