Decluttering: Things to Get Rid of Before the New Year

Olena Loun Cleaning Tips, Organizing

decluttering home

Decluttering Your Home

As we are getting closer to starting a new year, many of us are thinking about organizing and decluttering our home. Actually, you don’t have to wait for a new year to make a list of things to get rid of before the new year – you can do it any time. To make things easier after decluttering, book a house cleaning service. They have tools and expertise to clean the spots you never thought of.

1. Plastic Containers – Don’t you hate it when you have a dozens of containers falling down on you when you open a cabinet door? Do you have to use a plastic wrap every time you can’t find a lid? Remove all the containers from the cabinets, match bottoms with lids, and get rid of the rest. Trust me, you won’t miss it.

2. Expired Food, Spices – Mold, bacteria and spills in the refrigerator can put you at risk for food poisoning. Sort through foods at least once a week. Throw out foods that have been “hibernating” in the fridge or on a pantry shelf. Spices don’t mold and don’t appear to go bad, but spices don’t last forever, not even cayenne pepper.

3. Seldom-used Kitchen Utensils – How many spatulas, can openers, food choppers, cookie sheets do you need? Go through the items you barely use and decide whether you want to keep them, donate, or just throw away. Arrange your kitchen items by the frequency of use. After all, what makes a kitchen great is how you organize it.

4. Holiday Decorations – Dumping all decorations into a box and putting in a garage for “organize it later” doesn’t help. Take time to sort through the decorations. Get rid of damaged, non-functioning items, so they don’t wast any space in the storage room. Donate the items that are in good shape but you don’t think you would want to use again.

5. Magazines – If two months have passed and they’re still sitting there, consider donating them to a retirement home, hospital, doctor’s office, or school. If you’re a tech-lover, you can get many popular magazines as an app for your phone or electronic reader.

6. Electronics – Power cords, USB cords, and other paraphernalia for electronics clog up our desks and cabinets. Sort through that “jungle” and match cords to gadgets. Donate old cell phones to women’s shelters or any other charity. Recycle other old electronic items, such as printers and computers.

7. Medicines – Check your medicine cabinet for expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs, but don’t flush them or throw them in the trash. Instead, take them to your local pharmacist for proper disposal.

How to Dispose of Unused Medicines

8. Extra hangers – Over time, you can accumulate a lot of extra hangers. Wire ones can go back to the cleaners, and plastic ones can be donated. Use coordinated hangers for a clean look that will care for your clothes and help you stay organized.

9. Clothes – It’s accepted wisdom that with very few exceptions, it’s likely that clothing that you haven’t worn in six months is clothing you will not wear again. It could be donated and used by someone who needs it.
Use Discardian’s Closet Trick to get rid of clothes you don’t wear.