New Year, New Me. - We say it every year, but let’s say it again.
It’s been a tough year and whilst most of us have had lots of downtime to declutter and spruce up our homes, life has almost returned to normal and so the clutter has started building up again. Especially after the holiday season. The unwanted gifts - and possibly guests :) - and all the time we couldn’t find to keep our homes clean.
It makes the New Year the perfect time for us to clear out all the clutter and get a fresh start.
When you follow the simple steps below, you can make decluttering your home painless so you can easily continue your New Year’s resolution of keeping your home clean and free from unwanted mess.
As Marie Kondo says, ‘Does it spark Joy’ . If your answer is no them put it into a relevant pile. (Trash, donate, sell, keep)
1. Make a list of all the areas of your home to be decluttered, start with areas you use the most - your kitchen, bathroom, living room and make your way around.
2. Decide how much time you’re going to commit to decluttering and stick with it. It could be 15 minutes a day or 1 hour every Saturday. Be realistic about how much time you can spend.
3. Set completion dates - make yourself accountable for each area to be decluttered.
4. When you have trouble deciding what to do with an item, if it doesn’t have sentimental value and you haven’t used it in the last year, get rid of it.
5. Set up 4 boxes to put your unneeded clutter in and label them “Recycle,” “Donate,” “Sell,” and “Tip.”
6. Make sure everything you keep has a place to live in your home. If it doesn’t have a designated place, then maybe it should be in one of the unneeded boxes.
7. If the expiration date on any food, spices, medication, toiletries, etc has passed, throw them out and make a mental note to not buy them again as clearly you didn’t need it.
We also have made a handy checklist for you stick on your fridge to help keep you on track.