In the past couple of years, there has been a new trend emerging in the United States. While the traditional American used to accumulate items over the course of their life — holding on to the items and never throwing them away or donating them — the new trend involves getting rid of useless items rather than hoarding them. 

A lot of people can attribute their recent desire to declutter their apartment to the Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” a 2019 series where Kondo helps her clients clear the clutter in their homes. That said, while Kondo’s show might seem to be a little extreme, most people could benefit from taking a step back from reality to declutter their home. 

At The Lakes at West Chester Village, we are no different than anyone else. In fact, most of our staff and residents could probably benefit from getting rid of a few belongings that they have been stubbornly holding on to. Because of that, we thought it might be fun to discuss some tips and tricks that could help you clear out the clutter in your West Chester apartment. Continue reading to learn more. 

Clean One Room at a Time

One of the most important things that you can do when you are decluttering your apartment is to start small and focus on one room at a time. If you begin decluttering by doing a little bit of work in each room you might not notice the impact of your work and might become discouraged. If you begin in one room, however, you will likely see the impact of your work quicker — motivating you to move on to the next room once you are done with the first one. 

At The Lakes at West Chester Village, we recommend that you start with your closet. Because we happen to know that everyone is really good at accumulating clothes that they never wear, including ourselves. 

Strategically Save The Sentiment

When having a conversation about decluttering and getting rid of items in your home, people always bring up the sentimental items that they simply can’t get rid of. While we agree — it is important to cherish meaningful items — there are ways that you could get rid of them without having to actually donate them or throw them away. 

Sure, the three-foot statue that you bought in South America on your post-graduation backpacking trip might be something that you simply can’t let go, but that stack of drawings that you drew when you were 15 might be something that you can consider getting rid of. 

If you have paper items that are meaningful to you (even though you literally never look at them), there is a way that you can keep them and get rid of them at the same time. Consider purchasing a small scanner so that you can make digital copies of them before you recycle the physical copies and claim back that extra storage space.

Reorganize With Bins

Another thing that you can do to declutter your apartment is to create a more efficient storage system. In fact, if you optimize your in-apartment storage solutions, you will be able to keep more of your items (even if you really don’t need them) and still feel like you have a clean, organized apartment. 

When it comes to choosing the right kind of storage containers, choose the bins that will best fit the needs of the items that you are storing in them. Are the items something that you might need to access every once and awhile? Consider a storage system with drawers. Are the items that you are storing fragile? Then place them in a rigid bin that can adequately protect them. 

Trust us when we say that there is a storage bin out there for every purpose. 

Last, But Not Least: Prevent Future Clutter

If you are serious about decluttering your apartment, the most important step is the last one — keeping your newly decluttered West Chester apartment organized. While decluttering and organizing your apartment might seem like the hardest part, the real challenge is keeping it clean once you have achieved your goal. 

Picking a day of the week to clean and organize your apartment, scheduling chores, and actually using your new organizational systems are all great ways to ensure that you don’t fall back into your old habits. 

Looking for a Place to Live? Come Visit Our Apartment Community!

While there are a million ways that you can work to declutter your apartment, there is one thing that will force you to declutter — moving. 

If you are looking for a new place to live, we urge you to consider taking the opportunity to declutter as you pack so that you can start fresh at your new apartment. And who knows, maybe on your search for apartments for rent in West Chester will bring you to The Lakes at West Chester Village. So what are you waiting for? Schedule a tour of our apartment community today.