Episode 227 – 10 decluttering hacks for your home

If you search decluttering hacks on google you won’t be short of great ideas popping up to change the way you do decluttering. In this podcast we’re going to talk about 10 decluttering hacks and whether you need them in your life.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
[00:00:00] Ingrid: If you search decluttering hacks on Google, you won't be short of great ideas popping up to change the way you do decluttering. Today we're going to talk about decluttering hacks and whether you need them in your life.

[00:00:14] Now, Leslie, episode 227, we're gonna talk about decluttering hacks. So there's me going, right, the hacks, let me Google and see what's going on.

[00:00:24] This one then it all happened in. 

[00:00:27] Lesley: I do wonder Ingrid, whether this is gonna be the podcast that people are expecting because in true Ingrid and Leslie style realism is at the core of what we do. And so today we are gonna delve into that realism and go. Does a hack really work? And just the name hack, because decluttering is no, hack is it?

[00:00:44] It's like a long process of hard work and hack suggests that you can go, Woohoo, let's do that. And my life is complete. And so we are gonna talk about some hacks, inverted commerce that might work. And we are gonna talk about some hacks. I don't even like the word really, do you? I know I. I don't really like it.

[00:01:04] But anyway, and to finish my sentence, we are going to talk about some hacks that 

[00:01:08] Ingrid: maybe don't. I know it's gonna be an interesting one, and of course you will probably talk about a few things you've heard us talk about before because we need to get on our soapbox and get our soapbox and get our frustration.

[00:01:22] But there's also some good stuff, of course, that we wanna share with you, that we know will work from you because. Let's be honest. There's so much advice out there. You know, you just have to open a YouTube, Google, Pinterest, and you see all these things. You're like, yes, I'm going to do that. And then you're like, Hmm, actually this is quite a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

[00:01:45] It dick cluttering is not just a couple of hacks in your life is like fine and dandy it. There's, yeah, you kinda need to get your act together and do a lot of things to make that happen. I think 

[00:01:57] Lesley: the truth is that some of these hacks that we are gonna blow out with the water and say, don't work, do work, but they typically work for people that are super organized already.

[00:02:06] I think that's where we're gonna go with this. So we're not saying none of these things work. Of course everything's gonna work for somebody, but I think if you are somebody that has struggled with clutter or your life, You're going to really need to understand how you do it, understand the emotions, habits, and all that kind of stuff before you delve in.

[00:02:24] So let's cut to the Chase England and start talking about some of these hacks, inverted commerce number one on our list. And it really is. Of ours, isn't it? Is the whole change in the hangers around situation Ingrid? Explain it a little bit. 

[00:02:40] Ingrid: Yes. So what people sometimes say is like, okay, you've got a lot of clothes, you're not completely sure.

[00:02:47] Let's just, why don't you change all your hangers around so the hangers face backwards on your hanging rail, and then as soon as you've. Something. Then you put the hangar the right way around in your, on your wardrobe rail so you know you've worn it. And then after six months you can see all the clothes that you haven't uh, worn at all, uh, because they still have got the hangers backwards.

[00:03:11] And then you can just take 'em all out of your wardrobe, Declutter them, you're never gonna need them again. Charity shop, then bring 'em to the op shop, to the Goodwill. Gone. Bye-bye. Let 

[00:03:21] Lesley: me tell you why I don't love that Ingrid. There are many ways, what reasons why I don't love it. So number one, I mean, it's no secret on this podcast.

[00:03:28] You are the super, meticulous, organized one who, you know loves attention to detail. I'm more of the HA has kind of one. Let's say that I ain't got time in my life. For changing hangars all the way around and then thinking every single time I hang something up, which way that hanger should go round. That involves a lot of time, energy, effort, in my opinion, right?

[00:03:50] I'm not saying I couldn't do it, but I feel that I would make mistakes in that. In that scenario regularly. Mm-hmm. What about 

[00:03:56] Ingrid: you, Leslie? I, I, I think I consider myself quite organized. I think you're right. I don't even do this, but I mean, I, I think I would even find that totally confusing and to think every time that you've worn something to turn a hanger around, I, I find it quite mind boggling to be honest with.

[00:04:17] Lesley: Yeah, and I think the thing is, so we've got the, the mechanics of making it happen, which to me involves a lot of effort and a lot of margin for error. But then we've got, let's cut to the core of things. We don't believe if you've not worn something for six months, that it should go in a BIM bag and get decluttered for one.

