HOUSE THAT
Hyper-organised mum-of-two shares the secrets to her tidy home – including 15 minute decluttering sprees
2021 is supposed to be the year we were finally going to reorganise our homes - and we don't know about you, but we're already failing miserably.
Well rather than turning every room upside down in an attempt to tidy, one super-organised mum has revealed how she keeps her home clutter-free with these simple daily tasks - and the 20 items you should throw away NOW.
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Sharing her top tips on her , mum-of-two Stephanie Pase, from New South Wales, Australia, recommended giving each of your possessions a home and tidying them away for 15 minutes at the end of every day.
She told her 62,000 subscribers: "I want to really stress to you guys that being organised isn't about being perfect, it's about not feeling like you're a slave to your own home and your own life - and this is what I'm all about."
Decluttering first
When you've finally found the motivation to tidy, it can be tempting to get stuck in straight away - but Stephanie says decluttering is actually more important.
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She explained: "When you declutter a space, it always gets worse before it gets better.
"You don't want to be organising junk in your house that you don't need and you will learn along the way what you actually need."
To begin with, Stephanie says you should throw away any old videos, DVDs, shoe boxes, clothes, coat hangers and unused gifts that are taking up unnecessary space in your home.
That said, the mum says decluttering is something you need to keep on top of throughout the year - and says it's worth tidying for 15 minutes a day to avoid mess building up.
"You're not going to overhaul your house and then it's going to stay that way," she said. "It's just something that you need to know that you need to implement these habits every single day and you're just looking after your future self."
20 items to declutter now:
- DVD or video tapes
- Broken toys
- Old coat hangers
- Dead batteries
- Old make-up
- Broken arts and crafts
- Mismatched socks
- Old stationery
- Broken appliances
- Spices past their use-by date
- Broken jewellery
- Clothes that don't fit
- Clothes with holes
- Tech boxes - i.e. phones and game consoles
- Shoe boxes
- Sheets you don't use anymore
- Receipts
- Takeaway menus
- Unused gifts
- Old medications
Kitchen
Let's be honest, it's a good day if we remember to take our shopping list to the supermarket with us - but to avoid overspending AND to keep her fridge tidy, Stephanie relies on a magnetic monthly planner.
"Our fridge is basically like our family command centre, it has everything we need to know for the month ahead and it has all our meals planned out," Stephanie said.
"Planning is a really good tool for anyone, it helps you save a lot of money, you know exactly what you need from the shops and you're not going to the shops and just buying random stuff that ends up not being eaten and it goes off."
The "lifesaver" tool not only details what the family-of-four will be eating for dinner that night, it also has any after-school activities written on it too.
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On top of this, Stephanie keeps a "don't forget" list where she writes down any outstanding household tasks.
"This is my declutter list and like to-do list," she said. "Either Ryan and I would try and do one of these things a week or a day depending on how busy we are."
As for the contents of the fridge, Stephanie uses a lazy Susan to store her condiments so she can see how much she has leftover - and in the UK, mums are going wild for this rotating Poundland spice rack.
She also has a drawer labelled "use me first" to put any leftovers in so they don't get forgotten.
What's more, Stephanie uses different plastic containers for her dairy, meat and family lunches so she can easily see what's in her fridge.
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She said: "Having everything that you need laid out in the fridge in a certain way and having certain systems like this can stop wastage and you don't end up finding things in the back of the fridge."
Every weekend, Stephanie will also find the time to prep the family's lunches and dinners for the week by chopping up fruit and vegetables.
Messy Drawer
Like it or not, most of us have a messy drawer rammed full of dead batteries, takeaway menus and used-up pens.
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Rather than denying their existence, Stephanie has made a system to keeps hers organised.
Showing off her drawer divider, Stephanie said: "So this stuff is basically things I grab every morning, like I have some make-up powder that I need, we've got phone chargers which I've wrapped up and tied off so it's not as messy. I've got lots of pens, coins and stuff like that.
"I definitely don't condemn the junk door, I think it's a great thing to have."
Wardrobes
Twice a year, Stephanie will do a big "declutter" of her clothes to keep her wardrobe tidy.
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Talking through her method, she said: "I like to ask myself, 'have I worn this in the last three to six months?', 'if I saw this in a store, would I buy it?' and 'do I know someone that would get more used out of this than me?'
"With those questions, you can kind of determine if you really need that top and you'll probably find each time you cull, you'll keep looking at the same top and that will end up going."
After creating a donation pile, Stephanie then categorises her accessories and her husband's work shifts in labelled boxes she bought from IKEA.
Showing off her husband's wardrobe system, the mum said: "This is kind of like his 'wear again' tub so these are clothes he usually wears again and then throws them in there. I just find it is a lot neater than having shelves with just clothes thrown on them."
Bathroom
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Instead of shoving all her lotions and potions underneath her bathroom sink, Stephanie has also divided her products into categories and put them in IKEA boxes.
She said: "The bathroom is where the cabinets get very very messy and you end up buying a lot of shampoo and conditioner that you've already got.
"Obviously cull through your cupboards and then get some tubs and just make categories of it. This is just what works for me and it hasn't gotten messy once."
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