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Has your home been a hot mess since December? Has watching Tidying Up With Marie Kondo made you resolve to finally get your clutter under control? If so, then this post is for you!
Each year, the holidays come around and you're too busy with Christmas shopping and holiday plans to deal with the mounting yuletide clutter.
Suddenly, it's January and your home's still filled with Christmas decor and torn up wrapping paper---oh, and lots of new clutter (err...presents). It can be utterly overwhelming.
To help you get started with some baby steps, I've compiled a list of easy things to declutter now (we're not talking your kid's first onesie or stuff your dead grandmother left you).
This is the low-hanging fruit of decluttering!
If you'd like a free, printable PDF version of the checklist, please subscribe to my mailing list and you'll also be notified each time a new post is up on the blog!
Pain-Free, Post-Holidays
Easy Declutter Checklist
Christmas Aftermath
Used wrapping paper/packaging
Gifts you received that you never plan to use (If you're afraid the giver will check up on these, you can always say they broke or got lost---in a donation bin!)
Greeting cards from this year (and previous years, while you're at it...unless they're from your dead grandmother...)
Christmas decor that hasn't made the cut in years (take it out of the rotation instead of storing it away another year)
Paper Items
Take out menus (you can find them online)
Instruction manuals for appliances & electronics (also online!)
Old magazines
Old catalogues
Old agendas/calendars
Books you don't plan to read again (this includes old textbooks)
Tax documents that are over 7 years old
Receipts (take a photo/scan if needed for documentation)
Phonebooks, if you still have any lying around (do they even make these anymore?)
Kitchen Items
Tupperware containers missing lids/lids without containers
Odd-one-out plates or glassware
Excess plates and cutlery (you really only need one set of each)
Kitchen gadgets you haven't used in over a year
Cookbooks (I defy you to find a recipe that's not online!)
Duplicate items that you don't need more than one of
Mini condiment packets
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Toiletries
Expired makeup
Makeup you haven't used in over a year
Old perfume
Expired medicine
Hairbrushes and hair gadgets you never use
Clothes
Anything you haven't worn in over a year
Anything that hasn't fit well for over two years (sorry to break it to you, but it's probably never going to fit again. If you ever lose that baby weight, celebrate with new clothes!)
Clothes that shrunk or got warped in the wash
Maternity clothes, if you aren't planning on more kids
Worn out clothes (holes, stains)
Anything that you don't feel comfortable and/or confident wearing
Socks missing pairs
Gloves missing pairs
Random buttons
Uncomfortable shoes (unless they're so beautiful it's worth it)
Ugly shoes (unless they're so comfortable it's worth it)
Old bridesmaids dresses (you'll never wear these again, no matter what the bride says)
Excess hangers
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Kids' Stuff
Outgrown clothes & shoes
Outgrown toys
Broken toys
Games with missing pieces
Duplicate toys
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Linens
Stained or worn out towels
Stained bed linens
Excess bed linens (you don't need more than two sets of sheets per bed)
Old pillows
Electronics
Old cell phones
Old laptops
Old desktops (I think the last time I had one of these I was living with my parents, and it took floppy discs)
Old printers
Old gaming systems
Calculators (unless you're a math major, the one on your cell phone will do)
DVDs & DVD players (is there anything you can't watch online?)
CDs & CD players (see above)
Excess extension cords
Chargers for electronics you no longer own
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Miscellaneous
Dead batteries
Out-of-ink pens
Refills for anything you no longer own
Old keys
Locks for which you've lost the keys/combination
Dead or dying plants (I've been there...a lot)
Puzzles you've already completed
Old eye glasses or contact lenses
Expired bank cards
Expired membership cards
Souvenirs from events with little or no sentimental value (i.e. other people's weddings, generic vacations)
There you have it, a list of over 60 items that are easy to declutter now!
Don't forget, your trash may be someone else's treasure! Not everything you get rid of should become landfill; many of the things on this list can be re-sold, donated or recycled!
For a PDF version of this post and to be notified each time there's a new post up on the blog, please subscribe!
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Stay tuned for these future posts: How to Make Money Selling Used Stuff Online, Essentials for A Good Night's Sleep, How to Build A Capsule Wardrobe & Tips For A No-Spend Month!
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