Declutter
11. Make it easier to get outside. We all need an extra incentive sometimes. Whether it’s the hope of finding something tasty to eat, the pleasure of picking herbs for a recipe or the lure of a cozy outdoor fireplace, we often need concrete reasons to get out of the comforts of being indoors.While adding a luxe outdoor living feature such as a fire pit, outdoor kitchen, bocce court or pool can provide a reason to get outside, often simple add-ons can help entice us out as well. Colorful throw cushions on the seats and backs of this L-shaped brick bench, for example, make the seating area far more inviting with or without the fire pit.Find what you need to outfit your outdoor room
9. Try one new earth-friendly gardening practice. There are plenty of ways to help your garden have a lighter environmental footprint, such as ditching chemical sprays, starting a compost bin, switching to organic lawn fertilizers, planting natives or investing in a rain barrel. Commit to trying one or more of them this year.
4. Last year: You kept unwanted toiletries items until they were clearly past their prime. This year: Multitask while you are brushing your teeth and take a quick assessment of your toiletries drawer. Discard any items that have expired or that you realistically will never use again. If you don’t love that lipstick color, chances are you won’t suddenly change your mind. It serves no purpose for you to hang on to it — even if it was expensive. Declutter to Get That Spa-Fresh Feeling in Your BathroomFind bathroom organizers
6. Last year: You kept a mental list of what you need to buy at the grocery store. This year: Make physical or electronic grocery lists, and take inventory of what you already have before going to the supermarket. A friend of mine created a grocery shopping form with all of the items that she typically buys. She lists the items in columns that replicate the aisles at the store and marks items on the form that she needs to replenish. Bringing that list saves time at the store, as she can navigate the aisles with the relevant list in hand. It also helps prevent impulse buying.Your turn: What habits have helped you stay on track with your decluttering or simplifying goals? Please share in the Comments below!More10 Decluttering Projects You Can Do in 15 Minutes or LessTo-Dos: Your January Home Checklist
5. Last year: You forgot about items in your refrigerator, leading to bad smells and surprises.This year: Review freshness of items in your refrigerator weekly. A sweep of uneaten leftovers, expired sauces, sour milk or wilted vegetables will keep your refrigerator fresh and manage odors. Also, use or toss packets of condiments from take-out meals instead of saving them — those things can pile up and, in my experience, rarely get used before they expire.How to Waste Less Food
4. Last year: You removed clutter by boxing items and putting them in the garage to deal with later.This year: The garage is both a great place to store things and a terrible place to store things. It’s ideal for keeping infrequently used, or large and bulky, items such as seasonal decorations, sports equipment and camping gear. However, storing things in boxes in the garage can result in the items becoming out-of-sight, out-of-mind.Don’t move items into the garage to avoid decision-making. Instinctively, you probably already know if something is of no value to you — yet you pack it in the garage anyway, possibly to avoid dealing with it. For example, that inflatable pool you accepted as a hand-me-down from a friend — it would be so great for the grandkids, but you know you aren’t likely to spend the time and effort to set up, take down and repack such a large item. Or maybe you have instructional videos, promotional freebies and participation medals that don’t have much meaning to you. But you feel you should keep them, just in case. I recommend you drop that keep-it habit and start deciding right away whether to hang on to an item. Otherwise, your intention of going through boxes...
2. Last year: You kept clothing season after season even if you never wore it.This year: At the end of each season, pull out clothes you had no interest in wearing. Personally, as much as I mean to make use of all my clothing, I end up rotating the same favorites from my closet and neglecting others. If an item in my wardrobe is too fussy or impractical — for instance, if I constantly have to adjust an ill-fitting garment, or a piece has difficult-to-reach back zippers —I tend to pass over it in favor of an easy-to-wear piece. For me, that’s a trigger that it’s time to let the fussier item go.At the end of each season, if you haven’t reached for certain outfits, consider donating or selling them to make room in your closet for the pieces you not only love but also wear often.How to Declutter and Create a Capsule Wardrobe
1. Last year: You piled your clothes on your bedroom bench or chair. This year: Hang up your clothes daily to free up your sitting space. It takes just a few minutes to hang clean clothes or toss dirty ones in the hamper. Of course after a long day, it would be much easier to simply drape your clothing over a chair. But doing this robs you of a place where you can sit and wind down, as well as a space that is visually free of clutter. How to Create a Joyful, Clutter-Free Bedroom
2. Revamp your side yard. Often a neglected area of gardens, side yards can be transformed into beautiful winding walkways, private seating areas or — if you have enough sun — areas for growing veggies and herbs. You can get started right away in mild climates by planting, clearing the space and installing new walkways or features like arbors. In snowy climates, bookmark ideas for your side yard now and wait until the ground warms up to start digging.
