Decluttering your home and mind
From more space to a decluttered mind, there’s a lot more to a good spring clean than meets the eye.
It has certainly felt like a long winter – but many of us are starting to feel spring in the air, and maybe a little more energy as a result. One good way to kickstart the season is via the traditional spring clean. There may be some added benefits too – you will have more space, less to tidy up, and you can even earn a little money by selling your unwanted possessions – or at least feel good about giving them to charity.
You can also use the opportunity to audit your contents to ensure you are not underinsured – or worse still, uninsured, while accumulating more items over the years. In fact, according to the Association of British Insurers, one in four households across the UK have no contents insurance whatsoever!
Many also find that a good home declutter also declutters our minds. The psychological impact is an important part of the process, after all, the term ‘getting your house in order’ doesn’t only refer to your ‘home’.
Where do you start?
Write down a list of clutter hot spots you want to tackle.
Why not start outdoors? Most home insurance policies will offer cover for outdoor contents
including garden furniture, tools, barbeques and even hot tubs (which we all hope to start
using soon!). It’s important to check whether your insurance covers these items which can
be costly to replace and easier for burglars to access.
Tackle one room at a time!
Take a notebook with you to keep an up-to-date inventory of any high value contents you
have, maybe that new OLED TV, a new laptop, the Christmas gift camera, or items of
jewellery. Valuing jewellery every couple of years is important, particularly with the recent
increase in the value of raw materials leaving many underinsured. Having an up-to-date
valuation report may also be a requirement of your home insurance policy.
Create separate piles for recycling, charity donations, online selling and of course rubbish.
It’s worth keeping a separate box for bills, accounts (if you’re self-employed), bank
statements and school information – you can file these correctly afterwards.
Recycle any clothes you or your family have outgrown, or just don’t wear anymore. This
frees up your wardrobe space, resulting in a satisfying rediscovery of what you do like!
Get the children involved – they may like to donate some of their old toys or DVDs to charity
or a local hospital and take them with you when you drop their items off.
Now that you’ve had a good clear out, you’ll have a better idea of what you do have and what you no longer have. If after this, you find your policy no longer meets your needs or you need some advice on finding the right cover, simply call your local A-Plan branch, who will be more than happy to help.
Author: Helen Loder
Co-Director of Sevenoaks Mums