Many people who live in today’s urban landscape have smaller apartment or condominium units than in previous generations. North American downtowns are dense, and there’s a bigger price on space than ever. Sometimes people even live in “micro units” only a few hundred square feet in total size.

You can’t expand the size of your home, so reducing the clutter is the only way to carve out more room for yourself where you live. Here are a few ways you can productively declutter your home.

Professional Shredding Services

If you have any unneeded old papers, such as old tax forms or banking information, you should consider hiring a professional shredder to get it securely eliminated. Not only does it help with identity theft prevention but it could be taking up valuable space.

Look for a company that is NAID-certified, and that can come to your home to pick up what needs to be shredded. Transporting heavy paper is a hassle — the professional shredders you hire should either carry your papers to their facility to be destroyed, or shred it securely on the spot in a mobile shredding truck.

Afterwards, these papers with potentially sensitive information on them no longer pose any security risk after they’re been successfully and securely shredded. But more than that, you’ll have valuable room freed up in your home.

Selling Old Valuables Online

The internet has many websites that connect shoppers with every product imaginable – whatever old objects you have in your home, even if they mean nothing to you, there is probably someone out there willing to pay money for it.

If you need to make more space in your home, selling the things taking up room is a good way to productively declutter. Take a lot of care when posting the object online in your advertisement. Make sure there are several high-quality photos of the object.

The description of the object should be accurate, including the condition it’s in. Be upfront and direct if there’s a flaw: there’s no sense in attracting somebody to what you’re selling, only to have them walk away when they see it in person. Misleading potential buyers is just a waste of everyone’s time.

Donate

You may have old possessions in respectable physical condition that other people really need. It could be old clothes suitable for a professional interview, home electronics, or something else. Donating these kinds of things can really make a big difference. Consider decluttering your home in a way which immediately helps the local community.

If you don’t know where to donate such things, there are multiple organizations you can get in contact with that will either find somebody who needs it, or sell it and use the money to support worthy causes.

Decluttering your space leads to increased serenity and heightened enjoyment. Whether you declutter your home to eliminate your risk of identity fraud, to make a little profit tidying up, or to support your community, you’ll enjoy having a larger and cleaner living space.