If you find yourself at home during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve break, it’s a great time to declutter and reorganise your home.
Take stock of what’s around you and look to getting rid of unwanted and unused items that create disorder in your life, so you can start the New Year fresh and clutter free.
Here are 9 common clutter culprits to get you started!
1. Wrapping and packaging
Now that you have your loot safely home and hung, stored or put on display, throw away the box it came in. If it’s unmarked and you’re likely to reuse it, make sure you have a place to store it first, or press it straight into service as you pack away your Christmas decorations in coming weeks. Otherwise, recycle it.
2. Old containers
If your home has been a revolving door of guests and parties to attend with plates of food, now is a good time to gauge which food containers simply don’t suit your needs.
You can repurpose these containers in your own home (they often come in handy when organising a pantry). If they’re still in good condition, consider donating them to an op shop or contact your local council to find out how to recycle the containers correctly.
3. Old swimming costumes
With summer well and truly underway, it’s time to sort out old swimmers and beachwear you haven’t embraced this season and part company with them. Go through clothes drawers and laundry for towels and sarongs that are past their best and donate, or cut up for rags.
4. Summer shoes
Like swimwear, summer footwear gets a big workout in the summer months and the sun, sand and sea can take their toll on sandals, thongs and sneakers. If you’re not wearing them, they’re simply taking up valuable space so, if you find yourself reaching past a couple of pairs in favour of newer ones, either give shoes a wash and a polish to freshen them up for the season, or toss them out.
5. Platters
Serving platters are one of the most cumbersome items to store and must earn their keep on big occasions. If you didn’t use it this Christmas, let it go.
6. Christmas cookware
It’s actually a great time to donate seasonal kitchenware items that you’ve grown out of or have replaced. With the feasts of the festive season still fresh in our heads, people are more likely to appreciate their worth.
7. Christmas cards
Shocking, but true! Christmas cards are a joy to receive and form part of the celebration at the end of each year, but they are not designed to clutter your life all year thereafter. Store with your Christmas decorations only if you have a craft idea in mind for next year, otherwise, read again, enjoy update your own list of recipients and… recycle!
8. Toys
This is the time kids will feel less attached to their old toys and more interested in the new stash they’ve received, which you may well be struggling to find space for!
If it’s still a challenge getting them to let go, remind them how happy they were to receive toys at Christmas and encourage them to give other children that same joy by way of donating them to charity.
9. Broken, unwanted or outdated Christmas decorations
Fix what you can, store the rest with care and chuck out those you continue to leave at the bottom of the box each year.
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