[00:04:33] Like, yeah, we, because you need it. It's more complicated than that. It's not as simple. You have not one of six months of how it goes. That that's just not simple. There's so many things. There's sentimental items, there's seasonal items, there's, you know, you might, um, have gained or lost weight for a specific reason and you know that's gonna change.

[00:04:53] There's loads of different reasons why we keep things, and it's not as simple as if you've not one of six months how it goes. Not as simple as that at all. I understand why people might jump on that of the go. Wow, that's a great idea. Because I never know what I've worn. And so we go to the place and go, that's a great idea.

[00:05:12] Cause it's gonna do my job for me. Right. Yeah. And I think that's it, and I think that's why it is up there. With one of the num number one decluttering hacks that gets banded around on the internet. So we are gonna say it's a big no-no from us with the type of people that we typically work with. Ingrid, right?

[00:05:29] Yeah, fully. 

[00:05:30] Ingrid: I'm, I'm fully supportive of this message, Leslie, because I think it just does not work. Yes, 

[00:05:38] Lesley: we're gonna be strong and say does not work. Yeah. Let's, let's be positive about some decluttering hacks, Ingrid. Um, every time I say hacks, it's like annoying me. Um, but I'm gonna carry on saying it cause that's the, the word.

[00:05:50] So Ingrid, I think it's about time that we did something that was a little bit more positive than kind of saying these things don't work. So let's talk about, um, a hack that does work. So this is our number, number two, and it's all about going vertical on. Storage. So Ingrid, what do we mean by 

[00:06:05] Ingrid: that? Yes, you want to use, instead of only horizontal space, you want to use vertical space in your home, you want to use your walls.

[00:06:15] A perfect example, for example, is in a hallway where you can put extra hooks to hang up, coats to hang up stuff, to get things off the floor. Vertical space is perfect for. 

[00:06:27] Lesley: Yeah, so we're talking about bookcases that might need to go higher. So if you've got an opportunity for a higher bookcase, go for it.

[00:06:33] Use that space that's in between kind of wall cupboards and base cupboards in your kitchen to hang utensils. You know, you can put racks, you can put magnetic strips to hang your knives. All of those things that are gonna get. Things off work surfaces and out of cupboards is really super useful. Make sure that you can put, you can put shelves on walls if you've got wall space to put hang books on them and things like that.

[00:06:54] So really look at that vertical storage and the options that you've got in your home and start to use them cuz it can be a complete game changer. Can't Ingrid. And the problem is that sometimes when we live in a house for a long time, we stop seeing opportunity, don't we? And somebody can come in sometimes with a fresh pair of eyes, or perhaps you can go and look at your room with a fresh pair of eyes.

[00:07:14] Now today after listening to this podcast and go, where do I have the opportunity for a little bit more storage vertically? Mm-hmm. So yeah, we do love a bit of vertical storage, don't we? So a hack that works, Ingrid. Woohoo. 

[00:07:26] Ingrid: I know it's nice. Yeah, definitely. I love a hack that works. Especially what you can also do if you've got wardrobes or um, big kind of, um, cupboards that you've got on your wall and you have a hanging rail in there, but you've realized actually I don't use that hanging rail at all.

[00:07:42] Take it out, put a shelf in, it makes all the difference, and you've created so much more space. So have a little look around your own home and see where have I got gaps? What am I missing? How can I create a little bit of extra space? So I'm loving this vertical hack, Leslie. So let's go on to the third one.

[00:08:03] Lesley: Yes, this is a big S, another big E. We're gonna get back on our soapbox again. Ingrid, aren't we? So this is very similar to the whole hanging the hanger situation that we spoke about in number one, which is all about putting things into a box that you're not sure about. Putting 'em in the loft, the garage for six months, putting a date on them.

[00:08:23] And in six months time you get the box out. And if you've never opened the box, you just took everything away without looking. Nonsense. Absolute nonsense. 

[00:08:32] Ingrid: I dunno who came up with this, Leslie, but it's like loads 

[00:08:35] Lesley: of people write that Ingrid, loads of people write about that. I'm sorry. 

[00:08:40] Ingrid: Yeah, I know. But it must have come from somewhere.

[00:08:42] Somebody it, someone must have thought this is a really good idea. We're like, this is the worst, the idea we've ever heard in our lives. Why would you put something in a books and then tape it closed, write a date and. If unopened in six months time, Chuck these contents, I mean, really. I mean, I've recently spoke to somebody who was actually moving out, uh, was, uh, moving out of their house or were removing home and they found boxes they had not opened for like eight years now.

