Decluttering and Organising Sustainably

My top 5 tips for decluttering and organising in a planet-friendly way!

Contents

1. Buy your storage boxes second hand

2. (Recycle) Utilise your local dump

3. (Reuse) Create a 'Donate' box

4. Treat your house like a shop

5. Never underestimate the jam jar

6. There you have it

Tip 1: To declutter sustainably, buy your storage boxes second hand

To keep my decluttering business sustainable, I buy most of the storage I use to organise my client's items second hand.

It can be a bit trickier, because I have to keep a stock on hand, and I have to spend money before I know it's coming in.

I also need to hunt for everything - and clean it!

But there's such a sense of satisfaction from doing everything as sustainably (and therefore, as cheaply!) as possible.

To keep your storage aesthetically pleasing, I suggest looking for bulk buys, or things made out of the same material. For example: if everything is made out of glass with glass lids, it can look really pretty.

Check out the draw below for example. Everything you see here was bought second hand.

This drawer is organised with storage bought entirely second hand.

You can buy from Vinted, eBay, charity shops, your local recycling centre (we have one located in our dump!) . . . or even pick some up off your local Facebook groups.

So get shopping!

Tip 2: (Recycle) Utilise your local dump and create a 'recycle' category.

Don't just chuck everything in the bin! Create a category for 'recycling' by grabbing a box, labelling it 'recycle' and chucking things that can be recycled in there as you sort.

I then take everything that I've sorted to my local dump, where you can then divide it into the bins supplied for recycling.

Also at my local dump, is the Earlswood Community Re-use Shop, where you can leave items that are good enough to have a second life with someone else. Yours might have one too.

Tip 3: (Reuse) Create a 'Donate' category

Another tip is to donate your items to charity, or ask around your friends and family if anyone needs what you're throwing out.

To do this, create a 'donate' pile while you're sorting, and anything in good condition that you don't love or need, and can be used by someone else, can go in there.

At the end, take a few pics and send it out - see if any of your contacts need anything, and if not, take it all down to your local charity shop/women's refuge.

A few of the second hand storage solutions I've found

Tip 4: Treat your house like a shop

You'll be surprised at the amount of things in your home that just need a little re-organising to become useful again.

For example, while I was cleaning out a client's craft cupboard, I found around 10 canvas bags that she didn't know she had, which were then used to house different projects (I rolled the top down to create little canvas baskets).

While I was cleaning my own house, I found a number of baskets stashed away that turned out to be much more useful in other places.

When I organised the key cupboard at work, I didn't need to buy a single new key tag; there were enough there, they just needed reorganising.

So take a look round your house. Is there any storage that could be brought together to be more efficient or help you stay more organised somewhere else?

Tip 5: Never underestimate the jam jar

Do not underestimate the humble jar! Especially if you buy the same brands often. Once cleaned up with the label taken off they can look really pretty and uniform all together.

They're great for small bits and pieces (especially if you have a craft cupboard to organise), and once you've bought some, you get to eat the food in them - what's not to love? Plus, who doesn't have jars just lurking around their house?

Also, a top tip for this: if you buy Gü puddings and don't know what to do with the little ramekins, grab a few Pringles lids. They fit on perfectly! And it means you can stack the pots for storage of small bits and pieces.

There you have it

So, there you have it. You don't always need to buy loads of new stuff, even if it is really pretty on social media. If you're into saving the planet, or if you're on a tight budget, you can buy second hand, reuse, recycle, 'shop' round your house and make use of the humble jam jar.

Thanks so much for reading!

Nicola x