Tips for Decluttering and Tidying

So after following the KonMari Method and tidying my drawers yesterday and discovering how much space it made I decided to get in to Ciaran's press and give it a going over.  Would you believe I was able to fit an extra 7 pairs of trousers into this drawer after I refolded everything?!!!

Here is one of his sock drawers all neat and tidy.

Over the years I have developed habits to keep my house neat, tidy and decluttered.

Here are my top tips:

* Donate books you know longer read to the library or a charity shop.  If you want to read them again in a few years you can always borrow them from the library!
* The same is best for DVDs & CDs - donate to the library so you don't have to store them.  If you are unwilling to do this, you can always throw away the cases and save space by storing them in plastic sleeves in a file.
* Use a cleaning products caddy to carry around the house (for further ease you can have one caddy that is left in the bathroom and the other is left in the kitchen)
* Wipe down the toilet and bathroom sink with disposable cleaning wipes every morning - a few swooshes and you keep on top of the dirt - it makes it so much easier when you are doing your big weekly clean
* Also squirt a small bit of bleach in to the toilet once daily to ensure it stays pristine clean
* Put away, not down - when you are finished using something, put it back where it belongs (I tend to find this the hardest to do)

My most important habit is the "One in, One out" rule.  
* If you buy something, you need to throw something out.  
You can also ask yourself "Do I really need this?" before you buy it.  More often than not the answer is No!