How to declutter your home

It’s that time of year when, despite the gloomy (and snowy!) weather, our thoughts turn to spring cleaning. We all know how good a proper tidy up and clear out feels, so to help you get started, we’ve put together a few tips to help you declutter and organise your home, room by room.

Declutter your bathroom

Throw out any expired products or items that you just didn’t get on with (we’re looking at you, face mask that promised to help us wind the clock back 10 years). A handy tip for checking if something is in date is to look for the little symbol on the packaging - it looks like a little jar, and has a number such as 3m or 24m. This tells you how long a product is good for - so 3m means 3 months, and 24m would mean 24 months, or two years. To avoid the problem repeating itself, try and promise yourself you won’t buy anything new until you’ve used up everything you already own. Shop your stash! (Tricky, we know).

Use some pretty makeup bags and wash bags to store and organise your products either by type (make up, nail care, medicines) or by frequency of use, so your everyday items are always close to hand.

Wild Flowers wash bag, £14.95 and makeup bag, £9.95

Save your bathroom cupboard for those bottles of toilet cleaner that you don’t particularly want on display. Free up some space by making items such as towels and flannels form part of your decor. There are lots of creative ideas for how to do this on Pinterest - we love the idea of popping them in a belly basket for a practical and stylish design accent. 

Medium natural seagrass basket, £16.95

Tidy up your bedroom

Never underestimate the space under your bed. Making the most of this hidden area can free up lots of cupboard and side table space. Use jumbo storage bags to store spare blankets, winter wardrobes, infrequently worn bags and shoes, and much more.

Ladybird jumbo bag, £5.95

If your wardrobe is bursting at the seams, but you wear the same old clothes day in day out, you’re not alone. The classic statistic goes that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. We love the idea of trying the ‘Oprah hanger challenger’ - hang all your clothes with the hangers facing in reverse direction. Next time you wear an item and hang it back up, put the hanger on the right way round. In six months, see which clothes are still hanging on reverse hangers. There’s a good chance that these can go straight onto your ‘donate to charity’ pile. 

Decluttering isn’t just about getting rid of stuff; it’s also about taking care of and organising the bits that you do have. Give all those loose little accessories a dedicated space that you’ll be proud to display using a trinket tray or set of drawers.

Cat face trinket tray, £5.95

Sort the kids' rooms

Toys and clothes everywhere? If you need some ideas for tackling for the children’s bedrooms and playrooms, take a look at our blog on how to organise a kids room. 

Wild Wonders recycled toy tidy, £6.95

Organise your office

If your home has a study or desk space, that area can become a magnet for clutter, with piles of papers, notes, stationery and more. Read our 8 simple ways to organise your desk space to help you tackle this, especially now that more of us than ever are working remotely or hybrid, whether full or part time.

Fish storage tins (set of two), £8.95

Clear out your kitchen

The kitchen is most likely to be the room with the least amount of sentimental items, so you can afford to be a bit more brutal in here. There’s a good chance you’ve picked up lots of tools and gadgets that have only been used a handful of times. Ask yourself honestly if you really need six different sizes of cake tin, or how often you’ve used that camembert baking dish. 

Once you've narrowed down your collection, keep those little bits and pieces organised in some stylish tins you'll be proud to display on your shelves and worktops.

Passata storage tins (set of two), £8.95

A retro sign in the kitchen serves as a handy reminder for anyone using the kitchen to try and keep it clean!

Kitchen Rules sign. Was £5.95, now £2.95m

Further tips and tricks

Here are few more ideas to help you whip your home into shape:

• Our jumbo storage bags are incredibly versatile and can be used in the home, garden, or even car. Take a look at this infographic on how to organise your home with jumbo bags. 
• A family command centre might be just what you need to take control of your household. Here’s our guide to organising your life with a command centre.
• If you want to turn all this decluttering into a bit of fun, give yourself a declutter challenge, such as this 30 day challenge from Popsugar. It includes a downloadable print out so you can keep yourself accountable. 

Enjoy giving your home a declutter! We’d love to see all the ways you use your jumbo storage bags and other decorative storage, so be sure to share them with us using #RexLondon.