Decluttering Your Home in the New Year

The New Year can be a great time to start fresh, and why not start with your home?  Clearing out your closet, tossing out old documents and decluttering your drawers are a perfect way to destress and declutter your home. We’ve compiled helpful tips and common items that just end up taking up useful space. So take a weekend and evaluate your home to get rid of common household unwanted items.

 

Basic Tips:

  • Take everything out and evaluate
  • Does it spark joy
  • Decide if you will keep, toss, donate, or give away
  • Start with one space at a time; Start small to large rooms, i.e. small linen closets to large kitchens

 

Expired Items

Finding yourself holding on to those expired items? Don’t, they serve no purpose besides taking up space. Clear out old pantry and refrigerator items such as canned goods, boxed items, or condiments. Old shampoo, dried or off-smelling makeup, and other cosmetics or medication. Some pharmacies have a take-back drug program, so you can drop your old medication off without worrying about where they end up.   

 

Old Documents and Papers

Bills, credit card or bank statements from 2012, children’s schoolwork, can all be tossed out. Only get rid of documents you no longer need, this day and age so many important documents are digital now, you can usually find documents online, so you don’t need to keep a physical copy. You can also scan items onto your computer or cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive. Be sure to shred important documents with vital information.

 

Clothes You Don’t Wear

It can be hard to get rid of certain clothing items, maybe someone gifted it to you or you spent a lot of money on it, but be honest with yourself. Have you worn it in the last 6 months? Get rid of it. Have you had it since your college days and it sits in the bottom of your drawer? Get rid of it. Go through each drawer, closet and bureau, and be sure to sort through shoes, jeans and coats/jackets as well. Feel free to keep a few key pieces if they are special occasion wear or even motivational, those pieces you’ll “fit into someday”, just don’t fill your closet with them. If clothes are still in good shape, donate the clothes you are getting rid of, or bring them to a consignment store, instead of throwing them away.

 

Old, Broken, or Duplicate Items

Change out old, stained or ragged linens and towels. Toss duplicate kitchen or garden items, no one needs three different spatulas or rusted garden tools do they? Donate kids toys that they no longer play with and toss out ones that are broken or well-loved stuffed animals. Clear out over junked junk drawers and closets.

 

Remember a clean home is a clean mind. Need organizers for your new clean spaces? Check out our Storage & Organization Products.