By a certain point in our lives, we can be pretty confident in knowing how we like to live. But that doesn’t mean that we all have to keep doing things the same way forever. For some, there are changes that we will be ready to make but won’t be %100 sure about how we want to go about it.
In this article, we want to give those looking to handle some of the clutter that they’ve accumulated over the years a bit of a guide and a bit of insight into how they can change up their approach to the things that they surround themselves with.
Have a look below for some tips and a bit of a re-frame of how you can approach decluttering your home and freeing up some space.
Know what you’re looking for
Clutter, if we put it simply, is anything that you keep around that isn’t adding value to your life or your living space. Most people will have a few things lying around and that won’t really be a problem per se. But when those things start getting in the way, they become clutter and make your home harder to live in.
For many, approaching retirement means having a look at what we need, what we want, and what isn’t going to serve us and acting accordingly. Have a look at how your home functions and how you’ve shaped it. Decluttering your home is a way of taking ownership over your space, instead of the other way around.
Understand what you want from your living space
Part of the process is figuring out what you want from your living space. Why is your home arranged the way it is? What are the underlying reasons for owning the things you do?
None of this means that you have to get rid of everything that doesn’t have a purely utilitarian purpose. Most people don’t want to live like super minimalists, it just means asking yourself if you really want things the way they are.
Develop a sorting system
There are a whole bunch of ways you can go about decluttering your home, and they all have their pros and cons. We think that a good approach is to go through what you own and categorise each thing into one of four categories. Put-away, give-away, throw-away and to-be-decided.
Once you know what you want from your living space, implementing a strategy like this will put you to a gentle ultimatum where you will have at least considered each thing that you own, and whether you want it in your home. Remind yourself of what you want in your living space and the decision won’t be all that difficult for most things.
Understand why you might want to hang onto some things
There is nothing wrong with keeping things for their sentimental value, but it is also important to remember that sentiment is about what the object signifies, not always the object in itself. Everything has its place, and once you’ve gone through the process of clearing away the things that you don’t need, you’ll be in a much better spot to see the best order of things. The things that we own should add value to our lives, not become a burden that we constantly have to negotiate.
Find a beautiful new home for yourself at The Village
At The Village, we take pride in that each of our retirement communities are beautiful places to live. If part of why you’re focused on decluttering your living space is that you’re approaching retirement and thinking a bit more about where you want to live next, you can book a tour of one of our retirement communities and come see what a home in The Village can look like for yourself.
