De-clutter Your Home, De-clutter Your Mind

My favorite thing about a new year is the feeling of renewal. It’s the possibility of great

things in the future and situations from the past year seem smaller and easy to tackle.

Maybe this is part of the reason we like to go on diets, clean out closets and start new

healthy habits. De-cluttering and organizing can be something that is not only freeing for

our spirits but good for our minds. Home is designed to be our place of rest and comfort

and disorganization can cause us to feel uneasy and like our to do list is a mile long.

Organizing can seem like a mountain to climb but the first step is easy. Just take the

items out of their space and put them back. As you put them back, have a plan of

organizing them. Here is a set of rules to rid yourself of some of those items:

1) Ask yourself “have I used this item in the past (time frame).” For clothes I use

the past year, for the junk drawer I use the past 6 months. If the item has not

been used in that time frame I donate or get rid of it.

2) “Do I have multiples of this item?” If so I chose the one I like or use the most. For

example kitchen appliances. You only need one blender…. You will be amazed

at how much room you can create by dismissing multiples.

3) Once you have decided to let go of something don’t talk yourself back into

keeping it. It is easy to get to the end of a project clean out and think “I may use

that.” Most likely if you were okay to rid yourself of it 20 minutes prior you won’t

regret it 2 months in the future when you open that organized drawer.

Where do you start? Think through which room you spend the most time in. For some it

may be the kitchen and others it may be the living room. Let’s look at our most loved

rooms in our home and how we can de-clutter and then organize.

Kitchen

-Fridge clean out: Go through your condiments and products and get rid of expired

items.

-Storage bowls: If the storage bowl doesn’t have it’s lid, remove it from the collection.

-Towel and oven mitt drawer: How many oven mitts do we really need? Toss all those

mitts and towels with holes and burn marks and keep your favorite few. Remember it’s

also important to make sure things you keep in your home work properly. A holey oven

mitt is a recipe for injury or a big mess.

-The infamous junk drawer: We all have these. It’s the place where we toss things

during our quick tidy sessions and they live there for an extended period of time. Adding

organizing trays to your drawer can help drastically.

-Counter top: Otherwise known and the family drop off point. Counter tops seem to

attract the weekly mail, book bags, drink tumblers, car keys, kitchen appliances, soft

drink bottles, you name it. Find places for each of these items to live to encourage your

family to help keep the counters clean. Set up a station at your front door with hooks for

backpacks and car keys. Get a wall organizer for the mail. You will be surprised at how

having a clean counter improves your mood when you get up in the morning to get your

cup of coffee.

Living Room

-Old magazines and books: It is easy to let magazines pile up in the corner or in

baskets. If there was a particular recipe in the magazine you liked, take a pic with your

phone and save it. Find a place to donate your old books and magazines.

-Tabletops (coffee table, side table): These tables are notorious for collecting small

items that we use while sitting down. Nail kits, magazine and reading glasses.

-Shoes and coats: Set up an organized drop zone at the front door. Have hooks for

coats and a rack or baskets for shoes. Out of season shoes can be stored in closets.

-Blankets and throws: Store unused blankets in closets and for those in use fold up on

the end of the couch or add a stylish blanket ladder to the room.

Bathroom

-Expired cosmetics and shampoos: Pull the expired products and those that haven’t

been used in the last year.

-Medicine cabinet: One of my favorite organized rooms in my house is my medicine and

towel closet. I purchased the three bin plastic organizer to house my products and it has

been a great way to help me find items quickly when not feeling well.

-Unused hair tools and products: Toss the old brushes and extra unused hair tools.

These are usually big space consumers and you will be surprised at the room you

create when you eliminate the excess.

-Towel closet: Go through all the towels and washcloths and keep your best. Chances

are we have way too many towels and only need realistically two per person and a few

extra for guests. Fold each towel the same (I suggest a trifold pattern) for easy stacking

and storage.

-Kids bath toys: Organizing bath toys is an excellent and healthy practice to do several

times a year. If the toys have holes consider bleaching often or replacing with ones

without the squirt holes. These are easier to sanitize and clean. Get a drainable bath

storage box that when not in use the toys can be stored under the cabinets.

Bedroom/Closet

-Nightstand drawers and tabletop: Yes another tabletop…Going to sleep and waking up

next to a cluttered nightstand can cause unnecessary angst. It’s the first thing you see

when you wake so a clean slate is a better way to start the day. Clean out all the items

that have taken residence there unnecessarily in the past year. The stray coins and

receipts can go into a coin jar or folder.

-Dresser drawers: Holey socks and tattered undergarments… We all have them. Match

those socks and toss the ones with lost mates.

-Belts and accessories: If they don’t fit, donate. All those scarves you don’t wear

anymore, donate!

-Clothing: You know the routine ;) If you haven’t worn that article of clothing in the past

year consider donating it. Things with holes cut up for dust clothes. Well maybe not your

college sleep shirt ;)

-Shoes: Sift through these and donate the pairs of shoes that haven’t been worn

recently.

You will be amazed at the release you feel when you de-clutter your home. It’s truly

freeing. We love this quote from our friends at Less Is More Organize and Design,

“when a new year starts, we love to start off that year with a home that radiates peace

and clarity by doing a simple house purge. If we didn’t use a certain item during the past

year, more than likely we don’t need it anymore. That item is probably only taking up

valuable space. Yes, this might sound a bit daunting, but keep in mind that it’s a lot

harder to look and stay organized when you have too much “stuff.” Start small! You can

start with a coat closet. Watch out though! You might just get addicted.

Less mess. Less stress. Less is more.”

Good luck and here’s to a new year that’s cleaner, more organized and a mind less

cluttered!

Cheers ,

Jessica