1. Recognize the Potentially Sensitive IssueMany people have a nostalgic attachment to childhood treasures, and you may get pushback from your children who do not want to remove belongings from their childhood home due to the following reasons.Emotional overload. If your child’s possessions have been stored in your home free of charge for years, your son or daughter likely hasn’t given these items much thought. He or she also may live in a smaller space with limited storage, and deciding what to move and what to discard can be emotionally taxing.Lack of time and interest. Your kids might lack the time or desire to deal with deciding what to save, donate, toss, sell or recycle.Sentimentality. The sale of a family home can be difficult for grown children with tender feelings for the home they grew up in. They may feel sad that you are moving on, closing that chapter.Sense of ownership. If you are simplifying rather than moving, your children might resent that your home is no longer their personal storage locker. They also may begrudge your desire to change their beloved bedroom into a guest room, home office or sewing room, despite the fact that the home belongs to you.On the other h...
10. Do you know how you will find it when you need it? Storing related boxes together can make retrieving items much easier — holiday boxes together, summer gear together etc. Clearly label each box and bin. And if you have a large storage space, consider making a storage map that shows what is in each storage zone.Tell us: What is your biggest challenge when it comes to storage and storage areas?More:Blast Decluttering Roadblocks Once and for AllYour Guide to a Spotless, Beautifully Organized Home
9. Is that the best place to store it? Some items, like holiday decorations, have a very clear period of use each year, making it easy to store these things in the deeper recesses of your storage area. The need for other items, like toys and books currently out of rotation in your child’s room, or special project supplies, might happen less predictably, so store things like that in an easier-to-reach spot.
8. Is that the right container for the job? Buying containers is best left for last — it’s a lot easier and less expensive to get rid of something you don’t need than buy a container for it. Keeping like items together will make it much easier to find things, so stick with a container that just fits what you need to store; otherwise you will be tempted to fill it up with unrelated items.
7. Do you know who or what you are saving it for? When you start saving things, whether for yourself, your children or grandchildren, making decisions about what to keep can be quite a challenge. Here are a few things to keep in mind: The space items take up. A small amount of carefully chosen and properly stored items can be far more meaningful (and welcome) than an attic’s worth of overstuffed, unlabeled boxes. When you have a choice to make about which items to save, if all else is equal, go with the smaller ones.Proper labeling. Tucking in a note about where each piece came from or why it is important to you can also help pass along stories to the next generation. And if you are saving articles of clothing or toys for a future child, store items by age and write the age range outside the box.Photo books. While a book certainly can’t replace everything, for certain artifacts (for instance, crumbling preschool sculptures), it might be even more special to photograph the items and arrange the photos in a book that also tells the backstory.
4. Is it clean? Storing clothing and other textile items without having them cleaned first can spell trouble. Moths and other critters are attracted to the dirt on textiles (gross, I know), so your best defense is putting items away only when they are fresh and clean. Tools and outdoor equipment should also be cleaned before storing to avoid deterioration, so scrub your gardening gear and patio furniture before storing it next time, too.5. Do you already have something like it? This circles back to question 1: If you already have a similar item, do you really need this one? Keeping multiples of certain items can be helpful, but only if you are intentional about it. All too often we keep buying similar things hoping to find the just-right version of it. Choose the best example (or two) and get rid of the rest.
3. Does it work? Don’t let your basement become the place where broken things go to die! It’s so easy to let that happen, telling yourself, “I’ll fix it one of these days.” But most of the time, if you don’t care enough about the item in question to get it fixed ASAP, it’s probably not worth keeping.
2. Do you like it? Just because you’ve been saving the same decorations from year to year doesn’t mean you must keep doing it. Instead of going through the motions, really look at each item you are considering storing and ask yourself whether it still suits your style as much now as it did when you purchased it. Tastes evolve, and you will love your home more if you allow yourself to let go of things that just aren’t doing it for you.
