Start the New Year Fresh by Decluttering
One of the best things about turning the calendar to a new year is the fresh start it represents. There’s no guarantee things will be better in 2023 than they were in 2022, but we can always hope.
In fact, we can do more than hope. We can prepare. One of the ways to gain a fresh start AND prepare is by decluttering our homes. Especially if we’re feeling overwhelmed by our home environment.
For a few of us, this might be an easy task because we’re already pretty well organized. For most of us, however, it will take some work because we’ve let too many things slide for too long. Stuff has piled up that we should have taken care of a while ago.
And in most cases, it’s not just one room that has become cluttered. I have several rooms to go through. You may be in the same boat.
The more organized our homes become, the better prepared we’ll be to deal with the problems life will throw at us this year. If nothing else, it won’t take us 30 minutes to find batteries for the thermostat or a remote. (More on that in a moment.)
Decluttering tips
So, today I’d like to provide you with some tips for decluttering your home. First, though, gather some supplies that will help you in this task. Including garbage bags, plastic gloves, labels, and some empty boxes. Here we go…
- 4 is all you need. When you’re going through your clutter, put things in 4 boxes: 1 to keep, 1 to throw away, 1 to sell, and 1 to donate.
- 6 is enough. I’m referring to months. If you haven’t used an item in the past 6 months and don’t see a need for it in the next 6 months, it’s probably time to get rid of it.
- Start with your closets and drawers. Once you’ve tossed out, given away, or sold some of the clothes and shoes you rarely wear anymore, you’ll have additional space for things you really want to keep.
- Next, tackle your food pantry and refrigerator. If you’re like most people, you probably have a number of expired items in each.
- Same with your medicine cabinets and toiletry bags. This is a great time to get rid of expired items and things you don’t use any more.
- Your desk drawer is now in the spotlight. With many of us working at least some hours at home these days, desk drawers are fuller than ever. There are certainly items in there that you can do without.
- Now it’s time to attack those junk drawers. Usually we just toss things into these drawers; seldom do we empty them to see what we need to keep. You may end up with a drawer that’s only half-filled instead of completely filled.
- Entertainment and leisure items also need to be organized, thrown out, or donated. They include your board game collection, craft supplies, books, and magazines.
- Let it go. You probably have some other items you plan to get to some day. Such as a couch you want to upholster or a chair you want to paint. If it’s something you keep putting off, it might be time to say goodbye.
- Share the fun. Decluttering will go much smoother and faster if you have a partner in this venture. If you can get your spouse or roommate on board, it will become a more enjoyable experience. If they say no, you can always reply, “OK, I sure hope I don’t toss out anything you wanted to keep.” That should do the trick.
An ongoing project
Once you’ve decluttered, the worst thing you can do is allow clutter to take over again.
Vow to keep it from happening by devoting 1 hour per week (or whatever it takes) to determine what to keep, toss, sell or donate.
These mini-sessions will be much easier to deal with than your original major decluttering project that starts off your new year.
And if you keep up with this for the entire year, you won’t have a large decluttering assignment waiting for you in early 2024.
About those batteries…
Earlier I used batteries as an example of something you want to keep organized in your home so that you can find them immediately when you need them. I’ve got the perfect way to do this. And it won’t merely save you time. It will also save you money.
Standard batteries have a bad habit of dying just when you need them most. And when you open that kitchen drawer, you find every type of battery except the one you need.
My suggestion to remedy this situation is the 4Patriots USB-Rechargeable Battery Variety Pack. It features five different battery types (AAA, AA, C, D and 9-volt) – 50 altogether – each ready to go at a moment’s notice.
You can charge radios and flashlights with these rechargeable batteries. As well as smoke detectors and fire alarms. Plus emergency lights, TV remotes, toys and other items. And all of your batteries are protected in hard-shell storage cases.
Why depend on single-use batteries? They could die at the worst possible time. Especially when you could use batteries that recharge up to 500 times.
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Comments
Pat Blankenship - January 17, 2023
I love this blog about decluttering! It’s fantastic! I am going to do this! I just needed guidance on where to start! Also outdoor sheds need help too! This is my current project. Thanks again!