Professional organiser Sarah Reynolds shares her top tips for decluttering the most common problem areas in your home
From kitchens to wardrobes, she has advice on how to keep even the trickiest areas in your home clutter-free.
Sarah Reynolds is a professional organiser and founder of Organised Chaos. Helping people create calm in their homes is something that she loves, and in fact, was a dream since she was young.
“When I was fifteen years old,” Sarah explains, “I was watching the Oprah Winfrey Show with my mam. A professional organiser, Julie Morgenstern, came on the show. She had organised the Oprah offices and was launching her book. I loved organising things so as Oprah would say – I had my ‘ah ha’ moment and thought to myself, ‘I’d love to do that’. Fifteen years later, I took a career break and went to New York to train with Julie Morgenstern. I came home, launched the website and took my first client a few months later!”
Sarah has since worked with many Irish people to streamline their homes, finding solutions to banish clutter and keep it at bay. The most common problem areas, she finds, are wardrobes, toy rooms, kitchens, and anywhere that letters and documents accumulate. “The wardrobe and toy rooms in particular often bring up feelings of guilt,” Sarah explains, “from spending too much money or not fitting into clothes or not playing with toys. The kitchen is usually a time issue – it’s a busy spot for the whole family so it can get cluttered. And paper is the hardest category to get and keep organised!”
For anyone that wants to tackle the clutter in their home, Sarah always suggests to start with a flat surface such as a bedside table, countertop, or kitchen table. “A cluttered flat surface can be so stressful – a constant reminder of things we haven’t got around to. So clearing this is usually a quick job to do which gives us instant relief and motivation to do more around the home.”
In terms of mistakes that people make, Sarah says too often people try and tackle clutter only sporadically. “People think they can give it a Saturday or a week and clear it all. They grossly underestimate the time involved – and more than that – the tiredness from the emotions around it which slows them down. It’s better to create projects and tackle them one at a time in regular bouts of time. Another common mistake is buying storage before you declutter. Storage won’t solve a clutter problem – you must declutter first!”