1. Do you need it? This sounds like a simple enough question, but how each of us answers is highly individual. If you are making an effort to cut back on clutter, try to get real about what “need” means to you. Whether you decide to take a strictly minimalist approach or keep a more fluid list of items you need for living as well as those you cherish for emotional reasons, defining what is important to you is the first step in preventing clutter.
Assign a responsible party. Unless you live alone, creating exit strategies needs to be a group effort. One person may be the main curator/gatherer and another can be in charge of removal, but it probably won’t be neatly divided. Trial and error will help you figure out what works (or doesn’t) in your household.Start small. Work on one habit at a time. What’s driving you the most batty is a good place to start. Refine and tighten things as you go. Perhaps you already have some successful systems in place and you just need to work on details. Be patient, keep working on things and watch success build upon itself.Your turn: What are your systems for getting things out of the house? Share your tips in the Comments.More: How to Build Your Housekeeping Muscle
Create a schedule of purging. It’s natural in fall and spring to go through clothing and decide what no longer fits. Choose a day, bag things up and get the bags out of the house. So easy to type but so many steps — I know!Short term, it could be designating a day every week or two to run errands, including stops at the library, Goodwill or shops to make returns.
Establish where the designated bags live between returns. Not all of us have roomy pantries, mudrooms or garages. We may need to keep our bags out in the open, which isn’t such a bad thing — because out of sight is often out of mind.Attractive bags or baskets are nice, but function needs to come before form. Get your system in place first, and cute it up as you go.Bonus: Do you have family or friends who frequently visit and forget things? We have a bag hanging in our front closet specifically for my sister’s family. When anything is forgotten or we come across something we want to give them, it goes into the bag.
Identify what needs to go. Odds are it will come down to a few broad categories. In our house it’s mainly items for Goodwill, children’s outgrown clothing to go to consignment, books to trade for credit at our local bookstore, things to be returned to the store (for whatever reason!), library books and dead batteries.
First StepsAssess successful systems of removal. In our house the only system we have is trash and recycling. One big reason it works is they come to us. If only Goodwill did weekly pickups! But there were other things to notice and replicate: designated containers and a set date of removal.
December: Holiday items and decor. With so much going on around the holidays, it’s wise not to expect too much of yourself when it comes to clutter-clearing. That said, with all of the new gifts coming in, it does make sense to do some paring back to preserve balance in the house.Give away holiday ornaments and decor that you did not use this year, or that you no longer loveToss broken ornaments and strands of lights that no longer workExchange or give away gifts you received but know you will never use, and do not like — don’t keep things out of guilt. The one exception to this rule may be hand-knit sweaters. The knitter will never forgive you; that’s just how it is.Habit to cultivate: Tell friends and family who ask (in advance of the holidays) that you and your family would prefer gifts that are experiential or edible. Most people honestly want to give you something you will like, and are happy for the guidance.MoreCan Tidying Up Result in Life-Changing Magic?9 Exit Strategies for Your Clutter
November: Hobbies and crafts. Get ready for holiday crafting and gift wrapping by clearing out your stash and organizing supplies this month.Clean out gift-wrapping supplies, tossing empty tape dispensers, out-of-ink pens and shreds of gift wrap and ribbonDownsize your craft stash by donating spare fabric scraps, yarn, scrapbooking paper and other materials — many organizations (schools, retirement centers and the like) are happy to accept donations of craft supplies, and there are even some craft-specific donation centers, like Scrap in San FranciscoKeep works in progress together in bags, bins or boxesHabit to cultivate: Take the time to put away your craft supplies neatly when you are done working. A messy stash makes it more likely you will buy something you already have simply because you couldn’t find it!
October: Dining room and entertaining supplies. With the big holidays coming up over the next few months, October is a good time to get ahead of the curve and sort out your entertaining arsenal.Get rid of worn-out and stained tablecloths, placemats and napkinsCount your dinnerware and serving pieces and consider whether you have enough, too much or too little for the amount you entertainGet rid of decor, table linens and serving pieces that you don’t like or that no longer fit your lifestyleHabit to cultivate: Just like creating a wardrobe with lots of pieces that work together, think of creating an entertaining wardrobe that you can mix and match, rather than having lots of distinct sets of dishes.
