Dilly Carter answers our decluttering questions

Decluttering guru Dilly Carter has become a familiar face to British TV viewers, notably through her appearances in BBC One's BAFTA-nominated Sort Your Life Out as part of Stacey Solomon's team of crack organising experts.

As well as being the founder of home organising and styling service Declutter Dollies, she also runs courses to help aspiring declutters turn their skills into a career - so it's safe to say she knows her stuff when it comes to getting your home in order. And you can pick up Dilly's organising must-haves at Declutter Dollies on Amazon.

YourHomeStyle was lucky enough to get the chance to ask Dilly some of our burning questions about organising and decluttering your home like a pro - including that all-important question of how to get started in the first place! Here's what she had to say:

It can be hard to know where to start when getting home organised. For someone feeling overwhelmed, what would you suggest as the first step(s)?

It can be really overwhelming when starting the process to declutter your home and get organised which is why I always suggest starting small. I would suggest setting aside a specific day to start your decluttering journey, and start off in small areas – such as reorganising your bathroom cupboard or taking one drawer in the kitchen at a time. It takes time to organise your home properly, so don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t happen all at once.

When decluttering, do you go room by room or category by category?

I would suggest going category by category. For example, if you organise all of the toys first – you can pull them from different rooms and give them one place to live. But if you go room by room, you might find there are toys in different rooms and it’d be more tricky to gather them all up. So go by category, reduce or throw away what you don’t need and gather them wherever you want them to live.

How long should people allow for decluttering their home effectively? Is there a way you can do it in one weekend, or should they allow much more time?

Always start small and don’t overwhelm yourself. You can start off with a simple 'Dolly Dash' - a 15-minute blitz to tackle a small area, for example, sorting out your cutlery drawer rather than the whole kitchen.

Decluttering can take a long time if you want to do it properly and tackling a kitchen can take a whole weekend. But my key advice is don’t put yourself under too much pressure, start small and work your way up.

Do you have any smart purchases for organising effectively?

Owning a label maker was a game changer for me as you can categorise your items and clearly see what you have before buying more.

When you’ve decluttered your space, how do you go about keeping it tidy?

The only way to maintain a space and keep it decluttered is by revisiting it consistently. Making this part of your daily routine and tidying up at the end of each day will keep your space organised, stop you from buying more and will stop you from feeling overwhelmed.

How would you suggest arranging a pantry?

To start planning your pantry, I would give each shelf a purpose and stick to it. Whatever size the space, if you are split these items out by thinking about the things you use the most, it will help to curate a helpful planned pantry.

Always take your dry cupboard goods out of packets and place into clear, labelled jars so you can see what you have. This is a helpful way to know when you are ready to top up and if you use a refillable service, such as Abel & Cole’s Club Zero, you can schedule your groceries to be delivered to you every couple of weeks or months so that you never run out.

You also don’t have to spend a fortune on fancy storage – you can upcycle old containers like coffee jars or biscuit tins into storage to reduce waste.

What are your three pantry essentials?

1. Labelled, clear containers to ensure you can clearly see what you have an when you need to refill that item

2. Lazy Susans are another great way to ensure you know what you have before buying more

3. Shelf risers are a great way to make the most of a small space by creating another shelf within your cupboard to build out your pantry

How do you feel about the KonMari method, only keeping items that spark joy? Do you have your own guiding principle?

For me, my motto is if you don’t love it, need it or use it then let it go.

---

Dilly has also partnered with grocery delivery service Abel & Cole as part of their Britain’s Best Pantries competition. The contest aims to inspire Brits to cut their plastic consumption by embracing sustainable stocking and storage in their kitchen cupboards. There are three competition categories – best eco-friendly pantry, best budget pantry and best small space pantry.

Dilly will be among a panel of expert judges tasked with selecting the winner, who will receive £750 cash as well as £250 in credit to spend at Abel & Cole.