Australian decluttering expert has shared her top hacks to reorganise your life in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
Australian decluttering expert has shared her top hacks to reorganise your life in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
An organisational expert has shared what could be considered a modern-day superpower in our consumer-driven world full of people wanting more: the best hacks to revamp any overly cluttered space and give it a new life. Pronto.
Anita Birges is the founder of Mise en Place, a professional organising andproperty styling service. She's revealed her top three tricks to help arrange your life for a better 2019.
The master of tidying up gives advice from sorting out a cluttered wardrobe, to whipping a disastrous cutlery drawer into shape.
Here are her top three hacks:
The reverse hanger
Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer
All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly
Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk
When trying to clear out your wardrobes, most people are guilty of coming up with a plethora of excuses to keep those shoes you wore once on that awesome night out.
Often belongings have sentimental value, or you're saving it for a special, yet currently unknown, occasion.
Birges says to sort this out you should try hanging your clothing with the hangers facing the opposite way.
This is the first step in helping you decide what should be kept, sold, donated or thrown out.
"You are going to take your clothes and get your hangers and reverse them so the open end of your hanger is now facing outwards. Turn them from the inside out," she said in a video shared on Facebook.
"Every time you wear a piece of clothing now - say I want to wear this red top - I am going to take it off and wear it and when I put it back I put it with the open end back to normal."
Anita prompts everyone to attempt the technique over a period of six months to keep track of what you actually wear from your wardrobe.
"In six months I am going to know exactly what I've worn. Everything that hasn't been turned around will be donated or sold," she said.
After six months clothing that's not worn will be hung facing the wrong direction, meaning the item is no longer needed in your wardrobe. Photo / Getty Images
The best way to organise your fridge
When finding something in the back of the fridge that's long past its expiry date, it can be a bit of a bummer knowing you've let perfectly good food go to waste.
According to the Daily Mail, Birges says an organised fridge comes with many benefits: you'll be able to keep track of the food you have, the food you need and the food you'll have to use up quickly.
"Having an organised fridge can make such a positive difference to someone's day, given the number of times we go in there - making breakfast, lunch and dinner and everything in between."
She explains the first step to sorting out a fridge begins by organising everything into "like" groups (e.g. meat, vegetables, dairy).
• Move uncooked meat and seafood to the bottom shelf to avoid drippage, which could contaminate the rest of your food.
• Store leftovers on a dedicated single shelf so they can easily be found and you'll be reminded to eat them.
• Bring foods used most often to the doors because they're exposed to sudden temperature changes and rot faster.
• Put kids food at a height that's easy for them to see and reach.
Anita says when organising the fridge remember you can move shelving to suit your needs, purchase extra storage containers and tactically label things.
"You can also change the height of the shelves on the door! So, adjust to suit what you are storing to ensure you don't have any unused space."
Whip a cutlery drawer into shape in 10 minutes
The cutlery drawer is a space where anything floating around the kitchen is often thrown in, resulting in a messy jumble.
Anita says organising this drawer is simpler than you may think, and can take as little as 10 minutes.
You'll need two containers and a clear bench space for the process. Take everything out of the drawer, put the items you want to keep in one container and the items you want to throw away in the other container.
Do this quickly to avoid second guessing your initial decision about whether you need the item or not.
"Providing you're serious about decluttering and creating a slower, simpler home, your initial answer is going to be right. So don't second-guess yourself. And if in doubt – chuck it out (or give it away)," she said.
Before you put the items you're keeping back in the drawer, group them in a similar way to how Birges recommends organising food in the fridge.
If you don't have them already, consider buying drawer dividers to create sections for grouped things together within the drawer.
"I can guarantee you'll be shocked at how much you can clear out in 10 minutes, and what a difference it will make to the way you feel in your home."