September: Mudroom, entrances and junk drawers. Embrace the back-to-school spirit (whether or not you have kids) by getting the busiest zones of your house clutter-free this month.Put away stray items in entrances that belong elsewhereAdd extra hooks or shelves if you need them to help corral itemsSort through junk drawers, baskets, trays and any other spots that accumulate random junkInvest in drawer organizers or a wall-mounted organizer to keep small items neatHabit to cultivate: Do an end-of-day tidy-up of the entryway, putting shoes, coats and random items back where they belong.
August: Photos. Photos seem to be one of the most problematic items for many people to keep organized. Use the lazy days of August to sort through old photos and make books or prints from new ones.Choose a few favorite photos from this year and have them framedEdit digital photos and back up using a cloud service as well as an external driveMake a photo album or book from recent photosSort through any bins of loose photos and put them in acid-free photo boxes or simple albumsHabit to cultivate: Take a few extra moments to tag favorite digital photos each time you upload. Then when it’s time to print or make an album, you can go straight to your favorites.Help for Whittling Down the Photo Pile
July: Yard, shed, garage and tools. Being outdoors in midsummer makes this a good time to get outdoor tools and equipment in order.Get rid of broken tools and those you no longer needSort through gardening supplies Toss worn-out outdoor furnishings and decorIf you’ve been collecting items to sell, hold a yard sale this month. At the end of the day, take unsold items to a charity donation centerHabit to cultivate: Keep everything in your garage or shed on shelving, not on the floor. This helps prevent accumulating a pileup of junk and keeps your gear cleaner.
June: Family room, playroom, media, art and schoolwork. The end of the school year is a good time to review collected artwork and school papers, and choose a small number of special pieces to save in a portfolio or document box. Edit schoolwork and art from the past yearGather a bag of DVDs, books and CDs to give away or sellSort through toys and games; get rid of those your family no longer enjoys, as well as anything missing key piecesHabit to cultivate: At the beginning of each school year, pick up a simple art portfolio. When your child brings work home, enjoy all of it for a while, but choose only a few special pieces to put in the portfolio.
May: Laundry room, linen closet, cleaning supplies. Cleaning routines are much easier and more pleasant when the supplies you need are neat and orderly. Sheets, towels and other household linens do not last forever — go through them this month and make some space.Recycle worn-out and stained towels, washcloths, sheets and tea towels at a textile recycling center — search for one near you through the Council for Textile RecyclingIf your child has graduated a bed size, donate the old bedding to charityClean under sinks and in any cupboards where cleaning supplies are stored. Get rid of empty containers and products you tried but did not likeHabit to cultivate: Don’t downgrade old towels and sheets to “guest” status. Only keep linens you would personally want to use — get rid of the rest. Your guests deserve better!
April: Bath and beauty products and medicine cabinets. Give your daily routine a spring cleaning by sorting through all of those bottles and jars hiding in medicine cabinets, on counters and in drawers.Toss expired makeup and skin-care items, as well as anything you do not use or likeClean drawers and shelves before returning itemsStore heat- and moisture-sensitive items (medications and some skin-care products) away from the bathroomHabit to cultivate: Keep a list of your favorite bath and beauty products and order them online rather than shopping in person. This helps avoid overshopping and impulse purchases.
February: Home office — digital documents and papers. Get a jump-start on tax time by getting your files (paper and digital) in order.Sort through random stacks of paper; file, shred or recycle everythingStreamline your files, shredding any documents you no longer needUse one calendar to keep track of all eventsSwitch to paperless bills and statements if possibleClean out computer files and back up everything, using cloud-based storage and an external driveHabit to cultivate: Sort your mail at the door, tossing junk immediately into a recycling bin.
January: Kitchen and pantry. Give yourself a fresh start for the new year with a clean kitchen, decluttered cabinets and a healthy pantry and fridge.Toss worn dish towels or cut them up to make ragsSell or give away specialty small appliances and tools you seldom or never useRecycle or toss freebie cups and Tupperware containers without lidsToss expired food and spicesTake stock of cookware and dishes; give away or sell pieces you do not needHabit to cultivate: Clean out the pantry and fridge each week before shopping.
… or on a single cabinet at a specific station like a mixing center or coffee bar.
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