[00:09:11] Anybody, these people would say, well, just throw it away. You haven't opened it for eight years. It was actually photo albums that she thought she lost, but they were stuck in a box. It was put somewhere behind something else. She would've nearly thrown away her phone, that would've not been a really good idea, would it?

[00:09:29] Lesley: I think the big problem with this, and we spoke about it with the six months situation before, in terms of why six months is. I dunno why you would just put an arbitrary six months time period on anything really. Mm-hmm. But I think the problem that I've got with this is it removes control. And so what we teach and what we truly believe in at the Declutter Hub is having control of every decision that you make about your stuff.

[00:09:50] And so you are leaving the control to a cardboard box almost, aren't you? Yeah. By putting it in a box. And so what we want is for you to look at these things and go, actually, you know, Get the box out. If you've got these six months boxes hanging around, get the box out and go, okay, it is time for me to revisit, but, and then make a decision there and then.

[00:10:12] But the problem is we definitely believe if you're not sure about something, keep it. And the reason why I want you to keep it is we want to allow you an opportunity to use it to see whether you can bring it back into your life and make it useful to you. But if it's in a box, then you're never gonna be able to assess whether or not it can be.

[00:10:29] To you because it's in a box, and so it doesn't make any sense, but just really think about that control. I think the reason why people like that idea and hacks to be fair are ideas that people go, oh, that's a really good idea. That's gonna help me because you have struggled to make decisions in the past.

[00:10:47] You think that's gonna help me to make decisions when it isn't? You know, what you've got to do is you've got to build up that decluttering muscle and get yourself to a place where you can make more rational, sensible decisions yourself. And that unfortunately is not hack cause that involves a lot of soul searching.

[00:11:02] It involves a lot of digging into those emotions and habits that have been, uh, been Ingrid for many years. So that is why we dislike that hack with a passion. Ingrid. 

[00:11:12] Ingrid: Yeah. Yeah. With a passion that is for certain Leslie. That is for certain. So let's move on to number four then setting a timer for 15 minutes.

[00:11:23] That is a great hack. We love this hack. This is great. 

[00:11:28] Lesley: We do and why do we like it? Okay, so first things first. Do we think you can decl to your whole house in 15 minutes a day? No. Do we think once your house is mostly decluttered, you can start to work on things in small, manageable chunks? Yes. And so I think when people see that as a hack, people are like, You can Declutter your house in 15 minutes a day.

[00:11:49] It depends on the starting point. And so Ingrid and I could Declutter our housing 15 minutes a day. We could devote 15 minutes a day to Declutter an organizing resetting. And that would work because our homes are not full of clutter, but. They never have been. So we are a really bad example, to be fair.

[00:12:07] But people who've got loads and loads of clutter can't just do 15 minutes a day. You might have to do several chunks of 15 minutes. I think it's really important for you to break things down into 15 minutes, but ultimately at some point you're gonna have to give it a little bit more than 15 minutes.

[00:12:21] But the whole idea of this 15 minute timer is more about doing resets, keeping on top of things, breaking it down, and the idea is that you go. 15 minutes is manageable in my head. I'm gonna break it down. And then the whole idea of that, if you've got a lot to do, is after my 15 minutes, I'm gonna see how I'm getting along.

[00:12:40] I'm gonna pat myself on the back because I've achieved something. And if I feel up to it, I'm gonna go back, I'm gonna carry on, or I'm gonna come back to another 15 minutes later. So I do believe in this 15 minute idea, there's accountability. People like the idea of setting a timer and it being time based as well.

[00:12:57] So there's loads of good with that, but you have to. Also look at the idea of you can't do the whole thing in 15 minutes a day. Yeah. 

[00:13:04] Ingrid: I think that's really important. I think, I think you're right, Leslie. I think people think that it's like declot to your house in 50 minutes per day. We don't believe that's true, but we, but we do believe it is if you start with 50 minutes and you feel like, oh, this is actually great.

[00:13:21] I mean, Then you feel like you're moving forward, you're doing something positive, and then you're like, wow, that was actually a lot less hard, and I thought it was going to be, let me do another 15 minutes, and you build it up gradually over time. 

[00:13:35] Lesley: Exactly. Exactly. So we on balance, we like a 15 minute timer Ingrid.

