Moving house? Five tips to get rid of the clutter

If the mere mention of the word “declutter” makes you wince, try our five hacks to enjoy less mess and to streamline your life.

Overwhelmed? Take the 30-day challenge

Ah, decluttering. It’s a simple idea … but where to begin? It can all be so overwhelming. If that sounds familiar, the 30-day challenge could be the strategy for you.

It’s works like this. On day one you choose one item to get rid of. Simple, right? Day two, you remove two items. Day three, three items. By the end of day 30, your life will be 540 items lighter.

Let someone else benefit

One man’s trash really is another person’s treasure. That unwanted gift from your mother-in-law could brighten another person’s day.

Ship the clutter out of your life – and keep it away from landfills – by holding a garage sale or sending it to the local op shop. Or cart the lot to a recycle centre, and let someone else benefit from it.

Don’t fall victim to ‘just in case’

We’ve all got things we hold onto ‘just in case’. Like the pair of jeans sitting at the back of your wardrobe just in case you fit into them again some day. The extra set of champagne flutes (still in the box) that will come in handy just in case a crowd of 30 descends on your doorstep.

Most of the time, we get by quite happily with the essentials.

Wheelbarrow those just-in-case items out of your life and stick to the must-haves.

The halfway-house approach

Still not convinced? Try the halfway house approach. Grab everything that’s not used regularly. Store the lot in boxes and stash it in the garage, a garden shed or a self-storage unit – this provides a midway point between holding on and letting go.

Now, write a date on each box. If you haven’t opened the box in 12 months, it’s a fair bet you don’t need what’s inside.

(The only exception here is personal tax records – “I’m decluttering” is not a valid excuse if you don’t have paperwork for a tax audit.)

Clear out the financial clutter too

Clutter doesn’t just affect our physical lives. It can also be a drain on your financial wellbeing.

Take your home loan, for instance. It’s easy to select a loan that’s jam-packed with features because, heck, you never know, one day you might use the offset, need a holiday from repayments or choose to make interest-only payments.

But the more features your loan has, the higher the likely interest rate – or worse, the more fees you are likely to pay.

Sometimes it can pay to pare back your home loan, leaving you free to focus on what matters – a competitive rate without ongoing fees.

Take a look at your current loan’s features to tick off what you really need – and the unused extras that you might still be paying for.

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