3 Signs you need to declutter

Clutter: ‘a lot of things in an untidy state, especially things that are not necessary or are not being used; a lack of order’ – Oxford Learner Dictionary 2021 

Even the most minimalist among us know that sometimes clutter can build up. Recent examples could include that thing you got for Christmas that wasn’t quite to your liking, or that ornament that looked good online but when it arrived it looked nothing like it did on the website. There comes a time when we begin to realise that we are surrounded by things that we don’t need, want, or indeed actually like. If you’re at that stage, you’re in the right place; here are our top 3 signs you need to declutter, and how to start organising.

Getting the drawers closed is a daily battle. 

A classic. This is when the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ ethos goes too far and suddenly the magic drawer of miscellaneous things (we all have one!) just says no. You may try pulling it out, hoping there’s something stuck down the back that’s stopping it from closing, but alas, it’s just too full. Unfortunately, that means it’s time to pull everything out the drawer and sort it out.  

When this is just happening with the miscellaneous drawer, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to do a mega declutter, but when it starts to spread to other drawers that’s when you know there’s an issue. For example, shoving clothes down to make them fit, and then having to pull and pull at the drawer to get it open, only for it to give way all at once and send you flying; that’s a strong sign it’s time for the sorting to begin.

You can’t find things.

Imagine the scene: You’ve got an important meeting at work this morning and you are brushing your hair to try and at least look vaguely presentable (you couldn’t find the straighteners), when the phone rings. You put the brush down to answer the phone but where is that ringing coming from! You finally dig the phone out from its hiding spot only to realise you’ve missed the call because you didn’t find it in time. You try to go back to brushing your hair, but the brush is most definitely not where you left it. Actually, where did you leave it. The phone starts to ring again and it’s in your pocket… no it’s not. You must have put it down again. You start looking around frantically but it honestly could be anywhere. The ringing stops before you find it and now, you’re left with no phone, hair that looks like you were pulled out of a hedge backwards, and you are late for the meeting.  

If this sounds remotely familiar, it may be a sign you need to declutter. Being able to find the things you need is key to keeping your life in order, and if excess clutter in your home is putting roadblocks on your life it’s definitely time to do something about it. In another world you had the phone nicely on the clear side, answered it the first time it rang, straightened your hair to perfection while you chatted, and waltzed into that meeting 10 minutes early. With a bit of work, that world can be a reality! 

Your guest room is in hiding. 

In non-Covid times it is always lovely to have friends and family round to stay, but if your guest room has disguised itself as a pile of junk, it’s time to make a change. You may be thinking, it’s obvious that we pop our unwanted things into the guest room, I mean, it’s literally called the spare room, right? Wrong. For any guests who come and stay it can be quite the nightmare, and we can’t imagine you feel particularly proud of it.  

So how do you fix it? If you’ve put that thing into the spare room and it hasn’t been touched in months, you need to ask yourself “Do I still need it? Will I ever use that again?”. If the answer is verging on a no, maybe it could go to someone who would use it more, or maybe it’s just ready for the bin.  

Now you’ve had a declutter, how do you keep it that way? The easiest way to stop it building up in the first place is simple. The next time you go to stash something in there, consider what you, in three months, would say to that question. It won’t always work, but it will stop a fair number of things ending up as part of the mess. Oh, and don’t leave the decluttering questions for the day before your guests arrive; we suggest you check that the clutter isn’t growing every 6 months or so. 

Being in your home is stressful.

This is probably the most important one. When the mess begins to stress you out it can make you really uncomfortable in your own home, and in a time when the majority of us are doubling our houses up as offices, that’s not ideal. Cluttered environments make us feel like there’s too much going on which leads to distraction and a lack of focus, not to mention making us generally upset with ourselves for letting it get like that. The only real cure is to crack on, start the decluttering process and try your best not to let it build up again.  

The secret of how to declutter is to think about which items bring you joy. It sounds cheesy but bear with us. You’ll likely find that a lot of the items causing the clutter and mess are actually just there out of habit and memory, and actually don’t make us particularly happy to have around. Lots of the little things we buy spontaneously these days bring us joy for perhaps the first week, but after that can leave us thinking why on earth did we waste our money on that. If you go through your room and find lots of items like this then it may be time to revaluate what you buy, stop the clutter building up in the first place, and save yourself money along the way.  

How can we help? 

It could also be that you have a lot of treasured items, and simply not enough space to store them. That’s where we come in. At Go Store York we provide safe, clean, dry storage units of all shapessizes and budgets which are perfect to stash your much-loved items and memories that just don’t fit right now. You can rest assured that we take security very seriously with our 24-hour CCTV surveillance, monitored burglar alarms and state of the are smartphone entry systems, all housed within a secure fenced compound 

So, once you’ve managed to get organised and have sorted your junk from your treasurescheck out our Go Store York secure storage units, available in a range of shapes and sizes to suit your budget. Get in contact with the team to have a chat about your needs and get the ball rolling on a clutter-free life.