If you have ever looked around your home and thought you have far too much going on, don’t worry, you are far from alone. Clutter seems to be a by-product of adult life; we accumulate stuff from all over the place.
However, the current trend for minimalism has got people thinking more about their home environment, and even if you don’t want to take things to such an extreme, you might want to have a bit of a clear-out.
Besides, Decluttering makes household tasks such as cleaning your house an easier task. And it doesn’t matter if you have a mansion that requires the service of a team of contract cleaners to tidy every room or if you live in a minimalist cabin.
You can always look for some inspiring home organising time-saving tips before starting to declutter your house.
If you are also conscious of environmental damage, fear not it doesn’t have to be garbage bags at the ready, here are some Eco-friendly tips for green cleaning and decluttering your home.
Recycle or Reuse
The first question to ask yourself is, can you recycle or reuse something that you no longer want? Charity shops are always grateful for donations and often pop collection bags through the door to make it easier for you.
You can also offer things for free on various websites and social media groups, and people in your local area can collect and recycle for you.
There is a sizeable second-hand marketplace on Facebook, where you can sell your unwanted goods a recoup some money.
The advantage of this is it tends to be local, people often collect within a day or so, and there are no selling fees, unlike eBay where goods also have to be posted. Of course, eBay is still an option, but many people like to start local and see.
When it comes to furniture, up-cycling is an excellent way to get a new lease of life out of something in your home. Perhaps with a coat of paint or a bit of creative artwork, you can shuffle the furniture around in the house and make things work better than before.
Create Less Waste
Another way to declutter is to avoid bringing in things that will become cluttered over time. In the digital age, paper is a great place to start, bank statements, electricity bills and more can be paperless.
Instead, you can use online accounts to keep track of your financial commitments creating less paper waste. If there is something that has to come in a paper form, you could also scan it and store it safely on a hard drive or cloud-based storage.
Green Cleaning
Once you have created a clutter-free environment having a bit of a spring clean will finish the job perfectly. Using eco-friendly cleaning products is a great thing to do; for one thing, harsh chemicals are bad for your family’s health as well as not being kind to the environment.
Bleach, containing ammonia or chlorine is one product you should avoid, and take care to check the labels for ingredients, and sometimes things labelled naturally are not.
You can make your cleaning products simply by combining baking soda with lemon juice and water, and a couple of drops of essential oils to get a scent you like, although lemon is quite fresh. White vinegar is also an old cleaning favourite that will not harm the environment.
Featured Image | Samantha Gades on Unsplash
*This is a collaborative post.