[00:13:40] Yeah. Yeah. With a few little caveats thrown in, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what's a positive one? We have to throw some positive ones in cause we're now gonna go back to being a negative Nancy and go for a negative one, 

[00:13:51] Ingrid: aren't we? Yes. Do not decant your cereals if you just just. You know, it looks beautiful.

[00:13:58] You see all these pictures of these beautiful pantries of people with beautiful see-through containers with the most amazing labels. And it says you, your whole life will be well if you decant your cereal and your pasta in a container. And we are like, It would be great if we can just find it in the first place and that it's in date and that you can open your pantry and that stuff balls out decanting cereals in the plastic container is when you are really on top of everything in your house.

[00:14:29] Yes. 

[00:14:30] Lesley: So I think this is about that. It will absolutely work and look beautiful for people who are meticulously organized already. But I think that what a lot of people in our world that have have struggled with clutter quite a bit or have got higher volumes of clutter. Want to get so badly to that end point that they kind of skip out the middle bit.

[00:14:48] So the decanting of the cereals is like, that's gonna be beautiful and that's what I'm gonna do. But actually what we need to be working on is other things before that isn't Ingrid. Yeah. Because decanting cereals. Involves a lot of effort. It involves precision. You've got to have spaces for overflow, cereals.

[00:15:06] You're not just cereals people, you know, you'll see people decanting, you know, washing up, you know, things that you put in your washing machines, sweets, candy bars, all of those kinds of things. Loads of things that you can decant. And it is beautiful. And it is desirable and it is aesthetically. You know, something that I, I'd love to do that, but I know I've not got the time and I know I've, I've not got the time and I would not give the energy to that because I've got more important things to be doing in my life than decanting cereals, even though I know that it looks lovely.

[00:15:36] Some people love it. It's useful for some people who, um, don't eat that, that many cereals. And so you can keep them a little bit fresher that way. So it does work for some people in some instances, but the aesthetically pleasing version of decanting cereals, For people who are super meticulous organization already.

[00:15:56] Ingrid: Yeah. And, and again, basically like what we also said with the whole changing around of the hangers, this requires a lot of effort, a lot of, you know, uh, uh, staying on top of things, organization position. So the decanting of items in, in small pots or in containers is, is, is really, takes a lot of time and.

[00:16:20] Lesley: Yeah, you've gotta get the right container. It's gotta be the right size. You know, it doesn't allow for deviation if you bulk buy, if you buy something smaller. If it is, you know, you mixing different things up together. It's just, it's fraught with complication, including my world, in my world. But anyway, so another negative one, I mean, everyone's like tuned in for like, yes, Leslie, you think we're gonna gimme hacks that are gonna work and they're gonna be, we're gonna go, 

[00:16:43] Ingrid: oh no.

[00:16:44] Well, you know what, Leslie, I think it's also important to talk about things. Might not work. You know, like a decanting of a cereal or past. Might work for a small group of people, but the people who have a lot of clutter, it's exactly what you said, they've skipped out a lot. It's like buying the container before you even know where you're gonna put it and where you're going to use it.

[00:17:09] This is exactly the same thing. This is like, I've got a super cluttered house and a super of the pantry. Let me buy the the container. So I'm going to get organized and we. It just doesn't work that way. So we're just trying to prevent, um, our listeners from buying lots of stuff that they might later not need or find out, actually, this is not what I want to do.

[00:17:31] You have to do that hard, messy, middle, in the middle where everything is quite chaotic and when you're trying to work through things before you go out at the other end. 

[00:17:42] Lesley: Yes you do. So I think it's time for us to, to climb down our first soapbox now Ingrid, and go to a little break. Yes.

[00:17:49] Ingrid: Hello everybody. Welcome back to your 10 decluttering hacks for your home podcast. We've been throwing, we've been chewing and throwing, chewing 

[00:18:01] Lesley: and throwing, chewing and throwing. 

[00:18:03] Ingrid: I can't say that, Leslie. Okay. Cut this out. Oh, maybe leave it in.

[00:18:07] I don't know. Uh, we've been chewing and throwing of 

[00:18:11] Lesley: chewing 

[00:18:12] Ingrid: and throwing. Chewing and froing through different hacks at the bottom. And by the way, this is 

[00:18:16] Lesley: definitely stain 

[00:18:17] Ingrid: in

[00:18:22] Lesley: chewing and froing 

[00:18:24] Ingrid: withing. Yeah, I know. Chewing, that's a really weird word actually, Leslie. But every mind, we've been chewing and froing about different kinds of decluttering hacks. So let's continue with number six, which is fold. This is gonna be 

[00:18:39] Lesley: an interesting one. Ingrid, cuz you love a fold. Yeah, the master folder.

