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The new year is a perfect time to start clean and fresh. It’s time to focus on what you truly want in life and what will help you to reach that goal. Going into 2017, I’ve made a point to clear out any things that I don’t want to carry with me into the new year. If something isn’t serving you or bringing you joy, cut it out of your life. Here are 27 things you need to get rid of this month:
1. Seasonal Decor
Now that Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed, you may be getting ready to store your holiday decor in the attic or a closet somewhere. But ask yourself if you really need all of those Christmas ornaments, or those leaf-shaped napkin holders. If you don’t love it, get rid of it. Go through all of your seasonal items that you didn’t use this year; do you really want to have it sit in your closet for another year? We don’t buy or keep any seasonal decor — I only want to keep things in my house that I truly love. I’d rather have fewer, better things than lots of trendy or seasonal things. So, get rid of seasonal decor — if not all of it, then whatever you don’t love/use.
2. Socks
We all have once-twosie socks that have lost their mate. When you get ready to put on socks and leave the house, mis-matched socks will just make it difficult to find what you need. Get rid of those random socks just cluttering up your drawers.
3. Damaged Clothes
I recently went through my closet and found a lot of clothes that no longer fit. I’ll be donating them or selling a few items on eBay. Now I have so much space in my closet and I can easily see what I want to wear. There’s no point in hanging onto old, damaged or ill-fitting clothes. Your wardrobe should only contain things you love and that make you feel good wearing them. If you have that old “wear-around-the-house” outfit with stains or holes it it, just get rid of it. You will feel better wearing clean clothes that are in good condition. Make a decision to keep your clothes in good repair and purge whatever isn’t making you feel your best.
4. Pantry Food
The pantry can start to fill up overtime if you aren’t meal-planning. It’s important to go through your pantry and purge any expired foods. Go through your pantry this month and sort foods that you won’t be eating anytime soon, but that aren’t expired and donate them to a food bank. When you clean out your pantry, you’ll be able to see what you have easier. Make a point to look through your pantry before going grocery shopping so that you don’t buy duplicates of what you already have.
5. Receipts
I’m definitely guilty of hanging onto receipts. You never know if you’ll need to return something or just “need” it for something, right?. These “just in case” scenarios have never come up for me, and they probably haven’t come up for you either. If you’re like me, let go of those receipts and purge your life. I have been shredding receipts and all sorts of papers these last two weekends and I can proudly say that I no longer am hanging onto documents I don’t need! It feels great 🙂
6. Dishes
When we last moved, we decided not to bring more than our one set of dishes. We used to have at least 4 different sets of dishes and none of the patterns matched. Having fewer dishes makes it SO much easier to clean the kitchen and saves a lot of cabinet space. Such a good decision!
7. Towels and Linens
How many spare sheets and towels do you really need? Many people have their linen closet filled with extra bed sets or bath towels, but never even open the closet up. Go through and get rid of those random extras that you haven’t used in forever. At most, you only “need” one change of bed sheets for each bed in the house and one or two extra set of towels for guests. Everything else is just too much. In out house, we have one set of sheets for each bed. We wash them and then put them right back on the bed; no extras required.
8. Makeup/Skincare Samples
I get so many random makeup samples and I rarely/never even use them. It’s such a waste. I used to keep them all in a drawer and “use them when I’d go on vacation”. Except I never used them on vacation — I just brought my full-sized product and forgot about all of those little foil packets. My “sample” drawer just stayed full. I recently went through and threw all of these samples away; they’ve been in the drawer so long, they’re probably expired anyway. It’s been great having only things I love in the drawer now.
9. Makeup/Skincare
Different from samples, you may have full-sized products that you don’t use or have just been around longer than the expiration date. Get rid of them. Sometimes the products were expensive and you don’t want to “throw the money away”, but if you aren’t using it, it isn’t serving you. The money is already spent; you just have to move forward. I’ve narrowed down my makeup and it’s so great knowing that I have everything I need. How many eye shadow palettes can you really use? Just go through what products you don’t use/are expired and get rid of them.
10. Photos
Whether they are physical or digital, you probably are hanging onto old photos that you don’t care to have anymore. If you want to keep a photo, scan it to your computer. But also go through your digital photos — it’s easy to forget about them, stored on a hard drive or in the cloud. Even digital photos should be purged to make room for things you really want. Delete duplicate pictures or pictures that aren’t important to you. Get rid of things you don’t want in your life.
11. Appliance Manuals
Most appliance manuals can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website if needed. Don’t keep a drawer full of appliance manuals for no reason. Declutter your life by simply throwing away these extra booklets.
12. Shoes
I am giving away so many shoes this year. I hardly ever wear these high heel pumps I bought 5 years ago. And the last time I wore these slingback, kitten heels was to a job interview years ago….plus they hurt my feet. I’m never wearing so many shoes but they were just taking up space in my closet. Why?! If you’re hanging onto shoes that hurt you or damaged tr that you never wear, get rid of them!
