Declutter your life: Stress-free living made simple 

You might look around your home and wonder, “how did I ever accumulate so much stuff?”. You’re not alone.

Perhaps improved financial situation has made us want to collect things we could not afford before, or keeping up with trends has us scrambling for the next big thing. Whatever the reasons, accumulated clutter can affect our mental and even our physical well-being.

Research published in 2019 found that physical environment significantly influence our cognition, emotions and subsequent behaviors. In another study, it is found that stress triggered by clutter may also lead to coping and avoidance strategies, like eating junk food, oversleeping or binge-watching.

Thankfully, it’s easy to declutter once you’ve set your mind to actually doing it. There are convenient storage solutions out there to help you start organizing, and some are also quite pleasant to look at, such as those being offered by IKEA.

Here are some tips on how you can optimize storage solutions to tidy up clutter—and lower those stress levels.

Every item needs a home

One of the ways we accumulate clutter is whenever we place things at random places in our homes. Usually it’s a shelf near the door, or a mantel along the corridor. Mail, keys, coats, watches, face masks—we’ve all been guilty of placing these on the nearest shelf available and forgetting about them.

Look for appropriately sized organizers for such items and place them prominently wherever such items accumulate.

Even your cabinets need organizing

Over time, we would find our shelves and cabinets in disarray. This is because such spaces are sometimes deep, and items usually get shoved at the back and start accumulating. For such spaces, use small storage solutions, preferably those that act as their own drawers. These make it possible to not only maximize and utilize every inch of your cabinet and/or shelf, but to also see through those nooks and crannies that are normally hard to reach.

Label your organizers

Labeling your organizers is helpful in developing the habit of stowing away items among family members in your household. You can even color-coordinate your storage solutions to make them easy to spot. This is especially helpful for items we usually misplace such as keys, eye glasses and wallets.

Use available spaces as storage

If you don’t have a pantry cabinet or enough closet space, take stock of some of the unused vertical spaces you do have. IKEA has stocks of wall shelves and hooks that can help transform such spaces to become additional storage. What’s even better is that these storage solutions won’t take up floor space.

Choose storage solutions that are pleasing to the eyes

It’s easy enough to purchase organizers just for the sake of having something to help you declutter. But it would serve you best to get storage solutions that will motivate you to actually start organizing your home.

Fortunately, IKEA has a wide range of aesthetically pleasing, smart solutions to help refresh your home by keeping it tidy and organized. Aside from looking good, they are also quite sturdy and affordable.

This month of February, IKEA is offering discounts of up to 30%. Say hello to harmony and check out IKEA’s affordable and smart storage solutions—and start decluttering!

Shop IKEA online at www.IKEA.ph, or visit their store at the Marina Way, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Metro Manila. For more information and updates, check out IKEA on Facebook and Instagram.

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Editor’s Note: This article was provided by IKEA.