4 painless ways to clear your clutter this January!featured
Happy New Year! (…She says more than a full week into 2019!) Whether you’re looking for help in keeping the clutter train movin’ on out after the holiday season or you’ve been joining me in binge-watching some Marie Kondo (Netflix has nothing if not an exceptional grasp of timing and the emotions of our nation), I see you. And hey! Since the birth of Tidyish exactly one year ago, I think we can all agree that separating “clutter” from “treasure” is something we do here really, really well. And the stuff we’re going to take a look at today? It’s pretty intuitive and entirely painless. Let’s go!
First, find all of your clutter…
As the year slowly resets itself and your brain and body can (hopefully) take a bit of a breather, it’s a great time to a) do nothing except enjoy the stillness of your mind, and b) realize that you’re just not the person who can fully embrace “a” and instead acknowledge what your household actually needs to run smoothly. How many mugs do you guys need to utilize between dishwasher runs? (Be honest: We’re all friends, here.) How about towels? Sheet and pillowcase sets? Plastic containers and random straws and ballet slippers? Take stock, take bags, take ’em out.
Maybe it’s a New Year’s thing for me, but at the beginning of the year I can’t help but notice that my makeup isn’t…quite so awesome anymore. I give you permission to toss that almost-cashed concealer and lipstick shade that just doesn’t work for you (even though ohmygosh it’s so niiice). I bet after you’re done dumping the dregs you’ll find that you only really need to replace about three or four items- you know, the stuff you actually use on the daily? Sure, it’s not as cheap as using the same ol’ stuff until you’re scraping the plastic nubs on your skin, but time also equals money, friends. And I really don’t think I’m alone in wasting minutes upon minutes trying to deposit the last of my “flawless” eyeliner onto my bruised eyelid. (You know what else costs money? Antibiotics.) Don’t wear makeup? Swap in the words lotion, shampoo, travel-sized bottles of anything, medicine, hair stuff… I know you know exactly what to do right now.
…And then move it on out.
Sure, the “get it done/get it shipped out” portion of the holidays is long past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep clearing out clutter…or breathing new life into things for other families! Got a horde of size 2 tutus that your kindergartener can’t even shove a leg into? Gift ’em to the princess down the block. Same goes for the 1k piece puzzles your offspring haven’t touched since Christmas 2016 (ahem). Listen, those short winter days can actually be quite long. Let your friends with kids know that you love them. Say it with the gift of quietude. (…At least for half an hour.)
My kids and I have started keeping spare (clean) hats and gloves in a front-seat bin in the car, and when we come across homeless men and women at the underpass intersections- in Chicago, there’s sadly no shortage of these moments- we hand out something warm. But even if you’re not quite so hands-on, donate donate donate those goods! Pet shelters would love those blankets, the family resale spot would be oh-so grateful for those platters, and the preschool up the street would probably thrill for those collage-happy magazines. And as we all learned as little kids- isn’t it so much nicer to share?
