HOT PROPERTY
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CAUGHT THE DECLUTTERING BUG?
You’ll
love these six hacks for a tidy home and making your living space more livable
Whether you’re new to decluttering or an old pro, making your home less congested with stuff is a good feeling. Organizing each room becomes a much simpler task when you’re not dealing with broken appliances that can’t be fixed, outdated clothing you’ll never wear again, or crowded cabinets you haven’t opened in years.
1. The Fridge and Freezer Leftovers will take up less space in the fridge and freezer when you save them in square, stackable containers rather than round ones. Use a dry erase to write the contents and the date on each container.
2. The Garage Having a streamlined garage is so worth it.
When you’re ready to plant flowers or vegetables next spring, for example, you won’t have to go on a search mission to find the garden trowel you absentmindedly put somewhere in the garage a few seasons ago. Instead, install
a pegboard and use hooks to hang essentials like gardening tools, scissors, and a small pegboard basket for nails.
3. Toy Bins One surefire way to declutter the playroom is to donate toys your kids have outgrown. But what if many of the toys are new and you’d like to keep them? Instead of letting the kids have them all right away, put half the toys in a place that your little ones can’t get into, wait three months, then replace the older toys with the new hidden ones.
4. The Dreaded Basement/Attic Decluttering a basement or attic space – also known as the warehouse for things you had no other place to put – can be emotional like when you discover a box of photos of long-gone family members who were dear to you. Instead of attempting to clean out these storage spaces in one fell swoop, break down the task into several sessions of clean-up
time. You could even divide them into small zones, which you’ll tackle one at a time, at your own pace.
5. Your Home Office If your workplace just keeps getting messier and messier with papers and folders everywhere, there’s an easy way to reduce the clutter. Instead of keeping hard copies of every document, sign up for a cloud storage service to back up any paper documents you want to keep. Having less paper will free up table and cabinet space and make the office more pleasant to work in.
6. The Mudroom The key to a tidy mudroom is having clearly marked places for items that the family uses outside, such as sports equipment and umbrellas. Get a rubber shoe tray and designate it as the place for dirty, wet, or muddy shoes and boots. Not only will it keep the mudroom from looking like a mess, but it’ll also prevent anyone from tracking grime through the rest of your house.
– CTW Features
Contact us with comments or questions at hotproperty@latimes.com
There’s something satisfying about sorting through your things and deciding what to keep, discard, or donate.
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