It is almost the end of the year. Time to let go of the things littering your home and your life. While it can be hard to let go of possessions you have grown to love, the relief brought on my decluttering can be more than worth it.
Start cleaning up your home by tossing out these items right now:
1. Instruction Manuals
Everyone is going online now, even manufacturers. Most of them have placed their manuals online, which you can download and store in your hard drive. Once you already have everything you need related to your appliances and other purchases, then you can throw these paper manuals out.
2. Newspaper and Magazine Clippings
In this digital age, there is no sense holding on to clippings that you can just take photos of and store in your computer. The less paper you have in your home, the better.
3. Plastic or Paper Shopping Bags
If you want start becoming eco-friendly, the first step you can take is to get rid of all the plastic or paper shopping bags you have stashed in a cabinet in your kitchen. Recycle what can be recycled and consider using only those reusable tote bags to prevent further shopping bag build-up in your home.
4. Extra Parts and Unused Hardware
These are the tools that came with the furniture you assembled yourself or parts of machine you don’t even own anymore. If you placed all of these bits and pieces in one container, go over everything and sort them out so you can throw out what you no longer need.
5. Old Clothes
Give your closet some breathing room by reselling, donating or throwing away clothes you haven’t worn in a year. This might be difficult but there is no sense in keeping clothes that are out of style or do not fit you anymore.
6. Plastic Containers
These might be great in storing leftovers, but you don’t need a cabinet full of them. Pair up tops with the appropriate bottoms and recycle the mismatched ones. You can also recycle all of them and buy glass containers instead. These will not only last longer but will also repel odours and stains.
7. Broken Furniture
Outdated or broken furniture you have been meaning to get fixed but did not get
around to doing for more than a year should be bound for the trash bin already. You can simply donate it or just drag it to the curb for the garbage truck to pick up.
8. Expired Medicine and Food
You should do this every year. Scour your medicine cabinet and your kitchen cabinets to see what needs to be tossed out. For sure, you will have canned peas, muffin mixes and over-the-counter drugs that are so ancient, they are literally begging to be placed in the trash bin.
9. Financial Documents
The only papers you need to save are your deeds, leases and tax returns. If you have bills you wish to hold on to, the ones from the past seven years can still be relevant. File all of these neatly away and send everything else into the shredder or recycling bin. If you wish to go paperless moving forward, you can actually sign up for electronic billing, which you can download and save in a specific folder in your computer’s hard drive.
These are just some of the things you could let go before the year ends. If you look around your house, you’d find there is so much more.