With the joy of Christmas and the euphoria of New Year’s celebration long behind, January is the month to stick with those resolutions and commit to developing better habits which will improve your life. Choosing to declutter will help anyone who is feeling stressed because they simply have too much stuff to organize and find their home is in a state of constant chaos.
Use these simple tips to help you declutter now, so that when the days are longer, you won’t have that chore hanging over you. Although many experts recommend starting with one room, we recommend you start with the seasons.
Begin Decluttering With Seasonal Stuff
Now is a good time to find all the holiday stuff you wish you’d had and to get cut price wrapping paper and other essentials ahead of next year. Make a judicious list of what you really need, including those essential storage boxes to keep all your holiday treasures organized. Go ecological and reuse any tins and containers to store ornaments, candles, and keepsakes.
If you have not already thrown out the discarded wrapping paper from opening presents, use it to wrap around fragile items. Clean, leftover plastic bags can be used to separate lights, garlands and other decorations. Set aside lights which don’t work, broken ornaments for clearing with the rubbish.
Those who love to cherish the cards they received through the holiday can go digital with them. Snap a picture, record a brief funny story and organize them into albums that they can enjoy in the years to come. For those who have excess gifts, consider setting some aside as a treat through the year, or donating to a worthy cause.
Taking care of the end of year holiday clutter will help develop a great habit which you can put to use tackling all the leftover “in case we need it next year” spring and summer clutter. Enjoy upcycling as much as you can, so others can enjoy discovering and enjoying their new treasures in only a few months.
Kitchen Clutter
Coming back to those New Year’s Resolutions, decluttering and organizing your kitchen is probably the best way to ensure you stick to eating better and cooking healthier foods. Clear out all the junk food, half-finished packets of biscuits and cookies, and all those sinful chocs and sugary items.
If you are intending to eat healthier by doing a large cook at the weekend, remember to keep enough reusable storage containers so that you can store, and freeze your meals. Coming back after a hard day in your future will mean a quick warm up rather than breaking your diet by dialing for a delivery.
Cleaning out the kitchen cupboards and pantry of unnecessary “stuff” and keep it clean and spotless is a great way to keep reinforcing your success in keeping your resolutions. Make sure that any broken white goods, appliances, rubbish and large items are set aside to be cleared and disposed of properly.
Preparing For Summer Fun
Having developed good habits which will last a lifetime, from organizing the kitchen and your keepsakes which make your holidays special, now is the time to tackle the rest of your home and garden. Make sure you organize your bills, important papers and schedules. If you have not already done so, now is the perfect time to start going digital, simply take a picture and organize it in cloud storage.
Clear rooms of any broken furniture and other items which are not used. Clearing the clutter may uncover that much of it is simply rubbish, or things which are not needed. Simply set them aside for recycling or to put out with the trash.
In the garden, now is a good time to get summer furniture on sale and to organize the garden for less stress. If you have ever wanted to grow your own, now is a good time to start planting some seeds. Even if you only have a windowsill in the kitchen, you can grow your favorite fresh herbs as part of a healthier lifestyle.
What To Do With Too Many Clothes, Shoes, Books and Other Stuff
Thus far, we have organized your kitchen, the seasonal knickknacks and keepsakes, and cleared out the broken furniture and surplus to requirements, reducing chaos in the process. You’ve developed some good habits at keeping things clean and tidy. Now is a good time to tackle the stuff you need but won’t last forever.
Start thinking about your wardrobe not only in terms of the price you paid for things, but how much you will actually wear each item in the future. If you are someone who finds it hard to let go of your favorite or sentimental items, organize them by season. Shoes which you found didn’t fit perfectly, caused you pain, or were simply ‘not you’, simply pass on to others or donate to charity.
Now is the perfect time to separate out all the end of year holiday clothes, special Christmas jumpers, panamas, socks and other accessories, including inexpensive jewelry and of course, shoes. Put them all, locks stock and barrel into vacuum sealed space saving storage bags and put them with the holiday decorations, to come out next November. If you find then that you are not as attached to them as you thought, you’ll have time to pass them on to someone who will.
Use this same process to help you let go of other things which you have but don’t really need to keep chaos at bay. Simply organize them, put them away until an appropriate time to revisit them. Then simply sell, donate, and upcycle as much of it as you can rather than putting it into landfill.
