More Space, Less Clutter: Making Your Home Work for You

One of the things that makes Young Mother Hibberd’s Cleaning Services a little different is that Jade comes from a self-storage background.
After years of working in self-storage, she has seen first-hand how much stuff people accumulate, how quickly homes can become crowded and, just as importantly, how useful having some extra space can be.
There are really two separate things going on.
There is having enough space to live comfortably, and there is keeping that space clean and tidy.
The two are closely connected.

Your home is meant to be lived in

There is no single definition of what a tidy home should look like.
Some people love a home that feels almost completely clear, with very little on display. Others like their belongings around them. Family photographs, books, toys, collections and the things that make a house feel like home are important to many people.
Neither is wrong.
A home is not a showroom. It is somewhere people live.
The problem comes when the amount of stuff starts getting in the way of using the space properly.
Rooms become difficult to clean. Surfaces disappear under belongings. Cupboards become full. Things get moved from one place to another rather than actually dealt with.
And before you know it, something that started as a few things you didn't have room for has become a whole room, cupboard or garage that you barely use.

Storage can be a great solution — but it isn't a solution for everything

Self-storage can be incredibly useful.
It can give you breathing space when moving house, renovating, downsizing, having a baby, dealing with an inheritance or simply when life gets busy and you need somewhere safe to keep things for a while.
But there is an important distinction between using storage and putting things into storage and forgetting about them.~
A storage unit shouldn't become a dumping ground.
If you are paying for somewhere to keep your belongings, it makes sense to use that space effectively and know what is actually in there.
Jade's experience in self-storage has shown her that some people are very organised about it. They know what they have, visit regularly and make decisions about what they still need.
Others can put things away and then leave them untouched for years.
That's when storage can become expensive.

Try the six-month rule

There is a simple rule that can be useful when deciding what to do with something:
If you haven't used it for six months, ask yourself why.
It doesn't automatically mean you should get rid of it.
Some things are seasonal. Some possessions have genuine sentimental value. Some are kept for a specific future purpose.
But if something has sat unused in your home for six months, it may be worth taking it out of your everyday living space.
If you have storage available, that could be an option.
Then, if another six months passes and you still haven't needed or wanted the item, it is probably worth asking the bigger question:
Do I actually need to keep this?

Don't just throw it away

Getting rid of things doesn't necessarily mean putting everything in the bin.
There are plenty of alternatives.
Items that are still useful could go to a charity shop. Things that can be reused or processed can go to a recycling centre. Something that is old or tired might even have another life through upcycling.
Sometimes the best option is simply to give something to someone who will actually use it.
The point isn't to have an empty house.
It's to have a home where the things you keep have a purpose.

Treat your storage like another room

If you do use self-storage, one of the best things you can do is treat it as an extension of your home rather than somewhere to hide things.
Label boxes.
Keep similar things together.
Leave yourself access to the back of the unit.
Know what you have.
And, most importantly, go back and look through it.
You might be surprised at what you find.
Something you thought was important two years ago might no longer have any purpose in your life. Equally, you might find something you had forgotten about that you actually need.
Storage works best when it gives you control over your belongings rather than simply delaying a decision.

A cleaner home isn't always about cleaning more

There is a connection here with cleaning.
The more clutter there is, the harder it becomes to clean properly.
Clearing a surface makes it easier to wipe. Having fewer things on the floor makes vacuuming easier. An organised cupboard is easier to clean than one packed so tightly that nothing can be removed.
Sometimes the best way to make cleaning easier isn't to clean for longer.
It's to have less in the way.
That doesn't mean becoming obsessed with having a perfectly empty house. Life is busy, families are messy and homes are meant to be lived in.
It simply means occasionally stopping and asking yourself whether the things taking up your space are still earning their place there.

A simple way to start

Pick one area.
A cupboard. A drawer. The garage. The spare room.
Don't try to do the whole house in one day.
Take everything out, decide what you use, what you want to keep, what could be stored temporarily and what you are unlikely to ever need again.
Then deal with those decisions rather than putting everything straight back.
You may find that you don't need more space at all.
You just needed to make better use of the space you already have.
And if you do decide that something genuinely needs to be kept but doesn't need to be in your home every day, that's where storage can make a lot of sense.

The goal isn't an empty house. It's a home that works for the people living in it.