[00:18:43] You love to fold. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna let you take this one. Talk about folding and what you think about it. 

[00:18:49] Ingrid: I love it. But also because I've been doing this for a long time, so I've gotten quite quick at it as well, which helps. I think what's really important with Folding is that you need to do it consistently and the same.

[00:19:07] So if you're folding t-shirts, Great, but you need to fold them all the same way. Same goes for underwear and brass and socks and towels and all the things that I fold. If you fold them, you need to fold them in the same way, and that's where you can see the difference. The problem is if you kind of fold a towel one way the one week and another way the other week, it's going to look messy.

[00:19:31] But if you fold them the same the whole time, it really makes an. That is, it's free. You just fold it yourself and it's free. You don't have to buy anything for it, but it will make a massive difference in how your cupboards visually will look. And of course you can. Then the nice thing is when you fold things, similarly, if you start to do, to put stuff vertically in drawers, you get a much nicer overview in what you have instead of stacking things on top of each other.

[00:20:00] If you flip it around in your drawer and stack the vertically, you can see what you have, and that's where your folding comes in. Now, in the beginning you might think, oh my gosh, this folding is so much. Trust me, hang on a little bit longer. The, the, the more you do it, the issue it gets and the the meter it becomes.

[00:20:23] But I'm quite, again, Leslie, you're right, I'm quite a meticulous person, so I like to spend that half an hour on the weekend, folding four loads of laundry, doing it all the same. I get it all out, 25 minutes, boom. Done. Put it away. And my systems. And 

[00:20:42] Lesley: is it fair to say Ingrid? You find it quite soothing and cathartic to fold, right?

[00:20:48] Yeah. Okay. So I, I think that's put into the core of it, right? So I, I decided, I was like, right, okay, Leslie, you've been a professional organizer for 13 years. It's time now. It's time to start folding. So anybody who's listened to this podcast for a while will know if I can hang anything. It will get hung because I am not that person who, I don't find folding, soothing, cathartic.

[00:21:08] I find it annoying. I find it slow, and I've got better things to do. My time. That's just me being me, and so I'm like, I'd rather do other things. So my house is orderly. Everything is where it needs to be, but in my ni drawer, for example, before. I would just have a pile of nickers. I wouldn't fold them up and I wouldn't put them vertically and all that.

[00:21:27] And last year I thought, right, cause time, Leslie, come on, come on. You can do this, you can do it. And honestly, you wanna see it. It's just like, I'm just like, I'm so bored. Because there's a lot of nickers, you know, isn't it? It's like 10 50, maybe not that, but 10, 12 pairs in a week. That's a lot nickers to fold.

[00:21:45] You know what I mean? I'm like, why would I spend my time folding nickers like life's too short? I took 'em in. Took 'em in that. So I am doing like a half-hearted folding situation at the moment. So even somebody who kind of, I'm in that world, I'm in that world of folding and you know, understanding the principles, I've got quite big drawers.

[00:22:08] So they are quite forgiving to be fair. Mm-hmm. So I think that's one of the things I think if you can hang, so I've got, I've got enough space that I can hang most things. I have got nice wide drawers where everything is not on top of each other. So I think that makes a difference. Mm. Ingrid a little bit more restricted on space.

[00:22:24] Yeah. So that makes a difference in terms of folding. Yeah, so I think you've really, the realism kicks in in terms of a, do I love to fold and have I got the energy and the excitement about that aesthetic to actually do that every single week? Is it a system that I can maintain? Do I have an alternative option for hanging, which.

[00:22:44] And Ingrid would agree with this. If you're not a folder and you do have the space to hang, hang, because it's much more forgiven and it's much simpler to do. So I suppose it all comes down to that. I think it's, it is about that realism, Ingrid, isn't it? The problem that we've got is that people look at these things and go, that looks amazing.

[00:23:01] You know? There's that. Crazy. I Marie Con, like how long ago was that where she brought in her folding methods to, to, to everybody, you know, kind of globally, probably four or five years ago. And so many people jumped onto that. But you need to look at what that looks like now. Now, some people jumped onto it.