13. DVDs/CDs
We live in a time where music and media is all electronic. You can download any movie or software, or stream your music. There’s no point in saving DVDs and CDs; they just take up space. Instead, copy any media to your computer or external hard drive and get rid of those disks cluttering up your space.
14. Pens
I love pens. I have a few favorite pens that I use all of the time, but also a lot that I just keep in a pencil box. Check to see that your old pens even write or have ink. Give them a quick scribble on a scratch paper and throw them away if they are out of ink.
15. Christmas Gifts
You might have received some Christmas gifts that you don’t want and you don’t need. Instead of keeping it thrown in storage or in a closet somewhere, donate it. Others may really benefit from your gift and since it is not bringing you joy, you shouldn’t hang onto it.
16. Books
If you have a lot of books that you don’t read, consider selling them online or at a used book store. Don’t hang onto something that you don’t use. If you love books, there are always digital ebooks or audiobook options. Get rid of any books you don’t read/want to keep anymore.
17. Trendy Clothes
Trends are constantly changing. If you’re trying to keep up, your wardrobe will become full very quickly. I am trying to build a wardrobe that has quality items that can be worn together and look classic. This way, you don’t need to spend a lot of time getting dressed and all of your clothes complement each other. Basic shirts without logos, comfortable pants, and quality shoes. Ditch the trendy, poorly made clothes and cultivate a classic wardrobe that looks great for any occasion.
18. Gift Cards/Store Cards
You may have a few gift cards or store loyalty cards in your wallet. Most store’s can look up any membership accounts with your phone number or email address, so you can definitely get rid of those. With gift cards, only take them with you when you are planning to go to that store or take a photo of it on your phone so you can pull it up at any time. Decluttering your wallet doesn’t take long; get rid of cards you don’t need today.
19. Nail Polish
If you are keeping a box of nail polish under your bathroom sink or in your room somewhere, go through each one and throw away old colors that have dried out or that you don’t like the color/formula. I rarely wear nail polish and it usually just chips off in a day, but I had a whole box full of various shades of pink. What a waste of space! Now, I have very few, better quality “gel” nail polishes that I wear and enjoy.
20. Bills/Statements
I would keep the statements for my phone bills, utilities, etc all in a large binder. I thought I was organized and that if “something came up” with taxes or a dispute with the company, I would be ready. But I recently cleaned out those binders because I can find all of that information online and my 5+ year old massive binder isn’t serving a purpose for me except cluttering up my drawers. Get rid of any documents that are accessible online. Or if you prefer, keep a folder with the .pdf versions instead.
21. Shoe Boxes/Gift Boxes
So many people keep their shoe boxes or packaging from gifts or large purchases. This is an easy way to clutter up your closet quickly! Why keep these things? If your shoe boxes are to store shoes, why aren’t you wearing those shoes frequently enough to keep them out of the box? Maybe you don’t need to keep these shoes. And are you planning on returning that new computer? Or that iPhone? Why are you keeping the boxes? If it’s not bringing you joy, just get rid of it.
22. Games
If you have any puzzles that are missing pieces, or board games that have cards or figures missing, get rid of them. Unless you are able to play the game or complete the puzzle, keeping the games is just taking up space.
23. Magazines
Everything in magazines can be found online. I never buy magazines anymore because they’re just a bunch of ads mixed with content that I can find elsewhere for free. If you like magazines, consider getting rid of the ones you don’t read/re-read often. They can take up a lot of space and if you don’t love them, they aren’t adding value to your life. The same goes for the store catalogs you may get in the mail. Don’t keep these in your house — shred your address page and throw them away immediately.
24. Freezer Food
If you have a full freezer, pull everything out and get rid of food that has gotten freezer burn or that you don’t want any longer. It can be easy to forget what you actually have if you aren’t seeing it every day. Keep your freezer and pantry items low so that you always know what you have to eat at your house. Clean your fridge/freezer; clean your life!
25. Cleaning Supplies
If you have extras/duplicates of any cleaning supplies, you should purge them. No point in storing chemicals when you aren’t even using them. So either give them away, properly dispose of them, or get to deep cleaning so you can actually use those supplies up.
26. Tools
How many hammers do you really need? If you have a tool box, make sure that you only have one of every tool and that your tools are in good condition. Throw away any rusty nails or screwdrivers and duplicates.
27. Debt
Debt is not really something that you can just throw away in the trash and forget about, but it is something you need to get rid of. Debt holds you back from doing what you want in life. You may not even realize it, but debt can feel like a weight on your shoulders. Make a point to get on track with a budget this year and crush any debt you have. Don’t take anymore debt with you into next month; pay cash/debit for everything!
This list is an overview of some areas that you may want to look at to see if you can purge extra/waste from your life. These topics may not apply to everyone, but the main things to ask yourself are “Does this serve a purpose in my life?” and “Do I love it?”. If the answer is no, then you should consider getting rid of it!
