2022 is right around the corner and I always look forward to starting a fresh year. A clean slate and a happy beginning. To me, a great way to start the year fresh and clean is with my home, the space that I spend the majority of my time throughout the year. There are always things piling up around the house, and if I had to guess, I am sure that you do, too. Maybe you have way too many clothes that you don’t wear, your closets are piled up with things that you were gifted that you never touched, or that hobby that you thought you were going to do on lockdown never happened. Let’s not even think about the holidays coming up and what will be coming our way. No matter why your house is full, it’s time to focus on decluttering it.
Starting the New Year off with a decluttered home is the best feeling in the world, but if you don’t know where to start, it can be very challenging and frustrating. A lot of people start decluttering and then quit halfway through because they just cannot figure out what to do with their items. If that sounds like you, keep reading along because I’m here to help you start and finish your decluttering session! Here we go:
Start with the room that stresses you out the most
My best tip is to start with your most dreaded place—the room that stresses you out and you want to avoid. For a lot of people, this is their closet. For some reason, people begin to feel attached to their clothing. People associate special events, trips, or times in their lives with certain pieces of clothing and hold on to it for dear life. Even clothes that don’t fit anymore. Listen to Marie Kondo, author of The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up and toss anything that doesn’t bring you joy. You don’t want those pieces in your closet, spreading negativity. When you knock out the room that stresses you out the most, you will feel ready to take on the rest, because you know that you made it through the hardest part. Give yourself a pat on the back!
Donate, donate, donate
Say yes to donating, especially if you have coats and other cold weather clothes that you don’t need or want anymore. There are so many items that are needed right now, especially now that it is getting a bit cooler. Long sleeved shirts, pants, jackets, blankets, pillows, and baby/toddler/kid items are needed, as well. Don’t think about it too hard: if it’s in good shape, donate it, don’t just throw it away.
Our community had a garage sale the other month so we started collecting items that were cluttering up the place. The kids helped out and sold their items in their “store” and afterwards we bagged up everything that was left and dropped them off at Goodwill. It was nice to have a big haul to drop off to them.
How do you know what to get rid of?
There has been a saying going around lately—if you haven’t used something in a year, toss it. It is highly unlikely you really need it or that you are going to ever get enough use out of it to justify it cluttering up your home. Take the plunge and get rid of it! Ask yourself these questions as you encounter each piece of clutter:
- Do I use this?
- How long has it been since I’ve used it?
- Will I honestly use it again?
- Is it worth the space it takes up in my house?
Remember: The objective is to get stuff out of your home, not to move it into another room. You will be amazed by the number of unused and unneeded items in your home. Don’t spend time making up excuses and reasons to keep these things.
Move things out
Do you have big furniture items that are cluttering up your home? What about boxes of old clothes or sentimental things that you can’t get rid of, but you can’t have stored in your room or closet anymore? Consider moving these items to a storage space. That way, you will have them for later, but they will not be cluttering up your home.
If you need a storage recommendation or help moving your items, and live in the Tampa area, MT. Zion Moving & Storage offers cost-effective and customized storage solutions for home and business owners. MT. Zion Moving & Storage LLC is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on Google and provides protection for your valuables, whatever they may be, so you’ll have the ultimate peace of mind.
They not only do storage, though. If you need Tampa moving help, they will be your best friend. They can handle any moving project, no matter how large or small. When Brett and I moved to our home, we decided that hiring a trusted company to help was the way to go. Just knowing someone is taking care of your items and doing the heavy lifting, literally, is such a stress relief and worth it 100%. MT. Zion will also give you a devoted manager who will be responsible for the smooth operation of the entire project, or moving process. They are committed to a perfect experience for you and they rely on open communication and transparency. It’s worth checking out if you are in need.
I hope these tips to make decluttering easy kick start your process so you can have a fresh start to the year.
And once you have decluttered, try creating a beautiful (and affordable) custom book shelf to help hide any remaining items you decided to keep.
Will do!