[00:23:18] This has changed my life. Absolutely love it and have gone with it, but if you are. If you are the kind of person who could, I know that that's gonna really help, I'd like to do that. Or the way the Ingrid falls slightly different, but similar idea. You know, you've really gotta look at it. Are you actually doing it and can you see yourself getting to that point?

[00:23:35] Yeah. It involves effort and determination, doesn't it? 

[00:23:38] Ingrid: Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I think space is indeed crucial, Leslie, because the thing is when you fold things n neatly in for dr, especially for drawer. A lot more fits in. Yes, exactly. Exactly. So I think for me as well, that is because my space is, is more limited than yours, so I have to, um, make sure that I fold it nicely.

[00:23:59] But I do love the aesthetic of it as well. I like my lovely folded towels and bedding and things like that to see them. And because for me it works really well with my, my systems, with first time things in, first out, all of those things. And I know exactly where I am with, with. A lot of, especially the clothing, because that's, I think the bulk of, of stuff that completely moves through the house all the time is the laundry.

[00:24:24] So for me, I think it's an important part of staying on top of, of laundry and ironing and what's clean and what's dirty and all of those things. So, and that, but, 

[00:24:33] Lesley: but the thing is as well, Ingrid, is that we all know, you know, your systems are finally tuned and you have a system where you wash an iron on a certain day and on a Saturday afternoon, God forbid, that you should want to.

[00:24:43] Join yourself because folding comes first apparently. And you know, you listen to that week podcast while you're doing it, and so you have your little routine. And so that's important as well. It can't be haphazard, can it? Really? You mean? So yeah. So that's what we think about folding good in some instances, not so good in other instances.

[00:25:01] And it's all about that realism and understanding your own version of what that looks like. Okay, so I think the next one on our little list, Ingrid, which is number seven. Yes. I think we're gonna go back on our soapbox again for this one. 

[00:25:16] Ingrid: Yes. It's the famous multi-tier hangers, or it's these hangers that you see advertised where there's a hook and then you can kind of, um, put it on, on, on a wardrobe rail.

[00:25:29] You can hook several things. Then you unhook one of them and they fall down. Anyway, things like hangers with multi, multiple clothing on one hang. Multi to your hangers. They've got 

[00:25:42] Lesley: additional rugs. I think they're called. They're the kind of the bars that go across. Yeah. So in principle you would use them for multiple sets of trousers.

[00:25:52] I think that's the main, yeah. Reason why they're used. So it's a standard hanger with extra bars on the bottom. Look. Fantastic. Cuz you're like, how amazing is that? I'm gonna be able to get six pairs of trousers on one hangar and it's gonna save me loads of space. And they are sold as. Space saving. Yeah, 

[00:26:09] Ingrid: right.

[00:26:10] Lesley: Why is this a hack that we dislike with a passion Ingrid? I think 

[00:26:15] Ingrid: it's because you lose visibility as soon as you stack four or five pairs of trousers over each other on one hangar. There's no chance you're gonna, you're gonna see the top one that's on the outside, that's over all the other ones. You might be able to see the one that's under, but you're never gonna try and fiddle number three, four, and five of that hangar because you, first of all, the hangar gets really heavy.

[00:26:40] So it's like, how am I gonna get by getting it out? You're gonna have to kind of, you need to have really proper muscles in your arms. I think. I mean, five pairs of trousers on the one. It's proper weight. And then how are you gonna get that one that's on the bottom that you can't see that you, so you completely forget that you have it?

[00:26:57] But how are you gonna get it out? You're gonna have to kind of slide it half out, and then the other trousers are gonna be wonky because you've kind of messed it up. You know? It's like, it's, it's just doesn't work. I'm sorry, 

[00:27:09] Lesley: it doesn't. I think what some people would argue, so I I, I'll, I'll bet your bottom dollar.

[00:27:14] There are people that will comment on our podcast and say, you know what? I love a multi see hang when it works for me. Yeah. I think it is about having space. I think some people, what some people would do is kind of like, you could kind of hook it behind. Does that make sense? And so you could have it so you don't put them all over on top of each other, so you could kind of weave it back through again, so you could see all of the different trousers.

[00:27:34] Mm-hmm. My big problem with it is, is that it's sold. Yes. Visibility completely. I'm with you on that. Mm-hmm. But it is sold as space saving six pairs of trousers. The width of six pairs of trousers is six pairs of trousers, regardless of where it sits on a hangar. Yeah. It's not space saving. It's not, it might save you a couple of inches, but what you gain in, you know, if you know cuz you've not got spacing between each hangar, fair enough.

