TWO-DAY Declutter Cleanse

Experience the joy of getting organised - our simple but clever solutions will help sort your life out and make you feel lighter, brighter and more in control

- Victoria Young

The beauty of deciding to sort your stuff out is that you can tackle as little or as much as you feel up to over the course of a weekend. Overwhelmed by what to declutter first? Look around you and find five things that you don't need or use. Start with unused or broken jewellery (if you haven't found that other earring yet, you probably never will), lone socks, and gloves and shoes that haven't been worn for a year. Put them in a bag or box to be donated or recycled. You've now started. Tomorrow, do it again.

THE GROUND RULES

1. Everything you own should have value, either because it's functional or beautiful or you just love it. See it as a liberation to rid yourself of all the things that don't work, that you don't need, or that you don't like.

2. Every item needs a place where it 'lives'. Piles of stuff on the coffee table or kitchen worktop create chaos and confusion. But also, things don't get lost if you habitually put them where they live. Like keys. It's so simple, but if they live in a bowl or on a hook by the front door, you'll never waste time searching for them.