4 Living's Brief Guide to De-Cluttering your Home this Autumn.

September can be one of the less exciting months of the year, even if approached with the utmost positivity! The sun has suddenly gone into hibernation and the wind will be your host for the next few months.

As the days get shorter and colder, we naturally spend much more time inside. Summer is about spending as much time out and about as possible and, as a result, your interior can become a little neglected. I'm not talking serious mayhem, but there's a chance that you've accumulated a little more clutter than you would like to. It's time for a clear-out.

Clearing out clutter will help to create extra storage space, and lead to a more relaxing atmosphere within the home!

Where to start? There are two ways to approach the 'Autumn Clean', you can A) Allocate a whole day/weekend or B)Split it up over a few evenings. I'd always recommend option A, as it forces you to get it over and done with. If you don't have that much time, make sure you separate your clutter-clearing by room, piece of furniture or something similar. That way you'll be able to start and finish a section of the home, rather than leaving it half-done.

Go through everything I own? That will take forever! You don't have to go through EVERYTHING but, the chances are, you'll have more stuff to throw away/recycle/sell than you think (more on that later). Part of the reason clearing out takes 'forever' is that we view it as a trip down memory lane, as opposed to a household chore. If you read every yearbook and stare longingly at every photo, this will be a serious time investment. If not, it'll be done in no time.

How do I decide what to keep and what to get rid of? There is no definitive rule on this one. We are all different after all. I've found that there are two questions you need to ask yourself: "Is this something I need, or something I wish I actually used?" and "Am I keeping this for its sentimental value. or am I simply attaching to much value to something which is going to go straight back into a box?"

What do I do with my 'haul'? As I touched upon earlier, you can throw away; give away; sell or recycle what you no longer need. There are plenty of online and high street stores which will buy technology, DVDs, games and CDs. Even if you don't make a huge amount of money, it's better than nothing!