[00:27:57] But what you gain in space, which is negligible, I would say. You lose massively invisibility and accessibility. Yeah, so honestly, it's one of the first things that when we see those in wardrobes with clients, we try and coax those multi-tiered hangers. That's the net, that's the kind word for it, because we never make a decision for a client, but we strongly recommend, don't we?

[00:28:21] We definitely strongly recommend. Multi-tier hangers are not doing the job that they were intended to do. 

[00:28:27] Ingrid: And you know, the interesting thing is, as well, Leslie, what we do hear from the clients as well that have these, oh my gosh, I had completely forgotten I had that pair. That pair. You see, this is exactly my point.

[00:28:40] Gosh, I had completely forgotten I had those. Oh wow. They've been in there for years because I haven't used them. Oh, look at how dusty. And it's like, yeah, like, okay, I've, I've already, we've, we've won. I'm, I'm air quoting now. We've won this argument. These multi-tier hangers can go, 

[00:28:57] Lesley: exactly. I'd love to see you in action and me in action as to how we coax the hangar of the client.

[00:29:03] See as in action anyway, because of course Ingrid and I have never seen each other in a decluttering job. Have we? We've never worked together, which is probably a. Good thing. Cause I'm not sure that would go down well. Okay. Right. So now we're gonna go for something that we absolutely love. This is a hack that gets banded around all the time and we are right behind it.

[00:29:25] And it's one of our number one hints and tips in the Declutter Hub. And it is Ingrid. 

[00:29:30] Ingrid: Yes it is. It is set up a donation station. Very fancy word for a box crate, whatever it is. And you just put so where you can put stuff that you want to Declutter. That's, that. It's, it's, it's really that simple. 

[00:29:50] Lesley: Yes, and a donation station would be for when you have done the bulk of your Declutter trends.

[00:29:56] There's no point in having a donation station if you're getting rid of 15 bags of stuff on one day, because that's more just putting them into bin bags and getting them outta the house. But a donation station is for. Things that you gather up that you see on your kind of daily resets and go, I dunno why I've got that anymore.

[00:30:09] I don't really don't need that. So it allows you the opportunity to let things go in the course of a week, perhaps when you're not in the middle of a big decl team project. Yeah. So it's more for ad hoc donations. Fantastic. It's a game changer. We recommend all of our members. Setting them up. They absolutely love them.

[00:30:25] We have a whole podcast on the donation station and what it says, so do go and check it out and Ingrid will pop, pop a link to that of course. In our show 

[00:30:33] Ingrid: notes. Yes, absolutely. I mean, my donation station is like normally empty well for like two days, and then I already start to find things around the house again.

[00:30:42] You know, it's like, Sok with a whole, a towel that has, has a is is getting a bit like it's got like these little threads on the sides. It start to look a bit tattooing old. It might be a book that we've read and we know we don't ever want to read again. It's like, for those kinds of things, a donation station is perfect.

[00:31:00] So yes, definitely set that up and get that going because it will help you tremendously. Now, Leslie, let's talk about our number nine. It's all about containerization. We love 

[00:31:13] Lesley: a container, don't we? Ingrid? So we truly believe that containerization is the key to organization, but we have another little bot in here.

[00:31:24] You have to buy the right container at the right time. And so we definitely believe that gathering like with like, so that you can see things, you know, think about whether that container's got a lid. It's absolutely. The right thing to do, but the problem that we've got in the same way that people run out and buy things in advance, and we spoke about that earlier in this podcast, it's so important to leave the container, buy-in until the appropriate time, do your decluttering, gather like with like see how much of something you've got, see what sizes they are.

[00:31:55] And then go and buy your container and think about it at that point. So containerization is absolutely brilliant, but what containerization is not is gathering up all your clutter and stick it in a box. Is it? Yeah. 

[00:32:09] Ingrid: Yeah, because that's what we see. We see them walls, and walls of boxes all beautifully labeled, and it's like, oh wow, this is really organized.

[00:32:17] But actually it's just a random collection of stuff that's been put into containers. Fantastic ver vertical storage usage, but if you ever wanna get something from the bottom container, you are in deep trouble because she can, you know, you have to move 12 other containers first to get it. It just doesn't work.

