Unless you’re already living a minimalist life, the chances that you have clutter in your home are pretty high. In fact, the average American home has 300,000 items in it. With all that stuff lying around, 1 out of every 10 Americans waste money renting offsite storage. Even worse, some people just clutter their homes endlessly and accept a lifestyle of stepping over messes in a constant obstacle course. The need to de-clutter is clearly a nationwide issue. Anyone who’s ever had to navigate a child’s playroom knows that this is no way to live.
That’s where Britain’s biggest housekeeping celebrity, Kim Woodburn, comes in. Kim is the straight-talking, no-nonsense host of Kim’s Rude Awakenings, who attempts to overhaul the rudest, laziest, and messiest families. Check out more about the show here, and find out where you can tune in.
With the help of Kim’s associate Mike, one family has learned how to keep their lives and home clutter-free. Here are two easy tips that any of us can use to do away with clutter forever — no obstacle courses necessary!
In and Out Policy
As Mike tells the family in the video, one simple rule to de-clutter your home is to go by a strict in and out policy: before bringing a new possession into the home, a possession of equal size has got to go. This keeps the number of things in your house from rising to unmanageable proportions, and it makes you think about whether or not you truly need the thing you’re bringing in. As the mom in the video above says, “it’s easier to let things go when we know that’s the only way to bring something new in.”
24-Hour Trick
Another way to stop your family from casually hoarding stuff in your house is to apply the 24-hour trick: if you see something you want to buy, you have to think on it for a full 24 hours before you actually purchase it. We often get excited about a shiny, new thing before we consider what we already have, or how it will fit into our home. Before you know it, you’ve got piles of stuff lying all over the place. So before you buy, go home and try to sleep on it. You’ll probably forget about it the next day, and if you really need it, you’ll already be thinking of what you’ll have to get rid of in order to bring it into your home.
For more housekeeping tips, watch Kim’s Rude Awakenings, only on Z Living. Check out clips and more about the show here, and find out where you can tune in.
