In the blink of an eye, 2022 has ended, and with that comes the urge to get yourself organized. As we are working to organize ourselves to start the New Year off on the best foot possible, we may find ourselves wanting to declutter, especially since most people are taking some time off of work for the holiday season. Even if you have already found yourself decluttering as you are putting away your holiday decorations for the year, there may be some random items that you missed that you should add to your “toss” pile.
Check out some items that you should consider getting rid of to declutter your home.
1 – Old candles.
If you are a candle lover, chances are you have many candles that are burnt out, or half burnt, that you do not intend on using, because a new scent has entered the chat. While you may find yourself holding onto these old candles “just in case” (we all do it!), make room for some new candles in the New Year and take the plunge to toss them.
As you are going through old candles, if you are finding that you would like to keep the jar, melt the wax slowly and carefully in the microwave and clean out the jar, which can be used for a variety of different things – such as a flower vase!
2 – Empty gift cards.
Take some time to go through your purses and wallets and check out any old gift cards that you may be hanging onto that no longer have any money on them. While it might be a tedious task to check the balance on your gift cards, this will be a great way to see what has been used, and what gift cards you have that you still need to spend.
Through this process, you may even find some brand-new gift cards that you have not touched yet! Once you have all your gift cards in order that you will be keeping, take a permanent marker and write the current amount on each gift card so that you are organized and know how much is on each one.
3 – Old kitchen and bathroom towels.
While your towels in your kitchen and bathroom may be clean in the sense that you are regularly washing them, it is always nice to start fresh with some brand-new towels that are fresh and not dingy, ripped, or stained. Over time, it is easy for towels in the kitchen and bathroom to get worn out, so a refresh is totally necessary, especially if you are finding that any towels are thinning out.
For your old towels, you can easily recycle these to use them for other things in the home, such as tasks or projects done in your garage, or any arts and crafts that you will be doing and can lay a towel out for to protect your flooring or counter tops.
4 – Toys and games no longer used.
Take some time to go through toys and games in your house and assess what is currently being used and what has not been touched in months. During this process, you can also look at what toys or games have missing pieces and are not necessarily usable anymore.
As you are going through all the toys and games, figure out what makes sense to throw away, what you can donate, and what you might even be able to sell on a selling App to make some money back. As your children are getting older, there are surely some items that you can declutter from your home. It’s time to get rid of them!
5 – Expired products.
Go through cabinets and drawers in your kitchen and bathroom and toss out any products that are expired. This can go for any beverages you have stored, cans and snacks in the pantry, and any produce that you meant to eat during the holiday season but totally forgot about (we all did it this year!).
In the bathroom, declutter skincare products or makeup that expired or is empty and assess what you need to replace for the New Year.