Smart ways to declutter & organise

Pooja Khanna Tyagi

According to Hindu beliefs, it is important to clean your home during Diwali because Goddess Lakshmi prefers to enter those homes which are clean and well lit. Therefore, keeping the tradition alive, here are clever ways to clean and organise your house so that it not only looks clean during Diwali but all year round.

discard the unnecessary

Diwali is the best time to declutter your home and get rid of things you do not need. Draw a sharp line between things we need and items which have sentimental value. We have the tendency to hoard things. It is advisable to dispose of things which one has not used for more than two years.

• Discard clothes that you do not fit into or have not been wearing for some time.
• Check the expiry date of unused kitchen ingredients and medicines and only keep the ones which will be used in the near future.
• Get rid of broken showpieces, cutlery and furniture.
• Check if your home appliances and electronic gadgets are in working condition. Discard the ones which are not functioning.
• Consider sharing the books which you won’t be reading anymore or donate these to a library. Sell old newspapers and notebooks to a junk dealer.

Categorise similar items

The best part of a well-organised home is that it always looks presentable and is easy to maintain.

• When organising a house, the first step is to categorise similar items together and keep them in one place. Note that if items are scattered all around the house, they add to a lot of clutter and are difficult to find.
• Organise the kitchen by pasting labels to name the steel containers as their ingredients are not visible from outside.
• The frequently used items within the kitchen should be easily accessible and neatly arranged on the lower shelves of the cabinets. Items that are occasionally used should be placed on higher shelves.
• While arranging your wardrobe or cabinets, make sure that all items can be viewed easily. Fold clothes, clean the hangars and change the paper or cloth on the shelves. Segregate the t-shirts, lowers, trousers, casuals, formals into different categories and stack these together.

Get down to dusting

Start with cleaning the living room, dining and entrance as these are the most visible areas. Then work on the kitchen, balcony followed by the bedrooms.

• Vacuum clean the house to remove cobwebs and dust that is settled on the walls.
• Scrub and clean the fans, lights and electrical appliances as they tend to collect a lot of dirt. All the chandeliers and lamps should be cleaned so that they can emit more light.
• Dust the furniture, dry clean the sofas and clean the window glasses. Deep clean the cabinets and wardrobes.
• Clean the floor and wall tiles of the bathroom and kitchen with tile cleaners or baking soda.
• Use a solution of vinegar and lemon to deep clean the fridge.

Now it is time to decorate the home and give it a quick makeover by changing the cushions, drapes and bedcovers. Infuse a traditional look and festive feel with earthen diyas, rangoli, torans, fairy lights and a large bowl with fresh flowers and floating diyas.

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