For many, organising their home can be overwhelming, but a decluttering expert has revealed the best ways to approach a big clean.
Holly Dhillon-Taylor, 27, runs her business Miss Clutter Bug from Auckland, where she helps people completely change their home.
Now she has shared with FEMAIL her top tips to help people achieve this themselves.
‘First – step back and stop thinking! You cannot rush the process, it’s not a race but a journey,’ Ms Dhillon-Taylor said.
‘Start small – even 10 minutes a day will make a difference. Invite a friend over and include the family in the process, take before and after pictures and pop some music on – make it an enjoyable experience that you want to repeat again and again.’
Here, she reveals how you can declutter and re-organise an entire home.
‘First – step back and stop thinking! You cannot rush the process, it’s not a race but a journey,’ Ms Dhillon-Taylor said
‘Start small – even 10 minutes a day will make a difference… take before and after pictures and pop some music on – make it an enjoyable experience that you want to repeat again,’ she said
When cleaning your house you need to approach each space differently but Ms Dhillon-Taylor said there are three tips she follows that helps with all of them.
Holly Dhillon-Taylor, 27, runs her business Miss Clutter Bug from Auckland where she helps people completely change their home
‘Just start! I recommend starting with a drawer or corner to get the ball rolling,’ she said.
‘Don’t be scared of making a mess – it’s going to look a little crazy during the process but once you start putting things in their space it is worth it.’
Ms Dhillon-Taylor uses a particular decluttering strategy with her clients, which is separating items into three piles – keep, throw and charity.
‘Don’t over think it. Simply pick up the item and put into a pile,’ she explained.
‘Do not go back into the throw or charity pile to ‘save things’ – I recommend getting rid of those piles straight away.’
When cleaning your house you need to approach each space differently but Ms Dhillon-Taylor said there are three tips she follows that helps with all of them
‘Often we enter home with items in hand but to prevent future clutter take time to put the groceries or handbag away before anything,’ Ms Dhillon-Taylor said.
‘Spending a few minutes doing this will minimise clutter that ends up in the hallway, corners or on the floor.
‘This includes any flat surfaces you have in your home. Dining tables and kitchen tables accumulate clutter faster than any other space in the home – I recommend making it a nightly routine to clear these spaces.’
‘Don’t be scared of making a mess – it’s going to look a little crazy during the process but once you start putting things in their space it is worth it,’ Ms Dhillon-Taylor said
‘Dining tables and kitchen tables accumulate clutter faster than any other space in the home – I recommend making it a nightly routine to clear these spaces,’ she told FEMAIL
PANTRIES
Ms Dhillon-Taylor’s favourite space to declutter is pantries, so her go-to strategy is to clean one shelf at a time.
‘Pull everything out, wipe the shelf, pick up each item and check the expiry date. Put items back with a plan in mind, such as keeping all cans together – fruit cans together, baked beans together and all baking items on one shelf,’ she said.
Ms Dhillon-Taylor recommends that people do this every six months.
LINEN CLOSET
‘Linen closets are the messiest! My crazy tip is to pull everything out and dump it into a pile,’ she said.
‘Now pick up items and refold putting things back with a system in mind. For example, all pillowcases together and single size sheets together.’
An extra tip Ms Dhillon-Taylor shared was that if you have multiple bed sizes, write the size of the bed sheet on the care tag so you don’t have to waste time figuring out what size it is.
‘Plus this is a great tip because you will most likely have a number of items that the local charity store would really appreciate,’ she said.
Ms Dhillon-Taylor’s favourite space to declutter are pantries, so her go-to strategy is to clean one shelf at a time
‘Linen closets are the messiest! My crazy tip is to pull everything out and dump it into a pile,’ she said
BEDROOM
Ms Dhillon-Taylor recommends that you spend 10 minutes of each day cleaning up your room.
This means small things, such as picking up clothes from the floor and taking out any glasses or mugs.
‘The more often you declutter, the less time it will take. If you are like me and love jewellery – trinket trays and bowls are cute and practical plus they collect the knick knacks, my watch and earrings in one place,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘Bonus – there is no searching for them in the morning.’
‘Often we enter home with items in hand but to prevent future clutter take time to put the groceries or handbag away before anything,’ Ms Dhillon-Taylor said
‘Spending a few minutes doing this will minimise clutter that ends up in the hallway, corners or on the floor,’ she said
BATHROOM
The final room Ms Dhillon-Taylor addressed was the bathroom, which she said you are best to start with a purge.
‘Take everything out of the cupboards, baskets and bags. Lay it out and get the rubbish bag ready,’ she said.
‘Is your makeup expired? Is your medication expired or no longer needed? What about your samples, are you ever going to try that hand lotion?
‘Rusty razors, any products that haven’t been touched in six months, wacky makeup that you used once for Halloween, it should all go in the bin. Be ruthless and don’t feel guilty about throwing anything out!’.
Ms Dhillon-Taylor currently only operates her one on one sessions in Auckland NZ but is also able to work with people virtually.