12 Days of Decluttering
12 small steps to prepare for the new items coming into your home this season…
On the 1st day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Socks and underwear with holes in them.
This should really be done as often as necessary, but we all know someone who would wear their favorite pair of boxers until they looked like a G-string before they caved and bought a new pair.
Don’t be that person.
On the 2nd day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Tupperware that has burnt/melted spots or no matching lid.
There are a couple rules to live by when it comes to Tupperware:
1) Don’t keep more than three containers of each size. You have never used them all at once and you never will.
2) If you store the containers with the lids on, you never have to wonder where the lid is, and you can always see exactly how many you have.
On the 3rd day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Any expired or half-used makeup/skin care/bath/hair products.
Did you know that makeup, shampoo, lotion, etc. has a handy dandy little expiration symbol on the back? It’s true! The PAO (or "Period After Opening") symbol tells you how long the product is technically safe to use after the seal has been broken. So that eyeshadow palette you got three Christmases ago? Yeah, it’s time to say goodbye.
On the 4th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Unwanted home decor (signs, frames, trinkets, etc.).
These items are at peak popularity right now and while a “GATHER” sign above your table is cute, having five of them in your kitchen is a little much. This seems to be the go-to gift when you don’t know someone well enough to get them something with meaning, right up there with coffee mugs. If you don’t like it, donate it. I promise, people will still know where to gather without the sign telling them to.
On the 5th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Unused/expired/duplicate cleaning products.
You sprayed it once and the smell gave you a headache, so it’s been sitting under your sink for eight months. It’s time to throw it away.
On the 6th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Any clothes that haven't been worn in the last six months.
If you’re willing to put in the time, you could try the backwards hanger method and truly see what you do and don’t wear. But more than likely, you know what you don’t wear or don’t like. There always seems to be one shirt that we keep, try on, hate, take off, and put right back in our closet. Let’s break that pattern now.
On the 7th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Broken/outdated toys, or toy sets with missing parts/pieces.
In my home, we do this about once a month. It entails dumping everything out, putting similar things in little piles or assembling a set, and then throwing away the junk or the misfits. It’s very liberating, and kind of fun.
On the 8th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Expired or unwanted items in your fridge & pantry.
Around this time of year, food banks are gearing up to supply items for the holidays and would love your donations of unexpired food that you just know you’re not going to eat. The weird ingredient you bought for the recipe you never made can just go straight in the trash, though.
On the 9th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Worn-out towels, hand towels, and wash cloths.
Here’s an equation to help you figure out how many of these linen items you need:
Take the number of people in your house and multiply it by 1.
My biggest tip here is that if you wash your linens on the same day every week, you can put them back exactly where they came from and you never even have to fold them.
On the 10th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Old mail or other paper clutter.
Even in the days of electronic mail, there always seems to be one or two junk-mail vendors we can never get away from. When that shiny credit card application shows up again, throw it right in the trash, and with vigor. As for the other mail, create a designated space like a folder, drawer, or basket and let that be the only place mail is allowed to go in your home. If it’s overflowing, it’s time to clean it out.
On the 11th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Hobby-related items that haven't been opened/used in 6+ months.
We would all love to be seamstresses who scrapbook while baking a new recipe, but some seasons of life just do not accommodate for hobbies. Donate those things to someone you know can use them. At best, maybe pick one hobby to entertain and then limit yourself to the amount of stuff you’re allowed to have at any given time. I find that the container concept is an especially good way to regulate how much money, time, and space are being used in this area of life.
On the 12th day of Christmas my household decluttered:
Trash or junk from the car(s).
This is another thing that I would recommend doing on a regular basis, however there is something so satisfying about doing it right here at the end of the year. Treat yo’ self with a little air freshener too, if you really want to get fancy with it.
