The Japanese art of decluttering and organising
Decluttering involves clearing out all the belongings you can easily live without – or, as Marie Kondo advises, that don’t “spark joy”. Once they are removed, the aim is to give everything else a place of its own, saving you time and stress when you need to find it later.
Alysha Alli Rowlands, Group interior designer, said: “The KonMari Method is Marie Kondo's minimalism-inspired approach to tackling your belongings category-by-category rather than room-by-room
and so for example clothing, books, children’s toys.”
You can also create balance and harmony in your home by adopting ideas from the ancient Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui. Find out how to feng shui your home.
How to declutter your home
If you’ve ever asked ‘how do you clean your house when you are overwhelmed?’ first, know that you’re not alone in feeling like this. It’s normal to feel swamped by work and family commitments, which can make an untidy house feel like a mountain to climb.
While calling in the experts and removing the entire contents of your home to a large warehouse would be ideal – as they do in TV shows like Stacey Solomon’s ‘Sort Your Life Out’ – the reality is, most of us will need to handle our mess ourselves, and on a more manageable scale.
Our top decluttering tips are:
- Make a declutter checklist of all the rooms in your home
- Take things one step (or room) at a time. Declutter the room first and spring clean second, ticking each room off your list as you go
- Start by clearing surface clutter
- If you have very limited time, break each room down into even more manageable tasks. For example, you could tackle one wardrobe, cupboard or desk area in just half an hour.
- Have a plan for your clutter – if you don’t use the item often, put it into storage
- If you’re planning to move home, start this process as early as possible, ideally before you put your house on the market, as a clean and clutter-free property should sell much faster
How to declutter your bedroom
- Wash all bedding including pillows and duvets
- Donate any unused bedding, clothing and paired shoes to charity or sell online on websites or apps like Ebay or Vinted
- Clear out any drawers and use drawer organisers to sort items you wish to keep
- Tackle items on surfaces like bedside tables
If you’re thinking about updating your bedroom décor after a declutter, read our article on how to create the dream sleep environment.
How to declutter downstairs
“If you have an open plan kitchen/diner/living room the space must evolve and adapt quickly without clutter being left around. You might go from children using the dining table for homework to hosting friends at a weekend when you don’t want arts and craft items on show,” said Alysha.
Having enclosed storage is a great solution to be able to tidy items away when they’re not needed. Mobile storage solutions such as toy baskets or rolling carts are also ideal.
Once your house is clutter free, cleaning it should be so much easier.
Natural products like white vinegar and baking soda can cut through grime as well as most expensive cleaning products and are kinder to the environment, so don’t feel you have to spend a fortune to spruce up your home. For example, baking soda is great for freshening up carpets and rugs – just cover any stains with the powder, spritz with a little water, leave overnight, and then vacuum the area well.
If you’re looking at how to spring clean your kitchen – lemon and vinegar can work well on glass and are also great for shiny surfaces like the inside of your fridge or the top of your hob. Add a little baking soda if you need to remove any tough marks. To loosen dirt and reduce odours in your microwave, heat a half-bowl of water, with a couple of slices of lemon or teaspoons of white vinegar until steaming. Then wipe with a damp cloth.
Your kitchen cleaning and declutter checklist may include:
- Defrosting the freezer
- Cleaning out the pantry
- Deep cleaning the oven
- Deep cleaning inside the refrigerator
- Wiping down cabinets inside and out
Bathroom decluttering
Alysha said: “While a bathroom might not be the first place you’d think to declutter, you’d be surprised how much you can streamline of or store more efficiently. Break the room down into sections, maybe start with the sink and then the shower. Remove empty containers and store those you are not using daily out of sight. Put items that you use everyday into a caddy while you clean, ready to put them back once you’re finished.”
Alysha’s tips include:
- Throw away any expired toiletries
- Deep clean the bath, shower and toilet
- Clean your tile and grout lines, resealing any worn areas
- Wash towels and linens
- Update the first aid kit
Mirrored bathroom cabinets are an ideal way to keep small items out of view. Towel storage can come in many forms, baskets or hooks on the back of the bathroom door work well. For inside the shower, shower shelves are great to have easy access to shower gel. A simple wooden bath tidy is the perfect place to have your favourite bath time items close at hand.
Our range of specification choices can be further personalised with added extras or upgrades.
If you’re in need of some décor bathroom inspiration, we’re here with all the trending bathroom ideas for 2025.
What is considered a deep clean for a house?
For most of us, full house spring cleaning is a once-a-year job. A deep clean includes all those places that are not on your daily, weekly or monthly list – things like insides and tops of cupboards, behind cabinets, underneath sofas and all those dark corners that are usually out of sight. It can also include the grimier and more time-consuming jobs like the inside of your oven.
If it’s been a very long time since your last oven clean, it may be wise to invest in a specialist oven cleaning product, which usually comes with handy bags to soak your wire racks. For a moderately dirty oven, a paste made from baking soda and white vinegar should lift any stubborn grime. Leave it on for as long as you can – at least two hours – then remove the residue with a damp cloth.
To make keeping on top of the house easier, read our article about some house rules you may want to follow as well as some small things that could be done every day to make home life easier and more fun.
Hosting at home this Easter
Once the decluttering is done, you may be looking forward to hosting Easter in your home. Whether you’re planning an Easter brunch with friends or a BBQ and egg hunt for family, planning ahead will help the day go smoothly. Read more tips for hosting in your new home.
