I honestly have no clue how it happens. I’ve lived in my house for roughly a year and despite a lack of major shopping binges, a recent housewide purge yielded twenty-odd bags of clothing, toys and food that we no longer needed.

If you have school-aged or even small children in your household, you probably know how very quickly an item of clothing or a pair of trainers goes from ‘just a bit big and very shiny’ to ‘embarrassingly small and somewhat weather-beaten.’ (Generally a process that sneaks up on you until one of the kids is heading back from school in a pair of trousers that are a few centimetres too short, much to your mortification.) And with a year of holidays, Christmases and birthdays in between, household clutter can be at critical mass before you know it.

Before overhauling the house, I did a bit of research and it turns out many frugalistas are of the same mind- it can actually cost you valuable pounds and pence to hang on to home-cluttering objects. And after binning tons of things, I got to see firsthand what that really means. Three body creams and the charger for the extra laptop, for instance, all made an appearance after one relatively neat closet gave up its secrets.

After wasting the better part of two days on an early-autumn weekend purging clutter, I learned a few things I wish I’d known when I started. Here are a few tips to get rid of bandwidth-sapping possessions and getting better use out of what you have.

Start with clothes

Generally the bulk of excess stuff in your house, everyone can be recruited to manage their own wardrobe purge. Although there are various tips and strategies that suggest putting things on probation if you haven’t worn them in a while, I’ve found being a ruthless, cut throat clothing discarder is the only way forward.

There will be a few nearly-teary moments, but anything you wouldn’t put on this very second to go to work, dinner or to socialise in should be binned with no backward glances. It’s hard, but looking at your culled, in-better-shape wardrobe is totally worth it.

Inventorying helps

Most of us aren’t about to break it all down on an Excel spreadsheet, but after freeing the cupboards of a whole bin-bag of useless food, we discovered a few things that had been stocked and stored and would have otherwise been passed over. After each shop, I’ve been leaving the receipt on the fridge to better avoid forgetting a perishable or stored item until it’s past its use-by date- that helps a bit with grocery organisation. (See more tips for saving at the supermarket here.)

Group like items before you toss them

Looking at a giant pile of your worldly possessions can be a bit overwhelming, but creating groups of toiletries, stray clothing, toys, food or makeup can make it easier to pare when you’re done grouping.

Don’t forget your make-up and medicine cabinet

Most people tend to be relatively habitual when it comes to personal care products. A critical look at my train case revealed several gold eyeshadows, four nearly identical blushes and a bunch of lip glosses I swear must have been purchased in the dark. With a stripped down kit, your useful cosmetics can feel almost new again.

Stop feeling guilty

Donating gently used things is nice to do, but be mindful of using it as an excuse to hang on to old toys, jeans or space-sucking appliances. Set a firm deadline to give things away and if you miss it, toss them. There’s always the next fall-cleaning session if you’d like to unload some unwanted things.

Do you find that clutter creeps up on you and closet-cleaning can be an all-weekend affair? How do you keep closets from turning into disaster zones?

{Photo: Rubbermaid}