[00:32:35] You have to really think it through what you're doing. And of course, you have to be smart about the containers that you're keeping. So if you're decluttering and organizing and you find like an empty box, Think about is this box useful? Because we see a lot of people, it's like, I've kept all my boxes Ingrid to Leslie, and, and it's like, okay, well those ones are all not useful, so let's Declutter those, you know, boxes, empty boxes from gift packaging that have like extra cardboard that doesn't make it easy to put slot in the drawer or that are kind of a weird.

[00:33:11] Size, like, you know, Octa octagonal or something like, it's like, okay, we, you know, we need rectangular boxes or square boxes, not around boxes, because they take up too much space. You have to be smart about it. Containerization is fantastic. You can use temporary containers before you go and buy new containers that are actually absolutely perfect for that drawer or cupboard, but containerization in itself is key.

[00:33:39] Yes, 

[00:33:41] Lesley: we love a bit of containerization and on these containers. We also love a label, and that is our number 10. And I do believe Ingrid, as I looked at our number 10, I don't think I have anything negative to say about a label. I'm literally 100% behind a label. So here is a hack that we are both, I hope.

[00:34:00] Yeah, 100% behind what we've gotta say about labels. Oh, I love a 

[00:34:04] Ingrid: label. I love a label. And a label is so helpful, especially when you're, when I'm working with clients who've had a lot of clutter and you're working with them, and in the beginning it's like, but I don't know yet where I'm gonna put it. I don't know yet where I'm gonna store it.

[00:34:20] And we're like, okay, let's put a label on it so we can identify what the group of items is that lives in this box. And it just makes it so much easier when you have to leave the project, even if it's for. A couple of hours or half a day or a day, and you can come back to it. Oh yeah. This was the books with.

[00:34:41] Whatever it is, and the labels really, really help. 

[00:34:44] Lesley: So I think the only thing that we'll say about labels is don't go crazy with the labels. You know, this can be something like a a, like a sticky label that you buy on Nash cheap label with a Sharpie on it. Or you can go to the next level and you can buy a label maker.

[00:34:58] Now, label makers have changed recently as well, and so you've got that the old kind of dimo type labels or. What do they call it? The brother ones where they kind of print out a label. Um, and you've also got ones now that you can do with an app on your phone so you can do most of the kind of creation of the label on your phone or on your computer.

[00:35:15] And then it just kind of bluetooths it across the label maker, which is the latest version of, um, a label maker, which I've got and I love actually Ingrid. 

[00:35:26] Ingrid: Whoa, you're gonna have to show this to me because I'm still ESP Peru show. I'm still in the old-fashioned, uh, uh, label that I actually 

[00:35:33] Lesley: love. Nothing wrong with those label makers, by the way.

[00:35:36] Nothing wrong, but I do quite like it's a bit more flexible, I would say. You know, you can put little pictures on them. You can change the font to different sizes. Yeah, you can do different colors. So yeah, quite like the, the new version, but it involves Bluetooth and battery. You know it, so it's, you know, it is more complex perhaps, but yeah.

[00:35:55] So 10 decluttering hacks for your home, some of which are good, some of which we don't believe in, but hopefully we've given you a little bit of food for thought about what kinds of things are gonna help you when you read. Things in magazines, on Instagram, um, on Facebook groups and so on. Really think these through.

[00:36:15] Think first and foremost about realism, your own realism. Where are you in your decla twin journey? And are these hacks the things that you really need to be focusing on right now? Or do you need to take it back a little bit more to basics? I think that's what this is all about, is in Ingrid and that's why we wanted to talk about hacks today.

[00:36:32] Ingrid: Yeah, absolutely. So we would love to know from you, have you found a decluttering hack that. Amazing. Or maybe you're like, wow, it looked like it sounded like a great idea, but it actually did work at all. Tell us, let us know. Leave us a comment in our show notes. Go to Declutter Hub dot com slash 2 27.

[00:36:51] We've been getting a lot more comments and it's so nice to read everybody's comments. So do leave us a comment if you'd like to share your decluttering hack. Now. Next with Leslie, you are talking to Roz about decluttering your 

[00:37:05] habits. 

[00:37:06] Lesley: Yes, I'm excited. Uh, Ross works with us at the Declutter, so you might have seen her popping up here and there on the Facebook group and in the membership, and she's also a health coach, and so she is going to talk about Declutter in your habits.

[00:37:19] Very, very exciting. 

[00:37:21] Ingrid: So thanks so much for being here. Thanks so much for listening in. I will see you next week.
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