How to deal with decluttering your loft [a guide]

We all know how it is. The loft is like a deserted land, forbidden unless absolutely necessary. In too many horror movies there are monsters in the attic, so much so that many of us leave our loft spaces to become a dusty maze. Don’t know what to do with something? Put it in the loft! When it comes to finding things, though, it means we spend hours poking through grimy old boxes.

So, whether you’re decluttering your attic as a home improvement project or you’re moving house, follow our guide on sorting and keeping your loft organised.

Preparing your loft

• Clear the space. An attic is typically quite hard to move in, low ceilings and limited lighting can lead to a few bumps on the head! It might be easier to move everything from your loft into a cleared room, enabling you to properly look through your belongings.
• Clean. How often do any of us clean our lofts? Shamefully, never! While your attic is empty, take the opportunity to clean the space and rid the walls of those pesky cobwebs.

Sort the contents

Next comes the mammoth task – deciding whether to keep it or throw it away. It can be difficult to choose what to get rid of in your attic, so follow these small tips to give you a hand!

• Sort things into categories. Split items into sections, for example: travel, hand me downs and memories. Once you’ve sorted through everything once, you’ll find it easier to get rid of things when it comes to it.
• Consider the need. If it’s in your loft then the frequency of use is probably quite low. However, it’s easy to decide its urgency, for example holidays may be rare but you’ll always need a suitcase.
• Dispose of hand-me-downs. The chances of receiving bags of old clothes are high, especially with the mass of decluttering over lockdown. However, if the hand-me-downs are in the loft, it’s unlikely you’ll use them. Quietly move them to the ‘bin’ or ‘donate’ pile, they’ll never know…
• Don’t be too sentimental. It’s easy to hold onto things. Plenty of parents keep everything their child makes, from portraits to their first school report. Don’t keep them all – it does no good gathering dust! Allow yourself a box for memories and dispose of the rest.

Keep it clean!

Checking that your loft doesn’t become overrun by clutter is important, stopping you from doing this again! Follow these tips to keep your loft clear:

• Immediate disposal. Instead of out of sight out of mind, make sure you get rid of unwanted items promptly. Old electrical items that you don’t know how to dispose of will be no less of a problem in your attic, just arrange for their removal.
• Label your belongings. To keep an eye on what you’ve got, label your boxes. Therefore, you know where to put things. If a box isn’t labelled, you’ll know it’s probably been abandoned and needs sorting.
• Don’t store bulkier items. Furniture is tricky to move, we all know it. This means that if there’s furniture up in your loft, it’s unlikely to come down again! Stop yourself from storing it in your attic, just dispose of it to prevent your loft becoming a jumble sale.

Here at Junk Taxi, we’re the experts you need to remove what you don’t want anymore. Bulky items of furniture from your attic that you need to get rid of? No problem! Call us on 020 3092 2961 or email info@junktaxi.co.uk and we can help you declutter your loft space.